THE APEX TIMES
Bengals’ 2026 stretch features Ravens twice, starting after the bye and closing on New Year’s Eve
Cincinnati’s Week 7 game marks the first meeting with Baltimore after the Bengals’ bye week, and the final contest against the Ravens lands on New Year’s Eve in Week 17. The Bengals’ opponent preview also frames Baltimore’s 2025 identity, from Lamar Jackson’s health and efficiency to Derrick Henry’s workload and the Ravens’ challenges in pass coverage.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ 2026 schedule picture includes a familiar AFC North opponent twice, with the Baltimore Ravens arriving first in Week 7 following Cincinnati’s bye week and returning on New Year’s Eve for the final matchup in Week 17. In an opponent preview published by the Bengals, the team uses those bookends to set up what to watch when Baltimore’s style hits Cincinnati in the middle and at the end of the regular season.
Baltimore’s 2025 season ended with an 8-9 record and a missed postseason, finishing second in the AFC North with a run that looked like it might flip the outcome. According to the Bengals’ preview, the Ravens started 1-5 before winning five straight to reach 6-5, then slipped late as they entered the final week at 8-8. Their season, the preview notes, ultimately hinged on a Sunday Night Football loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
At the quarterback position, the Ravens’ attack in 2025 was shaped by Lamar Jackson’s availability. The Bengals’ preview says Jackson missed four games with injury and, in the time he played, completed 63.6% of his passes for 2,549 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions. It also highlights his dual-threat production on the ground, crediting him with 349 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns, while noting that his rushing totals were lower than in prior seasons, including 67 carries.
The preview also spotlights Baltimore’s ground-and-receive balance. Derrick Henry averaged 5.2 yards per carry in his age-31 season and ranked among the league leaders in efficiency and volume, tying for the second-highest yards per carry among qualified running backs and also ranking top five in carries (301), yards (1,595), and touchdowns (16), per the Bengals’ recap. On the receiving side, Zay Flowers recorded 1,211 yards and was ranked seventh on the team, while tight end Mark Andrews produced 422 yards, the second-highest total for the Ravens.
Defensively, the Bengals’ opponent review points to consistency and coverage issues that mattered late in 2025. It states the Ravens allowed 23.4 points per game, the 15th most in the league, and gave up 354.5 yards per game, the ninth-highest figure. Baltimore, the preview adds, struggled in pass coverage, allowing 247.9 passing yards per game, the second-most in the NFL, and finished with 30 sacks, the third-fewest.
Beyond what happened on the field in 2025, the preview frames Baltimore as entering a new phase in 2026 after moving on from long-time head coach John Harbaugh. For Cincinnati, that coaching change, combined with the Ravens’ mix of Jackson’s playmaking and Henry’s run game, sets up a matchup dynamic that could hinge on how effectively the Bengals manage Baltimore’s intermediate passing threats and late-game pass efficiency.
Looking ahead to the two meeting points in 2026, the Week 7 game after the bye week becomes a test of early-season adjustments and readiness, while the Week 17 New Year’s Eve contest likely carries heightened meaning for playoff positioning within the AFC. Cincinnati’s staff will likely spend training camp and the early portion of the schedule preparing for Baltimore’s personnel strengths and the same defensive vulnerabilities the Bengals’ preview emphasizes, particularly against the pass.
Why It Matters
- Playing Baltimore twice in Weeks 7 and 17 creates two high-leverage checkpoints, one post-bye and one late in the playoff chase.
- The Ravens’ 2025 profile, as described by Cincinnati, emphasizes quarterback efficiency paired with a high-volume run game, which can stress a defense both early and late.
- Cincinnati’s preparation may center on defending the pass, because Baltimore’s 2025 struggles included allowing the second-most passing yards per game.
- The coaching transition in Baltimore adds uncertainty to scheme and tendencies, potentially making the first meeting a sharper baseline than the second.
- With both games within the same season’s final stretch, how Cincinnati handles adjustments after bye-week resets could matter for divisional standings.
Key Facts
- The Bengals will play the Ravens in Week 7 after the Bengals’ bye week and again in Week 17 on New Year’s Eve.
- Baltimore finished 2025 at 8-9 and missed the playoffs; the preview describes a 1-5 start, a five-game winning streak, and a late-season collapse.
- The preview says Lamar Jackson missed four games in 2025 due to injury and, when active, threw for 2,549 yards with 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
- Derrick Henry averaged 5.2 yards per carry in 2025 and led Baltimore’s ground production with 301 carries for 1,595 yards and 16 touchdowns.
- Zay Flowers totaled 1,211 receiving yards in 2025, and Mark Andrews posted 422 receiving yards, according to the Bengals’ preview.
- Defensively, the Ravens allowed 23.4 points per game (15th) and 354.5 yards per game (ninth), with the preview citing weak pass coverage and 30 sacks (third-fewest in the NFL).
- The Bengals’ opponent preview notes Baltimore moved on from head coach John Harbaugh after the 2025 season.