Isn’t it amazing what a franchise quarterback can do in the NFL? A few years ago, the Cincinnati Bengals were a lost team but now they are annual Super Bowl contenders because of Joe Burrow. Let’s break down the 2023 Cincinnati Bengals.

A Closer Look at the Cincinnati Bengals 2023 NFL Season

• NFL Week 1: at Cleveland Browns — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 2: vs. Baltimore Ravens — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 3: vs. Los Angeles Rams — 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• NFL Week 4: at Tennessee Titans — 1:00 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 5: at Arizona Cardinals — 4:05 p.m. ET (FOX)
• NFL Week 6: vs. Seattle Seahawks — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 7: BYE
• NFL Week 8: at San Francisco 49ers — 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 9: vs. Buffalo Bills — 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)
• NFL Week 10: vs. Houston Texans — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 11: at Baltimore Ravens — 8:15 p.m. ET (Prime Video)
• NFL Week 12: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 13: at Jacksonville Jaguars — 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• NFL Week 14: vs. Indianapolis Colts — 1:00 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 15: vs. Minnesota Vikings — TBD (TBD)
• NFL Week 16: at Pittsburgh Steelers — 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC)
• NFL Week 17: at Kansas City Chiefs — 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS)
• NFL Week 18: vs. Cleveland Browns — TBD (TBD)

Previous Seasons

The Bengals are one of a handful of teams to never win a Super Bowl, but if Joe Burrow and star wideout Ja’Marr Chase stay healthy, Cincinnati seems destined to win at least one title before the decade is out. The Bengals of course lost Super Bowl LVI to the Rams on LA’s own field. This past season, Cincinnati returned to the AFC title game and yet again in Kansas City, but this time lost 23-20.

A late penalty put the Chiefs in range for the winning field goal in the final seconds when it looked as if the game would go to OT. Burrow, who was sacked five times and wobbled by the end, finished with 270 yards passing to go with a touchdown and two interceptions for the Bengals. Burrow had been 3-0 in his NFL career against the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes.

The future of HJoe Burrows

Burrow could become the highest-paid player in the NFL soon as he’s up for an extension on his rookie deal. That contract runs through 2025, but the Bengals don’t want to anger their franchise player and drag things out. It seems like a foregone conclusion that he will sign a long-term extension with the Bengals before Cincinnati kicks off the regular season against the Browns on Sept. 10.

Typically, this would be the natural time for quarterbacks to sign massive extensions — following their third year, sometime prior to the start of the season. Following the recent contracts signed by the Ravens’ Lamar Jackson and the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts, the Bengals and Burrow now have some more comps they can look at to determine what’s fair market value for a top-tier QB.

Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft, threw a career-high 35 touchdowns last season and had just 12 interceptions. He earned his first Pro Bowl appearance as well. He has already played in seven playoff games over the last two seasons.

“Joe Burrow will be paid well, and he’s earned it,” director of player personnel Duke Tobin said recently. “He’s great to work with and we know we’ll get a deal worked out.”

A Look into the Roster

There was talk the Bengals might cut No. 1 running back Joe Mixon for cap reasons, but he’s still with the team. They still want him to take a pay cut as he’s set to earn $10 million this year. Mixon has had some off-field issues as well. The team appears to have his long-term replacement on the roster in fifth-round rookie Chase Brown from Illinois.

The 5-9, 215-pound Brown was timed in a 4.38 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. He’s a three-year starter, All Big Ten and a high school track star growing up in Ontario, Canada. Brown is coming off a 1,643-yard season and averaged five yards per his 328 carries. Since transferring from Western Michigan after his freshman season to Illinois, he’s carried more than 600 times for a 5.3-yard average and has two 1,000-yard seasons.

Cincinnati looked defense with its 2023 first-round pick, selecting Clemson pass-rusher Myles Murphy. on. Despite another division title and berth in the AFC Championship Game, Cincinnati struggled getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks last year with 30 sacks, the fourth-fewest total in the NFL, with starting ends Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard combining for just 14.5. Murphy was a first-team all-conference selection and had 18.5 total sacks in his three seasons at Clemson.

This is Cincinnati’s deepest roster in Coach Zac Taylor’s five seasons and the expectations are soaring with the talent.

“(The depth) is the best we’ve had and it is hard in pro football now to have as strong as a 53-man roster that we can potentially have,” Taylor said after the last practice of mandatory camp. “I just think it is the way the salary cap is built. You’ve got to acquire young players and hope they step up quickly.

How Tough is their 2023 NFL Schedule?

The Bengals’ strength of schedule ranks as the NFL’s 17th-toughest as its opponents combined for a .510 winning percentage last year. Cincinnati is set to log the fewest miles of any NFL team while hosting four of the seven teams that travel the most. It also plays six of the top eight jet-setters.

The Bengals are 2.5-point favorites Week 1 in Cleveland, splitting last season with the Browns. The teams also close the regular season against one another. It’s the first time they open and close in the Battle of Ohio. The last two times the Bengals opened in Cleveland, Carson Palmer, in 2005, and Andy Dalton, in 2011, quarterbacked wins that began playoff seasons.

Cincinnati players report to camp on July 25 with the first practice on the 26th.

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READ MORE: Cincinnati Bengals 2023 NFL Season Betting Guide