Way too early 2019 Bengals win-loss predictions

The opponents for the Bengals’ 2019 season have been known for some time now. With the release of the NFL schedules, now we know when each matchup will take place.

The NFL Draft hasn’t even happened yet, but we’re already thinking about how this season will go down. Here are our way-too early predictions for how the Bengals will tackle there 2019 campaign.

• Week 1: at Seattle Seahawks — To kick things off, the Bengals travel to the pacific northwest to face the highest paid quarterback in the NFL in Russell Wilson. The Seahawks are pretty dominant in home openers, and are generally hard to beat in Century Link Field, and are still a good team with Wilson under center. Unlucky start. 0-1.
• Week 2: vs. San Francisco 49ers — The home opener is against the second worst team from 2018, which is good, but that distinction became a reality because quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo missed most of the year. The 49ers figure to rebound under head coach Kyle Shanahan entering his third season, but it may take a few weeks to get rolling. 1-1.
• Week 3: at Buffalo Bills — Speaking of things that may take some time, the Bills can be at the very least exciting with quarterback Josh Allen at the helm, and that defense is no laughing matter. But let’s go ahead and side with the Bengals’ advantage at the most important position until Allen proves otherwise. 2-1.
• Week 4: at Pittsburgh Steelers — Is Zac Taylor ready to erase 16 years of narratives in one week? Primetime. At Pittsburgh. No Antonio Brown or Le’Veon Bell on one side. No Vontaze Burfict or Marvin Lewis on the other side. This game will look much different. Unfortunately, the result should be expected to be the same until the little brother of the rivalry can prove otherwise. 2-2.
• Week 5: vs. Arizona Cardinals — The last time the Cardinals came to the Queen City they witnessed Jerome Simpson do a front flip into the south end zone. They’re also likely to field a worse roster and a young quarterback regardless of what they do in the coming week. 3-2.
• Week 6: at Baltimore Ravens — The reigning division champs must be respected, though they’ll appear much different just like the rest of the division. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has to be expected to improve, and their formula worked pretty damn well last time. 3-3.
• Week 7: vs. Jacksonville Jaguars — Oh boy you can bet A.J. Green has this one circled. Nick Foles is better than Blake Bortles, as he at least can throw a proper spiral. Will that be the difference... yeah, that defense is still pretty tough. 3-4.
• Week 8: at Los Angeles Rams (London) — The Zac Taylor revenge game? No, the Andrew Whitworth revenge game. The international aspect may make the contest closer than it should be, but the talent (and coaching) disparity has to be recognized here. Time for a much needed bye. 3-5.
• Week 9: BYE — No Ls this week baby.
• Week 10: vs. Baltimore Ravens — Let’s end this losing streak by splitting a division rival because AFC North reasons. 4-5.
• Week 11: at Oakland Raiders — Facing Vontaze Burfict in the blackhole would’ve sounded much scarier a few years ago. Jon Gruden’s boys need to prove they can be competitive before they can be taken seriously, especially with Derek Carr leading them. 5-5.
• Week 12: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers — If only the non-primetime designation meant a more comfortable setting. The Steelers are still tough for this roster to consistently match with but... oh what the Hell, late season momentum winning streak! 6-5.
• Week 13: vs. New York Jets — Those uniforms? Let’s keep this winning streak going! The Jets will be improved but probably not enough to steal one on the road. The Bengals are feeling themselves at the right time. 7-5.
• Week 14: at Cleveland Browns — Unfortunately, the current AFC North favorites are the favorites for a reason. By this time, we should know if the Browns are for real, and I’m inclined to believe they will be health permitting. The Dawg Pound should be at a completely different level late in the year when the team is actually competitive. 7-6.
• Week 15: vs. New England Patriots — Sigh. The only way a win comes out of this is if another monsoon occurs when Tom Brady has the ball in the final minutes. Although a mid-December setting would make that a blizzard; in which Bill Belichick would just ground-and-pound through any defense. 7-7.
• Week 16: at Miami Dolphins — I mean come on, which team isn’t picking themselves over the Dolphins right now? 8-7.
• Week 17: vs. Cleveland Browns — This will have playoff implications, and I can’t promise I’ll know which team I’m referring too. It could be both! Regardless, one team is better than the other as of this moment, even though we’ll have no idea if that’ll hold true in the last week of the season. Having said that, Zac Taylor getting swept by the Browns to begin his tenure would be bad for business. Here’s some optimism for the sake of optimism. 9-7.

What is your early win-loss prediction for the Bengals’ 2019 season?