The Cincinnati Bengals finished last in the AFC North in 2018 for the first time since 2010 and that was enough for the team to dump Marvin Lewis in favor of new head coach Zac Taylor.

While there’s a new face calling plays, some of the same storylines remain.

A.J. Green is not expected to be ready for Week 1, leaving undrafted rookie Damion Willis to step into his place. Andy Dalton is also coming back after a season-ending injury in 2018. The expectations for him will be very high in a pivotal season for him career-wise.

The Bengals also have to hope that John Ross and T.J. Boyd stay healthy long enough for Green to get back to full health.

Cincinnati has a ton of returnees on the defensive side, but the team allowed most yards per game and third-most points per game last season. They will have to be far better defensively to have a chance at a decent season.

Read below for more about the Bengals heading into the 2019 season.

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2019 SCHEDULE

Week Date Time (ET) Channel Opponent 1 Sept. 8 4:05 pm CBS @ Seattle Seahawks 2 Sept. 15 1:00 pm FOX San Francisco 49ers 3 Sept. 22 1:00 pm CBS @ Buffalo Bills 4 Sept. 30 8:15 pm ESPN @ Pittsburgh Steelers 5 Oct. 6 1:00 pm FOX Arizona Cardinals 6 Oct. 13 1:00 pm CBS @ Baltimore Ravens 7 Oct. 20 1:00 pm CBS Jacksonville Jaguars 8 Oct. 27 1:00 pm CBS @ Los Angeles Rams 9 Bye 10 Nov. 10 1:00 pm CBS Baltimore Ravens 11 Nov. 17 4:25 pm CBS @ Oakland Raiders 12 Nov. 24 1:00 pm CBS Pittsburgh Steelers 13 Dec. 1 1:00 pm CBS New York Jets 14 Dec. 8 1:00 pm CBS @ Cleveland Browns 15 Dec. 15 1:00 pm CBS New England Patriots 16 Dec. 22 1:00 pm CBS @ Miami Dolphins 17 Dec. 29 1:00 pm CBS Cleveland Browns

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PLAYERS TO WATCH

QB: Andy Dalton

RB: Joe Mixon

WR: A.J. Green

DE: Carlos Dunlap

DT: Geno Atkins

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BENGALS DRAFT PICKS

Round 1, Pick 11: Jonah Williams, OT

Round 2, Pick 20: Drew Sample, TE

Round 3, Pick 72: Germaine Pratt, LB

Round 4, Pick 104: Ryan Finley, QB

Round 4, Pick 125: Renell Wren, DT

Round 4, Pick 136, Michael Jordan, OL

Round 6, Pick 182: Trayveon Williams, RB

Round 6, Pick 210: Deshaun Davis, LB

Round 6, Pick 211: Rodney Anderson, RB

Round 7, Pick 223: Jordan Brown, CB

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