Bengals will open season against AFC North rival

Defending AFC champions will play five primetime games

Credit: Emilee Chinn

Credit: Emilee Chinn

The Cincinnati Bengals will open a season against the Pittsburgh Steelers for the first time in 2022.

The Bengals will play the Steelers at 1 p.m. Sept. 11 at Paul Brown Stadium, the NFL announced Thursday at 6 p.m.

The Bengals swept the season series in 2021 for the first time since 2009. They won 24-10 at Pittsburgh in the third game of the season. That was their first victory in Pittsburgh since 2015.

The Bengals then beat the Steelers 41-10 — their most lopsided victory in the series since winning by the same score in 1989 — in Cincinnati on Nov. 28.

The Bengals won the AFC North championship last season with a 10-7 mark and advanced to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1988 season. The Steelers finished second with a 9-7-1 mark and lost 42-21 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the wild-card round.

The rest of the schedule was released at 8 p.m. The Bengals will play five primetime games, the maximum allowed on the initial schedule.

Here’s the full schedule (home games in CAPS)

(All times are Eastern. Home games are in CAPS. An asterisk [*] denotes a game subject to possible flexible scheduling.)

PRESEASON (day, date, opponent, time, TV network)

(Day and date TBD), ARIZONA, (time TBD), Bengals Preseason TV Network

(Day and date TBD), at N.Y. Giants, (time TBD), Bengals Preseason TV Network

(Day and date TBD), L.A. RAMS, (time TBD), Bengals Preseason TV Network

REGULAR SEASON (day, date, opponent, time, TV network)

Sun., Sept. 11, PITTSBURGH, 1 p.m., CBS

Sun., Sept. 18, at Dallas, 4:25 p.m., CBS

Sun., Sept. 25, at N.Y. Jets, 1 p.m., CBS

Thurs., Sept. 29, MIAMI, 8:15 p.m., Prime Video

Sun., Oct. 9, at Baltimore, *8:20 p.m., NBC

Sun., Oct. 16, at New Orleans, *1 p.m., CBS

Sun., Oct. 23, ATLANTA, *1 p.m., FOX

Mon., Oct. 31, at Cleveland, 8:15 p.m., ESPN

Sun., Nov. 6, CAROLINA, *1 p.m., FOX

Sun., Nov. 13, Bye

Sun., Nov. 20, at Pittsburgh, *8:20 p.m., NBC

Sun., Nov. 27, at Tennessee, *1 p.m., CBS

Sun., Dec. 4, KANSAS CITY, *4:25 p.m., CBS

Sun., Dec. 11, CLEVELAND, *1 p.m., CBS

Sun., Dec. 18, at Tampa Bay, *4:25 p.m., CBS

Sat., Dec. 24, at New England, 1 p.m., CBS

Mon., Jan. 2, BUFFALO, 8:30 p.m., ESPN/ABC

(day TBD), Jan. 7 or 8, BALTIMORE, (time TBD), (TV network TBD)

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