Where Does Bengals’ 6-Game Losing Streak in Week 2 Rank? The Longest Winning, Losing Streaks for Every Week on the NFL Schedule

When the Cincinnati Bengals fell to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday, it marked their sixth consecutive loss in Week 2 games.

It seemed like that could be close to a record given the random nature in which the schedule is compiled each year.

But why stop at just Week 2?

And why limit it to just losing streaks?

What I found is that no, a six-game losing streak is not a record in Week 2 – nor would it be in any other given week except for Week 18, which just came into existence in 2021.

NFL-Record Winning Streaks in the Line in Coming Weeks

Here is a look at the longest winning and losing streaks in each week of the season since the 1970 merger, including several runs that currently are active.

Week 1

Winning: 12, Dallas Cowboys, 1970-81

The Cowboys actually won 15 consecutive season openers under Tom Landry from 1967-81. After the Pittsburgh Steelers ended the streak with a 36-28 victory in Dallas, the Cowboys won another four season openers in a row.

Losing: 13, Cleveland Browns, 2005-17

What a punch in the gut for fans of this struggling franchise to renew their hope every fall only to start 0-1 year after year.

And when the streak finally ended, they still couldn’t celebrate as it came as the result of a 21-21 tie against the Steelers. The Browns lost three in a row after that to extend their winless streak in openers to an incredible 17 games.

Week 2

Winning: 11, Miami Dolphins, 1977-87

It’s not 17-0 to win a Super Bowl as the Dolphins did in 1972, but winning 11 in a row in Week 2 is impressive. Don Shula led Miami to 11 wins in a row in 1984, so this could qualify as being tied for the second-longest winning streak of his Hall of Fame career.

Losing: 11, New Orleans Saints, 1970-80

The Saints didn’t win a lot in the 1970s (42-98-4), and they never won in Week 2. Ironically enough, the streak ended in 1981 when the team started 1-6, with their 23-17 triumph of the Los Angeles Rams in Week 2 representing the lone win.

Week 3

Winning: 12, Baltimore Ravens, 2001-14

What Brian Billick started, John Harbaugh continued for the Ravens.

Baltimore is 18-8 all-time in Week 3, which is their second-most successful mark behind 20-7-1 in Week 12.

Losing: 10, Kansas City Chiefs, 1975-85

Four different head coaches led the team during this rough 11-season stretch, which didn’t include a single playoff berth and only one winning record.

As a side note, in the 1982 strike year, there were no games in Weeks 3-11, but the Chiefs did lose their third game of the season that year as well.

Week 4

Winning: 10, Seattle Seahawks, 2013-present

The last time the Seahawks lost in Week 4, Russell Wilson was a rookie, and the game was played in a city that no longer houses an NFL team. The St. Louis Rams intercepted Wilson three times in his fourth career start on the way to a 19-13 victory.

Losing: 12, Cincinnati Bengals, 1990-2002

You knew the 1990s Bengals had to be on the list somewhere, right? The Bengals never came within seven points of an opponent during this span, and their average margin of defeat in the 12 games was 17.5 points.

Week 5

Winning: 10, Minnesota Vikings, 1970-79 and Los Angeles Rams, 1977-87

The Pittsburgh Steelers intercepted Minnesota quarterback Tommy Kramer to end the team’s run of Week 5 wins in 1980 before the Vikings went on to win another five consecutive Week 5 games from 1981-86.

Losing: 8, San Diego Chargers, 1971-78, Cincinnati Bengals, 1977-85, Atlanta Falcons, 1981-89

The Chargers ended their skid against the San Francisco 49ers and O.J. Simpson in one of the final games of the Hall of Fame running back’s career.

Week 6

Winning: 12, Los Angeles Rams, 1971-83

The Atlanta Falcons ended the Rams’ run on kicker Mick Luckhurst’s 37-yard field goal in a 30-28 victory.

Losing: 8, Cincinnati Bengals, 1977-85, Atlanta Falcons, 2015-22

The Bengals ended this skid against the rival Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football in a game best remembered for punter Jeff Hayes’ 61-yard touchdown run on a designed fake in the fourth quarter.

Week 7

Winning: 11, Steelers, 1992-2005

This Steelers streak stopped in Atlanta in a game that featured six lead changes and ended on Morten Andersen’s 32-yard field goal in overtime.

Losing: 15, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1976-92

This is the longest streak, winning or losing, on the list.

The skid began during the team’s inaugural 0-14 season in 1976 and didn’t end until 1995, thanks to Week 7 byes in 1993 and 1994.

Tampa Bay nearly extended the losing streak to 16 games by blowing an 11-point second-half lead, but the Buccaneers prevailed 20-17 in overtime on a Michael Husted 51-yard field goal.

Week 8

Winning: 11, Chicago Bears, 1981-92, Philadelphia Eagles, 1984-97, New Orleans Saints, 2013-present

If the Saints are going to take sole possession of the longest Week 8 winning streak, they’re going to have to beat the Chargers in Los Angeles on Oct. 27, which is the exact same date the run began with a 35-17 victory against the Buffalo Bills in 2013.

