After the Super Bowl appearance, the Cincinnati Bengals and their fans will need to get used to not playing in that standard 1 p.m. ET timeslot in 2022.
That’s straight from the source, too, as Mike North, the NFL’s vice president of broadcast planning, told Dan Hoard of the “Bengals Booth Podcast” the Bengals are “going to have to get comfortable not playing Sunday at one o’clock.”
North said the following:
“I would expect frankly the maximum number of primetime games for the Bengals this year. We max out at five and some combination of Sunday nights, Monday nights and Thursday nights—I would expect the Super Bowl team from the AFC to be a maximum primetime team this year.”
North also noted that fans should expect plenty of 4:25 p.m. ET games too, as that’s their highest-rated timeslot where fans watch the most football.
Given the Super Bowl run, the team’s budding superstars and the schedule itself, it’s no wonder the Bengals are about to get this treatment.
Besides the fact Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase will get to return to NOLA this year in a matchup that absolutely needs to be in primetime, the Bengals will have a rematch with the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans, they’ll play the Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and even see the Buffalo Bills, never mind the whole AFC North. And yes, the team’s strength of schedule will take a massive jump in 2022.
The NFL will finally unveil the schedule next Thursday, May 12, at 8 p.m. ET.
