Bengals Tweaking Schedule To Spend More Time in LA as They Try To Extend Win Streak in Mountain/Pacific zones

Jay Morrison | Nov 13, 2024

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) catches a pass as San Francisco 49ers cornerback Charvarius Ward (7) defends in the first quarter of the NFL game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Francisco 49ers at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Oct 29, 2023. / Albert Cesare/The Enquier / USA TODAY NETWORK

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals are utilizing alternate travel plans this weekend when they head to Los Angeles.

Rather than flying the day before the game, the Bengals will fly to Los Angeles on Friday ahead of their game against the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.

It’s the seventh time head coach Zac Taylor has taken a team to the Mountain or Pacific time zone, but it will be the first in which the Bengals depart two days early.

Taylor said he made the decision a long time ago and based it solely on the time of the season.

“We just wanted the chemistry as we get out there, guys eating together, guys spending time together and stressed to the veterans to have veterans and younger guys getting bond together,” he said. “I think it's a good opportunity for those guys.”

After losing at Settle and Oakland in his first season on the job in 2019, Taylor is 4-0 in games in the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

The Bengals won at Las Vegas and Denver in 2021, and they triumphed in Arizona and San Francisco last season.

The Las Vegas trip was the exact same point in the season, Week 11. But Las Vegas is not a city where any team wants to spend an extra day.

The Arizona game last year was Week 5, San Francisco was Week 8 and immediately after the bye, and the Denver game in 2021 was Week 15.

“Guys are excited for the trip. We've got to be locked in. This is a big one for us. We've had success doing that, but this feels like a different game entirely and so we've got to be locked in with this team traveling and make sure we put our best foot forward.”

While it's the first time the Bengals have headed west a day early, they did it two years ago at New England.

That one, however, was not planned. It was a last-minute decision with a nor'easter bearing down on the region. The Bengals flew into Providence, R.I., on Thursday and played the game Saturday, Christmas eve.

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