The Cincinnati Bengals host the Arizona Cardinals at Paycor Stadium on Sunday, Dec. 28, in the penultimate game of the season in Week 17.
The Bengals (5-10) are coming off a 45-21 win over the Miami Dolphins and the Cardinals (3-12) are coming off a 26-19 loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
Cincinnati will finish third in the AFC North and Arizona will finish last in the NFC West this season.
Quarterback Joe Burrow will lead the Bengals’ offense and is 2-2 since returning from a turf toe injury in Cincinnati’s win over the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving.
The game can be seen on FOX-TV (Channel 19) and is on the Bengals radio network WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Here are the keys to a Bengals’ victory:
Keep the offense scoring with Burrow back
Burrow and the offense had their full complement of weapons with wide receiver Tee Higgins returning from concussion protocol in the Week 16 win over the Dolphins. The result was Burrow being named the FedEx Air & Ground Player of the Week alongside Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Burrow was 25-for-32 passing for 309 yards and four touchdowns. If the Bengals can keep close to that pace on offense, it’ll be hard for the Cardinals to keep up.
The Bengals also led time of possession in Week 16, which helps the defense.
Continue defensive improvement
The Bengals had a historically bad defense through the first half of the season. They lost back-to-back games this year when scoring 38 and 42 points, respectively, to the New York Jets and Chicago Bears and couldn’t get stops when needed to clinch games.
Fast forward the Week 17 and the Bengals still have the most missed tackles in the NFL (155), but have moved into second worst in the league for total yards and points allowed.
The Bengals need to get stops against the Cardinals’ offense and get Burrow and the offense more opportunities to score points.
Stay healthy to end the season
The Bengals have two games left in the 2026 season and suffering a major injury at this point could put the start of next season in question.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes injured his ACL and LCL in Week 15, but is expected to be ready for Week 1 of the 2026 NFL season.
The Bengals need to stay healthy and have a full offseason for their key players to have a regular start to next season.
