The NFL schedule makers are conceding that Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow’s issue with a few of the scheduling details for the 2025 season was “fair.”

Burrow had complained last week that the Bengals having to travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens in primetime “isn’t ideal” and asked, “maybe we can get one of those in Cincinnati. Please.”

NFL V.P. of broadcast planning & scheduling Mike North conceded that Burrow was making a good point when he made the comment to reporters and explained the league’s thought process behind it in an interview with the Bengals team website. 

“It’s fair,” he said. “It’s not a one-or-two years sort of a league where you fix every problem every other year or every two years. Once you start getting to the same thing three years in a row, four, or five years in a row, whether it’s a short week Thursday on the road or opening on the road.

“When trends like that emerge, we probably have to adjust at some point.”

Part of Burrow’s issue was that the Bengals will have to travel to the Inner Harbor for the third consecutive week for the primetime showdown, coming off a week where they played on a Sunday. 

North was understanding of the disappointment, but he noted that every team deals with some frustration around the schedule, and when it comes to the Ravens-Bengals rivalry, it should be in primetime. 

“They deserve it. You’ve played your way into these windows,” North told the Bengals website. “An MVP quality quarterback and superstar wide receivers (Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins), and we play exciting games. Both Ravens-Bengals games last year were spectacular. We wanted to make sure that we ended up with at least one of them in primetime this year. We got it. I’m sure Bengals fans would have preferred it in Cincinnati, but it should be fun for you guys to ruin Baltimore’s Thanksgiving.”