Each NFL team’s most important game in 2019

Cincinnati Bengals: Week 1 at Seattle Seahawks

For the first time since 2002, Marvin Lewis will not be the head coach of the team that resides in the Queen City. This past season, the Cincinnati Bengals posted their third consecutive losing season and in 2018, finished in the AFC North basement for the first time since ‘10.

This was a club that began 4-1 a year ago only to drop nine of its final 11 contests. Therefore, it’s somewhat important that new sideline leader Zac Taylor and the Bengals get off to a good start in an attempt to erase that bad feeling of a year ago.

Hence, the franchise will kick off this newest era with an appearance in the Pacific Northwest for the first time since 2011. And while this club and the Seattle Seahawks don’t square off too often, there is still an air of familiarity here thanks to Cincinnati’s newest sidelined leader. As previously mentioned, Taylor comes over from the Rams, who he spent the previous two seasons as an assistant. That means he got a chance to see Pete Carroll’s club four times over that span.

The Bengals play four of their first six games on the road and Taylor will see another familiar foe in Week 2 when the team hosts the San Francisco 49ers. Lewis took this franchise to the playoffs seven times during his 16-year tenure but failed to come up with a postseason victory. And this is a team with its share of talent. A good start against a playoff team from 2018 could set a positive tone early on.

Next: Cleveland Browns