NFL analyst reveals key ingredient for Bengals becoming a winning team again in 2026 and they don't have to lift a finger

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor speaks with media during the 2026 NFL Draft, Saturday, April 25, 2026, at Paycor Stadium in downtown Cincinnati. © Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cincinnati Bengals will have a much easier schedule in the 2026 season than they did last year when looking at projected win totals of their upcoming opponents.

High expectations await the Cincinnati Bengals this coming season following a productive first half of the 2026 offseason.

What awaits them figures to be a very manageable 17-game slate in the fall.

NFL analyst Warren Sharp put together his annual post-NFL Draft Strength of Schedule (S.o.S.) rankings based on Vegas forecasted win totals.

Cincinnati came away with the third-easiest schedule, and the third-largest year-over-year improvement in gaining an easier S.o.S.

Bengals well-positioned for bounce back season

Not only have the Bengals gotten considerably better so far this offseason, their incoming competition isn’t as fierce as it was a year ago.

Traditional S.o.S. metrics go by how opposing teams fared in the previous season. That doesn’t account for any work those teams did in the offseason to impact their rosters. It’s why Sharp uses projected win totals instead of wins from teams that don’t look like the current versions.

Cincinnati is a perfect example of this. The Bengals went 6-11 last season thanks to Joe Burrow missing nine games, and a bottom-of-the-league defense. Since then, Burrow has regained his health, and the defense got a complete facelift.

Clubs facing Cincy this season do not care about the 11 losses from last year when this year’s roster looks a lot better. Vegas has the Bengals’ win total at 9.5, so they’re expected to win three or four more games than last year.