The NFL will release the 2013 preseason schedule at some point Thursday afternoon with the regular season schedule coming "later this month", according to ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
NFL will release its preseason schedule this afternoon. Regular-season schedule comes later this month.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) April 4, 2013
We can assume at this point that the Bengals will face the Indianapolis Colts during the final week, which has been on the preseason schedule since Marvin Lewis joined the team in 2003.
For the curious-minded, the Bengals preseason record is 20-21 during the Marvin Lewis era. The last time Cincinnati went undefeated was 2006 and the combined preseason record during seasons that the Bengals qualified for the postseason is 7-9 (during the Lewis era). The last time Cincinnati posted a winning record during the same year that they made the playoffs was 1988, when Cincinnati went 4-1 including a 14-7 win over the Los Angeles Rams during the Hall of Fame Game in Canton.
What does any of this mean?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing.
When the league releases the regular season schedule "later this month", the Bengals known opponents will be their intra-division rivals in the AFC North, as well as the AFC East, NFC North, rounding out the 16-game set with the Indianapolis Colts and San Diego Chargers.