I laid all my current season win-loss projections, strength/weakness of teams, weather notes about the schedule, the history of in-conference games, teams/coaches coming off BYE weeks and solo night games, and estimated travel between games, etc., and dumped that all in my AI Frankenstein writer creation ‘AI-McGillidcuddy1’ and then asked him to give an NFL analyst take on each team’s schedule, using my data (not the NFLs), and using his created personality to do it.
I’m doing team-by-team each day of June, except two will post day one...and the strength of schedule rankings will rank one-at-a-time on RC Note’s every morning as well. ARI and ATL gets us started June 1st.
Here is unedited AI analysis of my schedule data from AI-McGillidcuddy1. Enjoy...
(by AI_McGillicuddy1)
The Cincinnati Bengals' Triple-Checked Weighted Strength of Schedule calculates out to a final percentage of 45.8% (0.458111).
The McGillicuddy Take on the Bengals' True 2026 Schedule
Look, if you take a quick gander at that 45.8% weighted baseline, you should be absolutely thrilled if you're a Bengals fan. The league schedule-makers essentially handed them a beautifully manageable layout, placing them well below league average in terms of overall schedule toughness. And honestly, we like this Cincinnati team a lot this year. They are expected to be an absolute powerhouse and a major contender to go deep into January. When you combine a high-end roster with a schedule this favorable, it's time to get genuinely excited about their chances.
Let’s look at the breakdown of Phase 1--they open at home against Tampa Bay, travel to Houston and Pittsburgh, host Jacksonville, and fly to Miami before hitting a very early Week 6 bye. This is a brilliant launching pad. Aside from a tough road battle in Houston, they get to match up against several midland teams. For a top-tier offense, this opening stretch is a premium opportunity to stack up a clean run of early wins and take an early chokehold on the AFC North division race while the rest of the league is still finding its footing.
Week 1: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio), Sunday, Sept. 13 at 1:00 PM EDT
Week 2: at Houston Texans, NRG Stadium (Houston, Texas) — Dome Game, Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1:00 PM EDT
Week 3: at Pittsburgh Steelers, Acrisure Stadium (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), Sunday, Sept. 27 at 1:00 PM EDT
Week 4: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio), Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1:00 PM EDT
Week 5: at Miami Dolphins, Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, Florida), Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1:00 PM EDT
Week 6: BYE WEEK — No Game, No Venue, No Time
Now, let's talk travel, because the middle of the calendar in Phase 2 features a fascinating logistical quirk. In Week 9, the Bengals pack their bags for a long-distance international trip to Madrid, Spain, to face Atlanta at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. What makes this stretch interesting is that the league lists this as a home game for Cincinnati, but it sits in the middle of a 3-game ‘home stretch’. They host Tennessee in Week 8, fly across the Atlantic to Madrid in Week 9, and return home immediately to host Pittsburgh on Sunday Night Football in Week 10. That Spain travel is a bit of a grind, but we should note that it's isolated in that they don't have a single 3+ game road trip all season. In fact, their overall travel schedule is beautifully balanced with no grueling, long-distance back-to-back true away games.
Week 7: at Baltimore Ravens, M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore, Maryland), Sunday, Oct. 25 at 1:00 PM EDT
Week 8: vs. Tennessee Titans, Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio), Sunday, Nov. 1 at 1:00 PM EST
Week 9: vs. Atlanta Falcons, Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (Madrid, Spain) — International Solo / Controlled Roof Game, Sunday, Nov. 8 at 9:30 AM EST
Week 10: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio) — Sunday Night Football, Sunday, Nov. 15 at 8:20 PM EST
Let's look at the dome count across the entire calendar, because this is a massive advantage for a high-powered vertical passing game and a precise kicking unit. The Bengals play a total of 4 dome games this season: Week 2 at Houston (NRG Stadium), Week 9 in Madrid (which features the Bernabéu's retractable roof), Week 12 hosting New Orleans (wait, Paycor is outdoors, but New Orleans is a dome team visiting them—let's keep the eyes on where they travel inside), and Week 16 at Indianapolis (Lucas Oil Stadium). Having those controlled environments sprinkled throughout the year—including that crucial late-December indoor environment at Indy in Week 16—is helpful the offensive firepower.
As for the winter weather elements at the end of the year? Cincinnati is an old-school, outdoor cold-weather town, so they are perfectly comfortable when the temperature drops. But from a pure factoid standpoint, it's worth noting that they finish the year out in the elements with a big division-heavy outdoor stretch.
After their indoor trip to Indy in Week 16, they close out the final two weeks of the season entirely at home outdoors at Paycor Stadium, hosting Baltimore on a massive New Year's Eve Thursday Night Football solo showcase and finishing up against Cleveland.
Because we like this team so much to dominate late in the year, this outdoor home stretch isn't a huge red flag. Instead of traveling to freezing road game stadiums in January, they get to sleep in their own beds and close out the regular season right in front of their own fans. It is a phenomenal, balanced setup for a powerhouse squad to march directly into a high playoff seed.
Week 11: at Washington Commanders, Northwest Stadium (Landover, Maryland) — Monday Night Football, Monday, Nov. 23 at 8:15 PM EST
Week 12: vs. New Orleans Saints, Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio), Sunday, Nov. 29 at 1:00 PM EST
Week 13: at Cleveland Browns, Huntington Bank Field (Cleveland, Ohio), Sunday, Dec. 6 at 1:00 PM EST
Week 14: vs. Kansas City Chiefs, Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio), Sunday, Dec. 13 at 4:25 PM EST
Week 15: at Carolina Panthers, Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte, North Carolina), Sunday, Dec. 20 at 1:00 PM EST
Week 16: at Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium (Indianapolis, Indiana) — Winter Dome Game, Sunday, Dec. 27 at 1:00 PM EST
Week 17: vs. Baltimore Ravens, Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio) — New Year's Eve Thursday Night Football, Thursday, Dec. 31 at 8:15 PM EST
Week 18: vs. Cleveland Browns, Paycor Stadium (Cincinnati, Ohio), Sunday, Jan. 10 (Time TBD)
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