The Cincinnati Bengals have the earliest bye of the Zac Taylor era in 2026.
In the aftermath of the NFL’s schedule release, that’s one of the negative points about the upcoming slate for the Bengals.
A Week 6 bye, after all, means the Bengals won’t get a break after the trip to Madrid, Spain in Week 9.
But Bengals players? Not all of them see that as a negative: They see it as a chance to get on a roll.
“I’ve got no complaint about that. As a player, we’ll get on a roll and get on a roll as a team. Normally, right around that week seven or week eight, it’s always great because the team is settled in the seven-to-eight range,” Brown told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.
It’s an interesting perspective. The NFL used to give teams playing in international games the option to place the bye after the overseas trip. Not anymore.
The Bengals don’t have a choice but for Brown to be right. After the Week 8 trip to Madrid, they immediately return to the States and play in back-to-back primetime games on a Sunday night and Monday night. It needs to be a productive stretch for the club before they finish the season with seven more games through Week 18.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals players aren’t worried about schedule’s biggest pitfall
Reporting by Chris Roling, Bengals Wire / Bengals Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
