Ten of Cincinnati's 16 games in 2010 will be against opponents that finished 2009 with a winning record. This includes every team that made the AFC playoffs last year, both teams that played in the Super Bowl, the team that the Bengals couldn't beat in back-to-back weeks to close the season, the league's best offense in New Orleans and three of the five best defenses from last year. This doesn't include the Buffalo Bills; a team that the Bengals haven't beaten in the regular season in nearly 22 years -- Buffalo has beaten the Bengals in nine straight games, including four times during the Marvin Lewis era.
Now that's perspective.
The best part? We actually think that this Bengals squad can beat every single one of them. Homerism? Sure. Why not? We're all homers. You are here, right? Realistically, the Bengals are good enough to compete against every team. Beat them? Alright, probably not. But I don't think that this year's schedule is too tough for the Bengals.
Soon. We'll be able to put dates and times on those games. On Tuesday at 7PM, the NFL will announce the 2010 Regular Season schedule. Last week, Geoff Hobson mused that the Bengals could kickoff Monday Night Football against the Jets to open their newest stadium.
| 2009 Record | Offense | Defense | |
| Indianapolis Colts | 14-2 | 9th | 18th |
| New Orleans Saints | 13-3 | 1st | 25th |
| San Diego Chargers | 13-3 | 10th | 16th |
| New England Patriots | 10-6 | 3rd | 11th |
| NY Jets | 9-7 | 20th | 1st |
| Atlanta Falcons | 9-7 | 16th | 21st |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9-7 | 7th | 5th |
| Baltimore Ravens | 9-7 | 13th | 3rd |
| Carolina Panthers | 8-8 | 19th | 8th |
| Miami Dolphins | 7-9 | 17th | 22nd |
| Buffalo Bills | 6-10 | 30th | 19th |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3-13 | 28th | 27th |
| Cleveland Browns | 5-11 | 32nd | 31st |