After a breakthrough win over Pittsburgh, the Cincinnati Bengals now have their backs against the wall again, thanks to their last-minute loss to the New York Jets, which saw the defense collapse in epic fashion.

Now, the Bengals will host the Chicago Bears in the Jungle to get back on track.

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The Bengals may be without Joe Flacco, who is dealing with a shoulder injury, though he did practice on Thursday. He has been lights out in just about every game so far with the Bengals. Even the running game has gotten going with Chase Brown and Samaje Perine both finding some success. So hopefully some of that could spill over if the team has to go back to Jake Browning, who lost three straight starts before the trade for Flacco.

The Bears just had their hot streak stopped cold by the Baltimore Ravens and backup quarterback Snoop Huntley. It was a bit of a deceiving winning streak as they had defeated the Dallas Cowboys, Las Vegas Raiders, Washington Commanders (also with their backup quarterback), and the New Orleans Saints. All of those teams are sub-500 themselves, and Washington has been without Jayden Daniels for a lot of this season.

That isn’t to say that Cincinnati is better than any of those teams or even the Bears. After all, they just gave the final winless team their first win last week. In fact, this Bears’ offense has all the makings to take advantage of a young, inexperienced defense if they aren’t prepared for some trickery.

Will the Bengals get back on track at home?

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How to Watch Cincinnati Bengals vs. Chicago Bears

Game Time: 1:00 PM ET on November 2, 2025

Location: Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio

Series Leader: Though they are relatively close geographical neighbors, the Bengals and Bears have played infrequently. The series history is an even affair, with the two teams currently tied at 6-6, though Chicago has won three straight.

TV Channel: The game will air on CBS-TV. In the Bengals’ home region, it will be carried by WKRC-TV (Ch. 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Ch. 7) in Dayton, and WKYT-TV (Ch. 27) in Lexington. Go here for more regional information.

Broadcasters: Spero Dedes (play-by-play), Adam Archuleta (analyst), and Aditi Kinkhabwala (sideline reporter).

Replay: NFL+ and NFL Network (check local listings)

Radio Broadcast: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship radio stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (1530), and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).

Expert predictions

All five of ESPN’s eight experts (at the time of writing) are going with Cincinnati

According to NFL Pick Watch, which takes into account picks from across the web, the Bengals are receiving 37% of the picks

Cincy Jungle Prediction: Flacco being a question mark is a pretty big X-factor. Maybe this running game can keep going with Browning, but this defense has to come out with a chip on its shoulder after last week. Bengals squeak by at home with a late turnover, 30-24.