The Bengals are keeping their Paycor Stadium theme-game tradition rolling in 2026, and the calendar now has three dates circled for fans who like their home games with a little extra color.
The first one comes early. Cincinnati will continue its “Open in Orange” campaign for a third straight season on September 13, with the team set to wear its orange alternate jerseys and fans encouraged to match in orange.
The Bengals are 1-1 in those games. They lost to the New England Patriots in 2024, then beat the Jacksonville Jaguars last season in a game that also cost Joe Burrow 10 weeks with a turf toe injury.
Later in the year, the team will bring back “Stripe the Jungle” on December 13 against the Kansas City Chiefs. That setup asks fans in specific sections to wear orange or black depending on where they sit, and it has become one of the most visually striking looks in the stadium. The Bengals are 2-1 since introducing the theme in 2023, with the lone loss coming last year against the Detroit Lions.
The most established of the bunch is the White Bengal game, and this year’s version lands in a prime spot: a November 15 Sunday Night Football matchup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The white helmets, white-painted end zones and midfield logo, and the all-white crowd make it one of the loudest-looking scenes in the NFL. Cincinnati is 4-1 in that uniform combination since 2022, and the source of the latest memory there was a strong one - Joe Flacco’s performance against the Steelers in the White Bengal game in 2025.
One game still sits without a theme. The Thursday Night Football meeting with the Baltimore Ravens has not had anything announced yet, and there have been no signs that a special look is coming. If the Bengals decide to add one, it would be something new.
In Other News...
Bengals Lineman Shares Heartbreaking Family News No Fan Expected
The offseason and training-camp chatter around the Bengals has taken a far more personal turn for Dalton Risner, whose wife, Whitney, shared heartbreaking family news in an emotional Instagram post. The message centered on grief, faith and gratitude for the support they have received, a reminder that the most difficult battles for NFL players and their families often happen far from the field.
Risner, who joined Cincinnati in 2025 after entering the league in 2019 and starting 93 games, has quickly become part of the Bengals' interior line plans, but football naturally fades into the background in moments like this. Whitney's post made clear the couple is leaning on one another and on the people around them, leaving a larger story about their road ahead unresolved as the team and its fans rally around them. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Rebuilt Defense Just Got A Brutal Reality Check
The early offseason buzz around Cincinnatis defense centered on the idea that a rebuilt front seven could finally give the Bengals more bite up front. Sharp Football Analysis, though, wasnt ready to buy in just yet, slotting the unit at No. 26 in its NFL rankings even after the additions of Dexter Lawrence II, Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe. It is a reminder that paper upgrades only go so far when a defense is trying to climb out of the leagues lower tier.
Cincinnatis concerns go beyond reputation, too. The Bengals were already near the bottom in pass-rush and run-defense metrics last season, and the new look still has to answer questions about how it will function under first-year coordinator Al Golden. In a division where the other three AFC North defenses were all ranked in the top 10, the Bengals have little margin for a slow start if this front seven is going to look like more than a collection of names. [Read more 🡒]