Mike North, the NFL's vice president of broadcast planning who got his degree in computer science but now majors in utter pragmatism, just got done unravelling one problem as he sees another one knotting.

No, the Bengals don't go to Baltimore in prime time for a fifth straight season. But the Steelers do come to Paycor Stadium under the lights for a second straight year in a Nov. 15 Sunday nighter.

"I'm sure the Steelers will remind us of that next year," North said this week as he offered a schedule de-briefing. "It's a zero-sum game. Anything good for the Bengals probably isn't good for the Steelers. Anything good for CBS, probably isn't good for FOX.

"We know nobody's ever super happy with us, but hopefully they're not super disappointed. If everybody's just mildly disappointed, that's probably a good place for us."

That Bengals-Steelers Paycor game is attractive enough to have been on the radar for a Week One Monday Nighter. "Pretty deep into the process," North said.

But this time it just didn't fit into an infinite equation swirling with dates for 31 teams. Not the least of which are Joe Burrow always taking the Bengals deep into the playoff picture and including one of those December ratings gold matchups with Patrick Mahomes (Dec. 13 at Paycor), as well as a Nov. 8 game against the Falcons in Spain.

"There were plenty of good opportunities for the Bengals to find themselves on prime time or in a 4:25 window Week One or anywhere early in the season," North said. "It's just a coincidence that it worked out the way it did. No hesitation to put the Bengals in any national windows early.

"You spin it around a couple of different ways, and here's (a schedule) where they've got a Monday night game in week one, and here's one where they've got a Monday night game in week 15, and here's one where they don't have a Monday night game at all. Here's one where they have two … The computers are brilliant, but they only do what you tell them. You still have to give the computers the directions, and then it's all zeros and ones, and chance, and luck, and coincidence and let's see where we land, and let's see which one the commissioner picks down the stretch."

That "mild disappointment," in Bengaldom bubbled from the lack of a bye after Madrid, even if it is that Steelers' home game that is next. The Steelers get a bye heading into that game in Cincy, which comes two weeks after the Steelers are in Paris.

The Steelers then get the Browns at home in a 1 p.m. game the next week, while the Bengals come out of Spain with a few more hours to rest before the 8:20 p.m. against the Steelers.

"I'm sure there were schedules somewhere in the pile of contenders where they did have the bye the week after Madrid," North said. "But it's no longer a requirement. I think if you look across the league, most teams that play international games do not have their bye following.

"In the old days, quote unquote, we really tried to learn about the inconvenience or the additional travel considerations for international games. I know it's not quite routine, but it's getting to the point where it's pretty routine. 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."

Also normal for the Bengals (and they won't like this in Pittsburgh or Baltimore), are back-to-back home games to finish the season when they host the Ravens and Browns. This year. they're the only team in the division that finishes with two North home games, as well two home AFC North prime-time games. And they very well could get all three in prime time with that Week 18 game against Cleveland TBD.

"I don't want to say it's theirs to lose, but we'll see what happens when we get there," North said. "That's what those TBD pools are for. Get the games that matter the most, that deserve to get the most exposure. Get them one extra national appearance for the playoffs to start."

If the NFL loves anything more than an MVP quarterback like Burrow, it's a nest of late division games. North, a disciple of NFL guru Howard Katz and his division of December labor concept, likes the looks of the Bengals playing three North games in the last month starting in Cleveland on Dec. 6.

And, how about a matchup of two MVP-caliber guys? For the fourth time in the Burow Era, the NFL puts him against Mahomes in December. It's also one of those, though, where people watch the replays on NFL Network in July.

"(Burrow) is a game-changer in this league. There's no real hesitation that we talked about to save some of the big ones for late in the season," North said. "Wave a magic wand, maybe move the Kansas City game up a little earlier … I'm sure FOX maybe would prefer that KC-Cincy game a little bit earlier.

"It's hard to point to any games and say, 'Oh, that one's not going to matter."

Like the universe, there's a lot of randomness here. Which is exactly what North calls the Bengals' opening act of seven straight 1 p.m. games to start the season.

"We have been having this discussion a lot lately. Are we killing the golden goose, and is the Sunday 1 o'clock window becoming diminished by all the games being pulled out for Sunday mornings and Wednesdays and Fridays, Christmas and Saturdays?" North said. "I think that's a pretty good indicator that there's still quality inventory for the Sunday 1 o'clock window. Cincy-Pitt, for instance. The first of the Cincy- Baltimore games. Those games are still typically worthy of a prime-time slot.

"They might end up in 50% or 60% of the country at 1o'clock on CBS or Fox. You're probably going to get the same 20 million viewers watching then. I think it's pretty good indicator you can't put every game in prime, and there's nothing wrong with putting some big games on Sunday at 1 o'clock."

JOE'S O-LINEUP

Burrow is among the first to praise the work done to keep his most stable offensive line intact heading to an opener. As well as the most stable of head coach Zac Taylor’s eight seasons.

For the first time, there's not a veteran acquired in the offseason projected to start the opener. The line begins with right guard John Miller in 2019 and ends with right guard Lucas Patrick in 2025. Also, it's slated to be the fourth opener where they don't have a guy making his first NFL start.

"To have all these guys back is a big advantage early in the season," Burrow told Bengals.com this week. "You don't have young guys trying to fit into the mix and learn the communication on the fly. These guys had a lot of reps last year together, and communication is so key on the offensive line, and to be able to have reps at that is so valuable."