Losing: 13, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1988-2001

It’s crazy to think the Buccaneers had a 15-game Week 7 losing streak and a 13-game Week 8 skid overlap by several years.

The losing streak ended a game without a touchdown as Tampa Bay’s Martin Gramatica kicked four field goals to the Carolina Panthers’ Shayne Graham’s three for a 12-9 win.

Week 9

Winning: 9, Minnesota Vikings, 1970-78

It’s one of the shorter streaks on the list, yet it has stood for nearly half a century.

Losing: 9, Kansas City Chiefs, 1974-83

As is the case with Minnesota on the winning side, this Week 9 losing streak has been unmatched for a long time.

Week 10

Winning: 7, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1974-80, Minnesota Vikings, 1986-92

The Steelers blew a 21-point lead at Seattle to see their Week 10 winning streak end with a 24-21 loss.

Losing: 10, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 1986-96

Are you sensing a trend? The Buccaneers have had some of the worst single-week losing streaks in NFL history.

It took a trip to Indianapolis to play the winless Colts for Tampa Bay to end the skid.

Week 11

Winning: 10, Denver Broncos, 1996-2005, Dallas Cowboys, 2005-16

In their bid to move ahead of the Broncos for the sole lead, the Cowboys got trounced by the Philadelphia Eagles 37-9 on Sunday Night Football.

Losing: 10, Kansas City Chiefs, 1971-80

Led by head coach Marv Levy, Kansas City “held” Earl Campbell, the reigning NFL rushing champion, to 99 yards and intercepted Ken Stabler twice to snap the skid.

Week 12

Winning: 12, Baltimore Ravens, 2008-19

The Pittsburgh Steelers knocked Baltimore starter Robert Griffin III out of the game and held on against Trace McSorley for a 19-14 win.

Losing: 14, Detroit Lions, 2001-14

One loss shy of matching Tampa Bay for the longest losing streak in any given week, Detroit was just 3-7 when it stomped Chip Kelly and the Eagles 45-14.

Week 13

Winning: 12, San Francisco 49ers, 1987-98

This impressive win streak cratered in Cincinnati at the hands of a 2-10 Bengals team coached by Bruce Coslet.

Cincinnati crushed San Francisco, which entered the game with a 2-9 record, by a 44-30 score.

Losing: 10, Kansas City Chiefs, 1979-88

Steve DeBerg outdueled Dan Marino as Kansas City ended its losing streak with a 26-21 win at Arrowhead Stadium.

Week 14

Winning: 11, San Francisco 49ers, 1986-96, Green Bay Packers, 2011-21

After a bye in 2022, the Packers’ Week 14 winning streak just ended last season against the New York Giants in a game where Green Bay was favored by six points.

New York backup quarterback Tommy DeVito threw for just 158 yards, but he authored a third consecutive win for the team.

Losing: 11, Oakland Raiders, 2003-13

One year after losing Super Bowl XXVII to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Raiders started this 11-game losing streak.

It was a 1-11 Oakland team that ended it in 2014, coming from behind to beat the San Francisco 49ers 24-13.

Week 15

Winning: 11, Miami Dolphins, 1978-88, Carolina Panthers, 2007-17

Christian McCaffrey threw his first of two career passing touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough for the Panthers to keep their winning streak going as the 11-1 New Orleans Saints prevailed 12-9 on Monday Night Football.

Losing: 14, Detroit Lions, 1996-2009

The Lions were 3-10 when they took this 14-game skid on the road to Tampa Bay, but they prevailed 23-20 in overtime on a Dave Rayner 34-yard field goal.

Week 16

Winning: 12, New England Patriots, 2003-14

The Patriots were 12-2 when they went into MetLife Stadium two days after Christmas and fell to the Jets 26-20 in overtime.

Had New England won that game, it would have the longest streak on the list because the Patriots won four consecutive Week 16 games after the streak-snapping loss.

Losing: 9, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2011-19

Here they are again but in a different era. Tampa Bay ended this losing streak in dominant fashion thrashing the Lions 47-7 in Detroit.

Week 17

Winning: 11, Pittsburgh Steelers, 2008-18

One of the reasons Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record is his teams have played well in season finales, which is what Week 17 used to be until 2021.

Tomlin is 14-3 in Week 17 and 18-3 in season finales, but one of those losses was a 28-10 setback at Baltimore in 2019 that ended their league-best 11-game winning streak.

Losing: 11, Los Angeles Rams, 2007-17

It took a Super Bowl team to end this skid, as Sean McVay’s 2018 squad beat the 49ers 48-32 in the season finale to stop LA’s Week 17 issues.

Week 18

Winning: 4, Kansas City Chiefs, 2021-present, Detroit Lions, 2021-present, Pittsburgh Steelers, 2021-present, Buffalo Bills, 2021-present

The race is on to see which of these teams will be the last to lose a season finale.

Losing: 4, Indianapolis Colts, 2021-present, Chicago Bears, 2021-present

If only this week’s Colts-Bears game could have been in Week 18.