Bengals face historic scheduling disadvantage against Steelers
· Yahoo Sports
The Cincinnati Bengals have a chance to take sole possession of first place in the AFC North, but history is not on their side.
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The Bengals return to Paycor Stadium following a 34-17 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid, but they'll face a Pittsburgh Steelers team that enjoyed a week to prepare.
The Bengals have a favorable remaining schedule, which ranks as the 23rd-toughest in the NFL by opponent's winning percentage, and this primetime matchup against Pittsburgh is the Bengals' fourth and final game against an opponent that had a winning record last season.
However, the Bengals are one of five NFL teams scheduled to play an international game this season, then play a team coming off a bye one week later. The Steelers had a Week 9 bye and have played just one road game since its last loss (Oct. 1 at Cleveland).
This scheduling situation has happened five times before. The team coming off an international game is 0-5.
YearTeam coming off international gameTeam coming off a bye weekResult2011Bills JetsJets 27, Bills 112016TexansChargersChargers 21, Texans 132021DolphinsFalconsFalcons 30, Dolphins 282025BrownsSteelersSteelers 23, Browns 92026EaglesPanthersPanthers 25, Eagles 14The Steelers benefited from this spot in 2025. Pittsburgh was coming off its bye week last season and cruised to a 23-9 win over the Browns, which had lost to the Vikings in London the week prior.
In Week 5 this season, the Eagles lost a heartbreaker at the buzzer to the Jaguars in London. They returned home for Week 6 and lost to the Carolina Panthers, who were coming off a bye, albeit Philadelphia was without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts.
The Bengals are 0-2 all-time following an international game, though they had a bye week after visiting London in 2016 and 2019.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals face historic scheduling disadvantage against Steelers