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          Bengals schedule 2023: Takeaways, predictions

          Joe Burrow and the Bengals fell a game short of the Super Bowl last season. Kareem Elgazzar/USA TODAY Sports
          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterMay 12, 2023, 12:45 AM
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals' 2023 schedule was released on Thursday along with the rest of the NFL calendar.

          Cincinnati knows the path that will be required if the Bengals want to win another AFC North title. More importantly, Cincinnati will be out to secure home-field advantage as it seeks to reach the AFC Championship Game for the third straight season.

          The Bengals open and close the season against the Cleveland Browns and have some big matchups in between. There's a rematch of Super Bowl LVI in Week 3 (Los Angeles Rams, at home), former Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud potentially playing in the Buckeye State for the first time as a pro (Week 10, Houston Texans, at home), and a matchup of two of the game's best wide receivers -- and former LSU teammates -- when Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings come to Cincinnati to face Ja'Marr Chase and the Bengals.

          Here's what's in store for the Bengals in 2023:

          Schedule

          Sept. 10: at Cleveland

          Sept. 17: vs. Baltimore

          Sept. 25: vs. Los Angeles Rams (MNF)

          Oct. 1: at Tennessee

          Oct. 8: at Arizona

          Oct. 15: vs. Seattle

          Oct. 22: BYE

          Oct. 29: at San Francisco

          Nov. 5: vs. Buffalo (SNF)

          Nov. 12: vs. Houston

          Nov. 16: at Baltimore (TNF)

          Nov. 26: vs. Pittsburgh

          Dec. 4: at Jacksonville (MNF)

          Dec. 10: vs. Indianapolis

          Week 15: Minnesota (date TBD)

          Dec. 23: at Pittsburgh

          Dec. 31: at Kansas City

          Week 18: vs. Cleveland (date TBD)

          Strength of schedule: .511 (17th toughest)

          Over/under: 11.5

          Biggest takeaway

          Cincinnati remains one of the top marquee teams in the league. After having five prime-time games in 2022, the Bengals have four of those contests in 2023. Two of them are on Monday Night Football, while they have one game on Sunday night and another on Thursday night.

          Revenge game

          The game against Kansas City (New Year's Eve in Week 17) will be the one circled on the team's calendar. The Bengals have faced the defending Super Bowl champs in each of the past two conference championship games. Cincinnati enjoyed a three-game winning streak in all competitions before Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City snapped the skid with a win in the AFC title game last season, paving the way for the franchise to win its second Super Bowl in the past four years.

          Bold prediction

          The Bengals go undefeated in prime-time games in 2023. That's a tall order considering the Bengals have a road game at Baltimore and a home tilt against Buffalo on the calendar. But Cincinnati has had strong performances on the national stage since 2020 and has been a team that embraces the spotlight.