CINCINNATI BENGALS

2026 schedule

• Wk 1TBvs Tampa Bay BuccaneersSpread —Total —Sun 9/13 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 2HOUat Houston TexansSpread —Total —Sun 9/20 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 3PITat Pittsburgh SteelersSpread —Total —Sun 9/27 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 4JAXvs Jacksonville JaguarsSpread —Total —Sun 10/4 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 5MIAat Miami DolphinsSpread —Total —Sun 10/11 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 6Bye week
• Wk 7BALat Baltimore RavensSpread —Total —Sun 10/25 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 8TENvs Tennessee TitansSpread —Total —Sun 11/1 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 9ATLvs Atlanta Falcons (Madrid)Spread —Total —Sun 11/8 · 9:30 AM
• Wk 10PITvs Pittsburgh SteelersSpread —Total —Sun 11/15 · 8:20 PM
• Wk 11WASat Washington CommandersSpread —Total —Mon 11/23 · 8:15 PM
• Wk 12NOvs New Orleans SaintsSpread —Total —Sun 11/29 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 13CLEat Cleveland BrownsSpread —Total —Sun 12/6 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 14KCvs Kansas City ChiefsSpread —Total —Sun 12/13 · 4:25 PM
• Wk 15CARat Carolina PanthersSpread —Total —Sun 12/20 · 1:00 PM
• Wk 16INDat Indianapolis ColtsSpread —Total —
• Wk 17BALvs Baltimore RavensSpread —Total —Thu 12/31 · 8:15 PM
• Wk 18CLEvs Cleveland BrownsSpread —Total —

JustJ picks are only posted for the current week's slate — see the full sheet on the Picks page.

Schedule & market notes

• Bye: Week 6 — an early bye — a long back half of the season with no scheduled rest.
• Short-week / non-Sunday games: 1 Thursday, 1 Monday — short-rest games carry their own well-documented ATS variance, worth flagging on your calendar as they approach.
• International game(s): Week 9 vs Atlanta Falcons (Madrid) — a true road game with no home-field advantage and real short-week/travel logistics even when technically the “home” team.

Power ratings — strength against the field

Turnover differential -3 · 2025 results, Just J Football Companion / Pro-Football-Reference.

Power ratings & 2025 results

• 2025 record: 6-11-0 — Points For 414, Points Against 492 (differential -78).
• Margin of Victory: -4.6 pts/game — the average scoring margin across all 2025 games, win or lose.
• Strength of Schedule (SoS): -0.5 — Pro-Football-Reference's SRS-based measure of 2025 opponent quality; positive means a tougher slate than average.
• SRS (power rating): -5.1 — Simple Rating System score, which converts directly to a projected point spread on a neutral field against a leagueaverage team.
• Offensive SRS: +1.2 · Defensive SRS: -6.4 — the SRS power rating split into offensive and defensive components; higher offensive and higher defensive figures are both better.
• Turnover differential: -3 — total takeaways minus giveaways across the 2025 season, one of the more volatile year-to-year metrics and worth weighing against the rest of this profile rather than on its own.

League-wide unit ranks

Handicapping notes

• Turf: Paycor Stadium — 2025: 6-11 straight-up, 8-9 against the spread.
• : The Dexter Lawrence trade addition upgrades a defensive front that finished near the bottom of the league — a real swing factor for Cincinnati's defensive numbers.
• : Cincinnati returns all five offensive line starters for the first time since 2010, per team reporting — real continuity behind Joe Burrow and a passing attack that should again be prolific.

Pro Bowlers

• Offense: QB Joe Burrow, QB Joe Flacco, WR Ja'Marr Chase (First-team All-Pro), WR Tee Higgins
• Defense: None.

Coaching staff

• Head Coach

  Zac Taylor

  8th season

• Offensive Coordinator

  Dan Pitcher

  3rd season

• Offensive Line Coach

  Scott Peters

• Defensive Coordinator

  Al Golden

  2nd season

• Defensive Line Coach

  Jerry Montgomery

Offensive unit ranks

Key skill players

• QB1Joe Burrow
• RB1Chase Brown
• WR1Ja'Marr Chase
• WR2Tee Higgins
• TE1Mike Gesicki
• TEAM DEFENSE (D/ST)Bengals D/ST

Defensive unit ranks

Defensive efficiency

• 6.2 yards allowed per play, 32th of 32.
• 20.9% pressure rate generated (blitzed on 16.6% of dropbacks), 23th of 32.
• 42.3% opponent drive scoring rate — a below-average mark.
• 12.0% opponent drive turnover rate — roughly league-average.
• 170 missed tackles on the season.