The New Orleans Saints visit the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 12 on November 29, 2026 at 12:00 pm on CBS. The Saints take on the Bengals in Paul Brown Stadium for the first time since Nov. 11, 2018. The last time the Saints played them on the road, New Orleans secured a 51-14 victory.
Let's take a deeper look at the Saints' Week 12 opponent, the Cincinnati Bengals:
2026 NFL WEEK 12: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS at CINCINNATI BENGALS
Meet your Saints opponent: Cincinnati Bengals
Coach: Zac Taylor
Quarterback: Joe Burrow
2025 record: 6-11, third in AFC North
Most recent regular season matchup: Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022 - Bengals 30, Saints 26
Bengals-Saints series record: Bengals lead 8-7
Cincinnati Bengals 2025 season recap:
The Bengals opened the season with a 2-0 start however Pro Bowl quarterback Joe Burrow suffered a turf toe injury that required surgery in Week 2 and kept him out until Week 13. The Bengals struggled without their star signal caller going 1-8 in his absence to sit at 3-8 upon his return. While Burrow lead them to victory in his return game, a pair of losses would leave the Bengals eliminated from postseason contention in Week 15. Cincinnati went 2-1 in the final three games to finish the season 6-11, ranked third in the AFC North, and missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season.
| 2025 Bengals Per Game Stats | League Ranking | |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring Avg. | 24.4 | 12 |
| Opp. Scoring Avg. | 28.9 | 30 |
| Total Off. | 329.2 | 17 |
| Rushing Off. | 93.6 | 29 |
| Passing Off. | 235.6 | 6 |
| Total Def. | 380.9 | 31 |
| Rushing Def. | 147.1 | 32 |
| Passing Def. | 233.8 | 26 |
Deep Dive: Cincinnati Bengals roster review
1. Added Dexter Lawrence in offseason trade
The Bengals passed on the opportunity to utilize the 10th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Instead they shipped the pick off to the New York Giants in order to acquire defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. A three-time Pro Bowler, Lawrence had a down season statistically by his standards in 2025 finishing the season with a career low 31 tackles and 0.5 a sack after starting all 17 games for the Giants. He also added four pass deflections and his first career interception.
"I'm ecstatic," Lawrence said at his introductory press conference. "To be on this team with Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, to be back with Tee (Higgins) again, Chase Brown … I told Tee, 'We've got some unfinished business.' … That's obviously our goal. Winning the Super Bowl."
2. Acquired Super Bowl Champion defensive end
With defensive end Trey Hendrickson departing to the division rival Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals sought to strengthen their defensive line with the addition of former Seattle Seahawks defensive end Boye Mafe. Mafe played in 17 games for the Super Bowl LX champions and contributed 31 tackles, 2.0 sacks, five pass deflections and a forced fumble. He also added five tackles in the playoffs. Mafe has 20.0 career sacks over his four seasons with Seattle.
"We think he'll affect the quarterback at a high rate and be a good run player," Bengals defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery said. "Those three-down players add so much value to your team, and he's one of them. He did a lot of things for them. He's a versatile player. He can set edges. He can rush the passer. That was such a deep D-line (in Seattle), when you're able to rotate like that, you're able to keep guys fresh. We think he's a great fit for what we do."
3. Joe Burrow back in good health
Quarterback Joe Burrow was limited to only eight games in 2025 after a severe turf toe injury that required surgery kept him out nine games. Burrow's missed time in three of his six NFL seasons and will look to avoid making it a fourth. In eight games in 2025, Burrow threw completed 173 of 259 (66.8%) of his passes for 1,809 yards and 17 touchdowns to five interceptions.
"It's the best I've felt in a long time," Burrow said to USA Sports. "I had some tough years with injuries and stuff, and it took a while to get my body the way I wanted it, but now I'm in a really good place. I had a lot of time this year. You know, I hurt my big toe in Week 2, and I couldn't be on the field, but it wasn't as debilitating an injury as some of the others I've had. So I was able to keep working out and staying in shape, keeping my body strong. I had time to recover and still got back to play. The older I get, the more knowledge I have about my body to make sure I'm doing the right things to put myself in positions to be as strong, fast, and powerful as I can be."
