Executive confirms the NFL listened to the Bengals' schedule request and balanced the scales with rivalry matchup
Mar 26, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder speaks to media during the annual league meetings at the JW Marriott. Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder confirmed the league prioritized featuring the Cincinnati Bengals hosting a primetime game against the Baltimore Ravens on the 2026 regular season schedule. NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder confirmed the league prioritized featuring the Cincinnati Bengals hosting a primetime game against the Baltimore Ravens on the 2026 regular season schedule .
Cincinnati has played night games in Baltimore in each of the last four seasons, winning just the most recent primetime matchup last year on Thanksgiving. This year, the scales will be balanced when the Bengals host Baltimore for the season’s final “ Thursday Night Football ” game of the year on New Year’s Eve. "We went into this year saying it's one of the things we do need to fix," Schroeder said to The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr .
"It's one of the things we should put our thumb on the scale and probably have a Thursday night that flips it a little bit so it's a little bit more equitable between the Bengals and Ravens. . .
So we loved the idea when we saw it ending up on New Year's Eve. We thought it'd be a fun way - in the Jungle in Week 17 - as a way to end ‘Thursday Night Football’ for the year. " Schroeder and the people in charge of making the 272-game slate knew it had to be done, because it was supposed to happen last year.
Retribution for last year’s close call Last year’s schedule had Cincinnati suiting up for Thanksgiving football for the first time in 15 years. It extended the primetime in Baltimore streak to an unexpected four years. According to Schroeder, it was originally planned to be played in Paycor Stadium.