The Cincinnati Bengals enter Week 10 as one of the hottest teams in the NFL. Not only are they on a four-game winning streak, but the Bengals have scored at least 30 points in all four of those wins, marking the first time since 1997 that they've hit the 30-point mark in four straight games. 

If the Bengals want to keep their hot streak going, it won't be easy. They'll be facing a scheduling disadvantage this week that no team has ever been able to overcome: they're coming off an international game while their opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers, are coming off a bye. 

So, how bad of a disadvantage is this? It's only happened five times — so it's a small sample size — but the team coming off the international game is 0-5 against the team coming off a bye and 0-4-1 against the spread, which suggests this scheduling quirk may actually put teams at a competitive disadvantage. 

Over the past decade, the NFL has generally tried to avoid situations like this, but the league essentially gave up on that this year, with five teams — the Eagles, Bengals, Lions, Vikings, and 49ers — stuck in this exact situation. Of those five teams, only the Eagles have played their game, and they lost. 

Here's a brief look at the five games in which a team coming off an international game faced a team off a bye, including Philadelphia's loss earlier this season. 

• 2011: Jets 27-11 over Bills. From 2008 through 2013, the Bills played an annual game in Toronto. During the 2011 season, they played a Week 8 game in Canada that became one of their most impressive wins of the year: a 23-0 victory over Washington. One week later, they return to the U.S. to face a Jets team coming off a bye. The 5-2 Bills were destroyed 27-11 in a game where Buffalo was favored by 2.5.

• 2016: Chargers 21-13 over Texans. The NFL put the Texans in an awkward spot: not only did they have to play in Mexico City in Week 11 of the 2016 season, but the game was on a Monday night. So they had to turn around and play on short rest in Week 12 against a Chargers team coming off a bye. You can probably guess what happened. In a game where the Texans were a 2.5-point underdog, the Chargers led by 11 in the fourth quarter, but Houston ended up kicking a field goal with under 30 seconds left to account for the final margin

• 2021: Falcons 30-28 over Dolphins. During the 2021 season, the Dolphins were sent to London to play the Jaguars in Week 6. In Week 7, they faced the Falcons coming off a Week 6 bye. In the game, the Dolphins trailed 20-7 midway through the third quarter before finally coming to life. Miami stormed back, but in the end, the Dolphins lost on a field goal as time expired.

• 2025: Steelers 23-9 over Browns. Last season, the Browns got shipped off to London in Week 5 and then had to turn around and play Pittsburgh in Week 6. The Steelers,  coming off a Week 5 bye, held the Browns to under 250 yards of offense in a 23-9 win. 

• 2026: Panthers 25-14 over Eagles. The Eagles had a disastrous trip to London in Week 5. Not only did they lose on a last-second field goal, but they also lost Jalen Hurts to a season-ending medical issue. In Week 6, they returned to the United States and faced a Panthers team coming off a bye. The Eagles fell behind 10-0 in the second quarter and never really challenged Carolina in this loss. 

Here's where things get even uglier: The team coming off the international trip has averaged just 15 points per game, and they've been outscored 83-37 over the first three quarters in those five games.  Again, it's a small sample size, but those numbers are eye-opening. 

One reason the sample size is so small is that this scenario wasn't even possible for most of NFL history. The first London game was played in 2007, and for the first nine years of the international series, every team that played in Europe was given a bye after its game. However, in 2016, the Colts decided they didn't WANT a bye after their London game because they didn't want their off week so early in the season. Since that point, the NFL has allowed teams to request a bye after playing abroad, but even if a team requests one, there's no guarantee they'll get it. 

After the NFL schedule came out in May, NFL  vice president of broadcast planning Mike North explained why teams are no longer guaranteed a bye after an international game.

"I know it's not quite routine, but it's getting to the point where it's pretty routine," North said of international travel. "You play an afternoon (game) over there, it's morning over here, you're back in the facility by what? Midnight Sunday night? That's better than if it's played out in Seattle or Los Angeles … That's the new normal for us."

What North didn't mention is the impact of asking a team coming off an international trip to face a team coming off a bye in their next game. Yes, you might get back to your facility late Sunday night, but if your body is still on European time, there must be an adjustment period. That could impact practice for your next game. According to research, it takes about one day to readjust for each time zone you travel. Madrid is six hours ahead of Cincinnati, so most players likely wouldn't feel 100% recovered from the trip until this weekend. 

If the Bengals lose on Sunday, that will drop NFL teams to 0-6 all-time in this specific situation, and if that happens, the NFL is going to have to give some serious thought about whether it's fair to schedule a team coming off an international game to face a team coming off a bye.

If the Bengals lose, all eyes will be on Detroit, because the Lions will be in this exact same situation in Week 11. After facing the Patriots on Sunday in Germany, they'll be facing a Buccaneers team in Week 11 that will be coming off a bye. 

It also doesn't help that NFL teams have been almost unbeatable this year after a bye. Heading into Week 10, NFL teams are a combined 13-1 coming out of their bye. The Steelers have already beaten the Bengals once this year and they'll have two trends working in their favor for the game on Sunday, which kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET in Cincinnati.