The Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals have had their Week 11 game flexed into the primetime slot, meaning the game will now be broadcast on NBC Sunday Night Football.
The NFL announced the move Monday, three days before the Bengals host the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football, which will be the first primetime game this season for both teams. It will be a familiar setting for the Bengals going forward as they host the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football in Week 10.
That means the Bengals are set to play in three straight primetime games, a feat rarely achieved and typically reserved for the NFL's truly elite teams. That can now be said of the Bengals who are 7-0 and tied for the top spot in the AFC. It's safe to say this is one of the better, if not the best Bengals team we've seen since they last made a Super Bowl appearance back in the 1988 season.
Anytime a team is playing that many primetime games in a short span, someone like Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady or Peyton Manning are typically the quarterbacks leading the teams. That's the level of play Dalton has been experiencing during the first seven games, even after a sluggish start in Sunday's win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's safe to say, Dalton has been clutch this season.
While playing in primetime isn't something the Bengals have always excelled at, it's something they need to get used to if they want to truly distinguish themselves as a Super Bowl contender.
Week 14's Bengals matchup against the San Francisco 49ers is currently set for Sunday Night Football as well, but at this rate, it may get flexed to an earlier Sunday slot with the 49ers floundering at 2-6. The Bengals then head to Denver for a monster AFC clash in Week 16 for Monday Night Football in what's shaping up to be one of the biggest games of the 2015 regular season.
The Bengals have nine games remaining this season, and now only four are scheduled for 1:00 p.m. with all the rest coming at night in primetime. The next Bengals game scheduled for 1:00 p.m. is on Sunday, November 29 against the St. Louis Rams.