Cincinnati Bengals Predictions 2026 — Every Game Called

Next Game

Home to

Buccaneers

Week 1 · Sun 13 Sep

Kick-off in

—

counts down in your local time

Our call

55%

Lean · we favour Bengals

Full analysis

Match page →

2026 Engine Projection

Built from our own call on every game of the season — including the ones months out that no bookmaker has priced.

Projected wins

8.4

of 17 games

Power rating

1,474

17th of 32 · league average 1500

Schedule strength

1,477

30th toughest of 32 · mean opponent rating

2025 record

6–11

24.4 scored, 28.9 allowed per game

What the projection is. Adding up a win probability for every game gives an expected total, not a forecast of an exact record. A club projected at 8.4 wins lands anywhere from roughly 5 to 12 in a real season — seventeen games is a small sample and luck moves it several wins either way. Ratings currently come from 2025 results regressed toward the mean, with no adjustment for the draft, free agency, trades or injuries.

Engine Verdict

Every axis is a percentile against the other 31 clubs, computed at page load.

C

Overall

Bengals · 44th percentile

Rating

Average

Offence

Average

Defence

Weak

Record

Below par

Schedule ease

Elite

Biggest strength

Offence — rated average against the other 31.

Watch

Defence — their lowest-graded department.

Cincinnati Bengals rate 1,474 on the engine's scale, 17th of 32. The league average is 1500 and 25 points equal about one point of expected margin, so the gap to an average club is worth roughly 1.0 points on neutral ground.

In 2025 they scored 24.4 a game (12th in the league) and allowed 28.9 (30th), finishing 6-11.

Their 17 opponents average 1,477, the 30th toughest schedule in the league. Strength of schedule is a fact about the fixture list rather than a forecast, so unlike most preseason numbers it is knowable today.

Adding up our win probability for all 17 games gives an expected 8.4 wins. That is an average across many simulated seasons, not a forecast of an exact record — a club projected at 8.4 finishes anywhere from about 5 to 12 in a real one.

Axes come from the power rating, points scored and allowed per game, last season's record and the mean rating of everyone on the schedule. Play-by-play measures — pressure rate, EPA, red-zone efficiency, line play — are not shown because this site does not store them, and a grade with nothing behind it would devalue the four that are real.

AFC North Race

Where this club sits against the three teams it plays twice a year.

Club	Rating	Lg rank	2025	Proj
Ravens	1,539	#12	8–9	—
Steelers	1,510	#16	10–7	—
Bengals	1,474	#17	6–11	8.4
Browns	1,419	#28	5–12	—

2026 Schedule & Predictions

Every game on the schedule with our call — including the ones months out that no bookmaker has priced yet. Predictions refresh weekly as ratings move, so a Week 15 call made today will look different by December. Bye weeks are shown where they fall.

Wk	Opponent	Our pick	Prob	Proj	Result
1	vs Buccaneers	Win	55%	+1.8	—
2	@ Texans	Loss	29%	-7.1	—
3	@ Steelers	Loss	41%	-2.8	—
4	vs Jaguars	Loss	41%	-3.1	—
5	@ Dolphins	Loss	49%	-0.3	—
6	Bye week
7	@ Ravens	Loss	40%	-3.3	—
8	vs Titans	Win	69%	+6.3	—
9	@ Falcons	Win	50%	+0.1	—
10	vs Steelers	Loss	48%	-0.7	—
11	@ Commanders	Loss	48%	-0.8	—
12	vs Saints	Win	58%	+2.8	—
13	@ Browns	Win	52%	+0.8	—
14	vs Chiefs	Win	54%	+1.3	—
15	@ Panthers	Win	51%	+0.5	—
16	@ Colts	Loss	48%	-0.8	—
17	vs Ravens	Loss	46%	-1.2	—
18	vs Browns	Win	62%	+3.9	—

Where We Differ From the Market

The closing line is the sharpest public number in sport. Ours is unblended and stands on its own, so the honest thing is to show where the two disagree and what happened last time they did. Books price about a week ahead, so most of this schedule has no line yet and this section fills out as the season runs.

Games with a line

7

of 17 on the schedule

We disagree on

3

of the 7 priced so far · too few for a percentage

Our disagreements lose more than they win. Across 1,139 backtested games, when the engine picked a different side to the closing line it was right 41% of the time — worse than a coin toss. We publish the disagreements anyway, and we publish that record, because presenting them as edge would be selling you the opposite of what the data says. Where we agree with the line, expect the market's accuracy rather than ours.

About This Rating

Cincinnati Bengals currently rate 1,474, 17th of 32. The league average is 1500, and 25 rating points equal roughly one point of expected margin — so the gap between this club and an average one is worth about 1.0 points on neutral ground. This figure comes from 2025 results regressed toward the mean, with no offseason adjustment for the draft, free agency, trades or injuries.

See the full power rankings →