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Saints set for Week 12 road test at Bengals’ Paul Brown Stadium, first matchup since 2018
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Sports/The Apex Times/Jul 6, 11:20 AM EDT

Saints set for Week 12 road test at Bengals’ Paul Brown Stadium, first matchup since 2018

New Orleans returns to Cincinnati for a Sunday CBS game on Nov. 29, 2026, marking the first Saints visit to Paul Brown Stadium since November 2018. The matchup tees up a contrast between the Saints’ AFC North opponent and Cincinnati’s recent quarterback-and-transition storyline.

By The Apex Times Newsroom3 min readAI-assisted Apex article

The New Orleans Saints will travel to the Cincinnati Bengals for a Week 12 matchup on Nov. 29, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. on CBS, according to an opponent preview released by the Saints. It will be the first time New Orleans and Cincinnati play in Paul Brown Stadium since Nov. 11, 2018.

In the last road meeting between the teams in Cincinnati, the Saints won 51-14. That lopsided result has become part of the matchup’s backdrop for a Saints group that is looking at a later-season road swing that arrives after an extended gap since the clubs met there.

Beyond venue and timing, the Saints’ preview frames the Bengals in terms of coaching stability and quarterback leadership. Cincinnati’s coach is listed as Zac Taylor and the team’s quarterback is Joe Burrow. The preview also includes Cincinnati’s 2025 regular-season finish, stating the Bengals went 6-11 and placed third in the AFC North.

The opponent profile points to how Cincinnati’s season was shaped by Burrow’s availability in 2025. It says the Bengals opened 2-0, but Burrow suffered a turf toe injury that required surgery in Week 2 and kept him out until Week 13. During that absence, the preview reports the Bengals went 1-8 and ended up at 3-8 upon his return.

When Burrow returned, the preview says he led the Bengals to victory in his first game back. Still, the Bengals’ season did not reach the postseason, as the profile reports that a pair of subsequent losses left Cincinnati eliminated from postseason contention in Week 15. The Bengals then finished with a 2-1 run in their final three games to land at 6-11, missing the playoffs for a third straight season.

The Saints’ opponent preview also highlights personnel decisions that reflect Cincinnati’s offseason priorities heading into 2026. It states the Bengals passed on using the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and instead traded it to the New York Giants to acquire defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. The preview describes Lawrence as a three-time Pro Bowler and notes that his 2025 statistical output included a career-low 31 tackles and 0.5 sacks while starting all 17 games for New York.

For New Orleans, the matchup carries an immediate planning value because it arrives in late November and comes after an AFC road stop that is scheduled under CBS national coverage, increasing the emphasis on consistency and preparation. For Cincinnati, the game is a chance to reassert its identity in the AFC North race and to test how quickly the team can translate its offseason direction into early-season execution.

Both teams will also be aware of what the preview characterizes as the series shape. It says Cincinnati leads the Saints 8-7 in the overall Bengals-Saints series heading into the 2026 season, and the same page references the most recent regular-season matchup as Oct. 16, 2022, when the Bengals beat the Saints 30-26. With that history, Week 12 sets up as a return to a familiar stage for Cincinnati, and a measured challenge for New Orleans after a long stretch without a Cincinnati road trip.

Why It Matters

  • Late-season matchups like this one tend to shape how each team manages consistency under national exposure, especially when they fall after long gaps in a divisional opponent’s scheduling rhythm.
  • The preview’s emphasis on Burrow’s 2025 absence highlights how quarterback availability can swing a season, making the Week 12 game a practical benchmark for Cincinnati’s stability.
  • For the Saints, returning to Cincinnati after years away is as much about game plan continuity as it is about opponent history, given the lopsided scoreline in the last road meeting.
  • Cincinnati’s offseason trade for Dexter Lawrence indicates a defensive priority, which can matter in a Week 12 environment where late November matchups often reward line-of-scrimmage control.

Sources

Key Facts

  • The New Orleans Saints visit the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12 on Nov. 29, 2026 at 12:00 p.m. on CBS.
  • It will be the first Saints game in Paul Brown Stadium since Nov. 11, 2018.
  • In that last road meeting in Cincinnati, New Orleans won 51-14.
  • Cincinnati’s coach is listed as Zac Taylor and its quarterback is listed as Joe Burrow.
  • The Bengals’ 2025 record is listed as 6-11, finishing third in the AFC North.
  • The preview attributes a major part of Cincinnati’s 2025 season to Burrow missing Weeks 2 through 12 with a turf toe injury that required surgery.
  • The Bengals are described as trading the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to the New York Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.