Bengals’ only primetime game in 2018 is Thursday Night Football in Week 2

Rodney Dangerfield would be proud.

When it comes to getting no respect, the Cincinnati Bengals are right up there with Rodney. According to at least one Las Vegas bookie, only one team has worse odds than the Bengals to win the Super Bowl this year, and that is the New York Jets.

OddsShark gives the Bengals a 90 to 1 longshot to win the 2019 Super Bowl, while the Jets are at 100 to 1. The bottom five shows the Browns at 66 to 1, the Dolphins at 70 to 1 and the Bears at 80 to 1, followed by Cincinnati and the Jets.

The recently-released 2018 schedule reflected that lack of respect, but it may end up working in the Bengals’ favor. Cincinnati shows up in primetime only one time in 2018, and that is for a Thursday Night Football meeting in Week 2 at home against the Baltimore Ravens. That’s it.

Of the remaining 15 games, 14 have a 1 p.m. start time, with the only exception being the December 9 game at the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 13, which is set for 4:05 p.m. EST. Cincinnati’s bye week comes exactly halfway through its schedule in Week 9, three weeks after hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers in Paul Brown Stadium.

Rather than a slap in the face, though, the scheduling gods may have actually done the Bengals a favor. Cincinnati has appeared in 12 Sunday night football games since Marvin Lewis took over in 2003, and has only one win to show for it.

The Bengals actually fared a little better in Monday night games, but not by much. Between 1990 and 2009, Cincinnati appeared on Monday Night Football nine times, and posted a record of 3-6. From 2010 to the present, the Bengals made eight appearances but only managed to win two games. Under Lewis, Cincinnati’s record in Monday night games is 4-8.

Things have been even worse since Dalton arrived. Cincinnati has a record of 2-5 in Monday night games since 2011, and is 0-6 in Sunday night games during that time. Primetime has not been good to the Bengals.

So, yes, not giving Cincinnati a primetime game this year, other than a Thursday night game which every team in the league gets, is a definite slap in the face. But, hopefully, the Bengals will have the last laugh.

Bengals’ 2018 Schedule

Sept. 9 at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Sept. 13 vs. Baltimore Ravens, 8:20 p.m. (NFLN)

Sept. 23 at Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Sept. 30 at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Oct. 7 vs. Miami Dolphins, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Oct. 14 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Oct. 21 at Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Oct. 28 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1 p.m. (FOX)

Nov. 4 -- BYE

Nov. 11 vs. New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m. (FOX)

Nov. 18 at Baltimore Ravens, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Nov. 25 vs. Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Dec. 2 vs. Denver Broncos, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Dec. 9 at Los Angeles Chargers, 4:05 p.m. (CBS)

Dec. 16 vs. Oakland Raiders, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Dec. 23 at Cleveland Browns, 1 p.m. (CBS)

Dec. 30 at Pittsburgh Steelers, 1 p.m. (CBS)