Best and worst of the Bengals' schedule

With the Bengals' 2015 schedule released, time to take a closer look at what we like, hate and recommend to you for what the order of games means for next year.

Bengals columnists Paul Dehner Jr. and Jim Owczarski offer up their opinions on the good, bad and ugly of the new schedule.

BEST SCHEDULE BREAK

PDJ: First month. An advantage for the Bengals entering the season will be their continuity. From players, quarterback and coaches, many faces remain the same from the group which made four straight playoff runs. They'll open with three of the first four games against teams that didn't make the playoffs last year, which forced a number of changes in order to get over the hump. The team that did make the playoffs, Baltimore, saw an exodus of starters while pressed against salary cap concerns.

JO: Catching the Seahawks early in Week 5. Since Pete Carroll took over in Seattle in 2010, the Seahawks have often gotten out to mediocre starts. They started 4-1 in their Super Bowl-winning campaign in 2013. But in the other four years, the Seahawks have gone 3-2 (2010), 2-3 (2011), 3-2 (2012) and 3-2 (2014). While the 'Hawks might be motivated following a crushing, last-second Super Bowl loss, it helps the Bengals that this traditionally slow-starting team is headed to Paul Brown Stadium in the first five weeks of the year.

WORST SCHEDULE BREAK

PDJ: Back-to-back primetime road trips. Placing trips to San Francisco and Denver back to back and both in primetime means plenty of jet lag for the Bengals. Luckily, they earn an extra day of rest with the Monday night trip, but a team that will already be feeling the bumps and bruises of 15 weeks of football now having two long flights into what is expected to be far from ideal weather likely didn't sit well inside Paul Brown Stadium offices.

JO: The backloaded divisional schedule. The Bengals will play five of their six AFC North games in the final 10 games of the season. And while three of them are at home, the late dates will allow the two traditional powers in Baltimore and Pittsburgh to gel. And as for Cleveland, you have to figure that at that point, they will have some sort of identity – with or without Johnny Football.

WHAT STICKS OUT MOST

PDJ: The midseason mega-bye. With a bye week placed in the middle of the season, unlike last year's Week 4 bye, it opened up an opportunity for the Bengals to earn extra rest at the midpoint. The bye will offer two weeks off, but then the Sunday-Thursday combo coming back from the bye allows for another break of 11 days before the Monday Night Football game against Houston. Those long breaks can be invaluable as bumps and bruises begin to mount midway through the year.

JO: The four scheduled primetime games. The networks love playoff teams, and the Bengals have been rewarded for their four straight postseason appearances with four scheduled primetime games, which is the third time the team has been given that honor, along with 1990 and 2007. Now, Week 15 at San Francisco could be flexed out its current spot, and Week 17 against Baltimore could be flexed into an additional showcase time, but as it stands this is a lot of national exposure for the Bengals. Unfortunately, the team hasn't quite lived up to the billing in those signature spots, having gone 3-11 (including 0-4 in the postseason) since 2011.

GAME THAT GOT TOUGHER

PDJ: Baltimore. The Bengals and Ravens are no strangers to closing the season against each other in Cincinnati. This marks the fourth time in five years it's happening. But hosting the Ravens didn't get any easier when placed in the final week of the season, where plenty figures to be at stake in the AFC North.

JO: At Oakland in Week 1. Yes, the game against the lowly Raiders just got a little bit harder strictly because it's the first week of the season. Assuming health through training camp, hope always springs eternal, and the Black Hole will be rocking as the weight of yet another soul-crushing losing season will not yet be affecting Jack Del Rio's squad. Yes, it's Del Rio's first year in Oakland, but a new coach, a young quarterback in Derek Carr and a high draft pick (possibly wide receiver Kevin White) will have the Raiders feeling spry to open the year.

GAME THAT GOT EASIER

PDJ: Buffalo. The idea of playing in Buffalo in December doesn't sit well with many. The prospect causes more uneasiness when considering Rex Ryan is building this team around running the football and defense - two keys to winning in cold, snowy conditions. Getting the Bills in mid-October when the weather should be less of a factor can only be considered an upgrade.

JO: San Diego in Week 2.* I've got to put an asterisk here in that this early season non-division game could be much, much easier than it currently looks if the Chargers trade starting quarterback Philip Rivers to the Tennessee Titans for the No. 2 overall pick, and presumably, Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Rivers is coming off one his best seasons, and the Chargers went 9-7 last year, but should the five-time Pro Bowl quarterback be moved, this early season, warm-weather game will tilt heavily in favor of the Bengals.

BEST FAN ROAD TRIP

PDJ: Oakland. OK, here me out now. You don't have to stay in Oakland to go to the season opener. If you stay in San Francisco, you can't go wrong - and that time of year the life by the Bay will be glorious. Toss in all the anticipation of a season opener and you have yourself a heck of a way to start off the season.

JO: At Arizona in Week 11. I could just say, hey, it's Glendale, Ariz. in late November – why not? With this game scheduled on Nov. 22, just as a chill is settling over Cincinnati, it seems prudent to head to a warmer climate for a weekend. It's also a late afternoon start, so you can really take advantage of the time change by having a long Saturday and getting in a round of golf before having to head over to the stadium.

WORST FAN ROAD TRIP

PDJ: Denver. Ordinarily, heading to Denver would be an ideal road trip. Great scenery, great culture, cool city. The only problem with planning a trip to the Dec. 28 Monday Night Football game would be that there's a decent chance it might never happen or may never end. Prospects of flight issues into and out of Denver in December can only be considering ominous.

JO: At Buffalo in Week 6. I could just say, hey, it's Buffalo, and leave it at that. But I won't be that crass. Logistically, it's kind of a pain to get there. It's a relatively straightforward, nearly seven-hour drive to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., but at this point the trusty Google map points out construction zones all through Ohio and into New York. There are no direct flights out of CVG either, so you're looking at a less-than-ideal connection, somewhere.