If the NFL schedule-makers could have one mulligan for 2025, they would choose a game involving the Cincinnati Bengals.
NFL Schedule-Makers Would Change Bengals Primetime Game
90 seconds with Joe Burrow (and an elite sigh):
* On wanting primetime home games against Baltimore
* On wanting to play an international game
* On wanting to play flag football in the 2028 Olympics pic.twitter.com/yRhi68ijVp— Joe Danneman (@FOX19Joe) May 20, 2025
The 2025 NFL Schedule was revealed earlier this month.
While speaking with the media last week, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow expressed his concerns over two aspects of the Bengals’ schedule. One involves a rivalry game in primetime.
“Playing in Baltimore for the fourth straight year in primetime isn’t ideal,” Burrow said via Joe Danneman. “Maybe we can get one of those in Cincinnati. Please.”
The Bengals are scheduled to play the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving night at M&T Bank Stadium. This marks the fourth consecutive year the Bengals will play a night game in Baltimore. Cincinnati has lost the previous three meetings in Baltimore.
Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning and scheduling, agreed with Burrow’s comments, saying the schedule-makers might need to adjust their process next season.
“It’s fair. It’s not a one or two years sort of a league where you fix every problem every other year or every two years,” North said about Burrow’s complaints via Bengals.com. “Once you start getting to the same thing three years in a row, four, or five years in a row, whether it’s a short week Thursday on the road or opening on the road. When trends like that emerge, we probably have to adjust at some point.”
It’s a 17-game season for 32 teams. Ultimately, not every team will be happy with the schedule. The goal is to create the best schedule for the league.
“It just ended up as we got down the stretch here, that this was our best schedule, and fully acknowledging that,” North said. “I’m sure the Bengals fans are a little surprised and probably a little disappointed, which puts them in the same category as all 31 other teams. Everybody is just a little disappointed in the schedule makers.”
Bengals Schedule Highlights
Two major #Bengals schedule takeaways:
– Four (!) straight seasons of primetime in Baltimore and 1pm Sunday in Cincinnati? Wild.
– Another year of the road primetime storyline: 3 road, 1 home. You can almost feel the bristling from the marketing offices from here. pic.twitter.com/Bo1npEtiNI
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) May 15, 2025
Even with the scheduling mishap, the NFL values the Bengals as one of the top teams in the league.
Cincinnati has four primetime games, including the Thanksgiving night showdown between the Ravens. The Bengals also have three desired 4:25 p.m. slots against the Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, and Buffalo Bills.
What the Bengals don’t have is an international game, something Burrow wants in the near future.
“To not have a stage like that is a little disappointing,” Burrow said about not playing an international game. “I feel like I’ve consciously worked hard to try to grow the game internationally over the last 18 months or so. Hopefully, at some point in my career, we can go over there.”
The Bengals have not played an international game since 2019.
