The Cincinnati Bengals have announced a never-before-worn uniform combination for their Sunday Night Football game against the Los Angeles Chargers.

For the first time ever, the team will pair their white jerseys with their new orange pants. They will wear that with their orange helmets and white socks.

This will be the third time this season that the Bengals will wear the orange pants.

They debuted on the pants opening weekend, going orange/orange/orange/black and losing to the Patriots by a score of 16-10.

The Orange Pants would make a second appearance in Week 5, a 41-38 overtime loss to the Ravens. In that game the team went orange/black/orange/black.

So if you’re keeping score at home, the Bengals are 0-2 in the orange shorts this season, with both losses coming on home court. They will look to stop the Orange Pants’ losing streak on Sunday night, this time on the road, against the LA Chargers.

I certainly won’t go so far as to say the Bengals are the Oregon of the NFL, but with the addition of the orange pants this year, the team could potentially go an entire season without ever repeating a uniform combination. The team has two helmets, three different jerseys and socks (black, white and orange), plus four different sets of pants (they have white pants with black stripes as well as orange ones).

In the ten games leading up to next Sunday night, the team has worn seven different uni combos, with three repeats. Their combos so far this season (O = orange, B = black, W = white). For trousers, WB = white trousers with black stripes, WO = white with orange. Combos in bold are repeats.

Week 1: O/O/O/B
Week 2: O/W/WB/B (also worn week 6)
Week 3: O/B/WO/O (also worn week 9)
Week 4: O/B/B/O
Week 5: O/B/O/B
Week 6: O/W/WB/B (week 2)
Week 7: O/W/B/W (also worn week 10)
Week 8: W/W/WB/W
Week 9: O/B/WO/O (week 3)
Week 10: E/W/S/W (week 7)

So out of ten weeks, the Bengals have worn unique combinations in seven of them. Sunday evening’s combo makes eight different combos in eleven weeks.

One of the things I find attractive about the Bengals – who look good almost every week – is that they never wear the same color socks and pants unless they go mono-black or mono-white. I was pleasantly surprised in week 1 that the team paired black socks with the all-orange uniform. While this pants/socks protocol is aesthetically pleasing, it does limit their ability to continue without repeating a combo. Yet it would be so possible if the team chooses to go an entire 17-week season without repeating a single uniform combination.

The team may also come up with a new combination the following week, when they will wear their orange alternate jerseys. In week 1 they wore orange tops, so pairing them with white or black pants would create a new look.

What do you think of the Bengals’ uniform tendencies? Should they try to wear a unique combination for an entire season, or do they already have ‘too many’ options? Would you prefer they stick with just one look for home games and one on the road, with the exception of the three weeks per season when they are allowed to wear helmets/jerseys alternately? Are there any combinations they haven’t worn yet that you would like to see? Personally, I love the orange pants, and I’d like to see them worn more often. And you? And do you have a favorite combination? I think my favorite is O/B/O/B.