Cincinnati Bengals

“The Bengals” was the name of a professional football team in Cincinnati from The team hopped around leagues as some folded or changed names –Most time was spent in one of the AFLs Team had moderate success on the field and at the gate

Paul Brown Started coaching career at Massillon Washington High School in Massillon, OH –Had a record of in 9 seasons at Washington –Won the Ohio Football championship from Outscored opponents in 6 years Outscored opponents in 1940 Helped build a 20,000 seat stadium and was more successful then all Ohio football programs beside Ohio State

Brown was hired by Ohio State in 1941 –He had a record of in his 3 seasons –Won the National Championship in 1942 Brown was stationed as a lieutenant in the Navy in –Coached a service team to a record in 2 years as coach

Brown left for Cleveland to become co- owner, coach, and general manager of their new pro team –A newspaper poll chose “Browns” as the teams name –Won all four league titles in the AAFCs existence Once in the NFL Brown won 6 straight championships

Brown’s innovations to the game are –Intelligence tests for players –Study of game film –Use radio to transmit info to players –Put facemasks on helmets

In 1963 Brown was fired as coach of the Browns –Art Modell bought the team in 1961 and he and Brown were at odds –Brown still owned 6% of the team In 1966 Brown sold his share of the team and went to Cincinnati to propose a new team for the American Football League

Paul Brown still had bad feelings toward the Browns when he designed the Bengals uniforms –Uniforms looked very similar with a few differences

In 1968 the Cincinnati Bengals became an expansion franchise in the American Football League –Paul Brown took name to pay respect to earlier Cincinnati pro football teams –Joined the AFL after being guaranteed a merger with the NFL –The team played their home games at Nippert Stadium at the University of Cincinnati

The team finished 3-10 in their first season Running back Paul Robinson won the AFL Rookie of the Year award

The Bengals had a record in 1969 –Defeated playoff teams in Kansas City, Oakland, and Houston –QB Greg Cook won the Rookie of the Year Award

The NFL and AFL merged in 1970 placing Cincinnati in the AFC Central –Set up in-state rivalry with Cleveland Browns The Bengals moved into Riverfront Stadium in 1970 The team won their conference with an 8-6 record –Lost to the Baltimore Colts in their first playoff game

Riverfront Stadium om/stadium/stadium.h tmlhttp:// om/stadium/stadium.h tml

The Bengals would make the playoffs in 1973 and 1975 behind the strong play of QB Ken Anderson –The team was unable to win a playoff game either year losing to Miami and Oakland

Following the 1975 season Paul Brown retired as head coach to concentrate on owner and GM duties Bill Johnson replaced Brown and led the team to a 10-4 record but not the playoffs Archie Griffin also made his debut in 1976 after winning two Heisman Trophies

The team would not make the playoffs in 1977 or 1978 –Going 8-6 and 4-12 in those seasons –Archie Griffin turned out to be a bust –Bill John was fired after the embarrassing 1978 season Homer Rice took over as head coach in 1979 and again had a 4-12 record costing him his job

Forrest Gregg took over as head coach in 1980 The Bengals drafted Anthony Munoz in that years draft The team finished an improved 6-10

The Bengals showed off new uniforms during the 1981 season –The helmets had tiger stripes going across –Stripes were also featured on the jerseys and pants The team started the season winning 10 of the first 13 games

The Bengals finished with a 12-4 record –Best in the AFC and winning the AFC Central Ken Anderson won the NFL MVP award throwing for 3,754 yards and 29 TDs Rookie Cris Collinsworth caught 8 TDs and had 1,009 receiving yards

The Bengals played the Buffalo Bills in the first ever playoff game in Riverfront Stadium –The Bengals won The Bengals then hosted the San Diego Chargers in the AFC title game –Temperatures were at 59 degrees below 0 at game time, dubbed the “Freezer Bowl” –The Bengals won 27-7 and advanced to the Super Bowl

-59 ° F

The Bengals faced the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XVI –Played in Pontiac Silver Dome in Detroit, MI –Both teams finished in last place the year before The Bengals lost –Gave up 3 turnovers in the redzone –Were stopped after having first and goal on the 1 yard line

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The Bengals posted a 7-2 record in 1982 –Season was shortened by a two month strike –Had a 4-0 record at home –Hosted a home playoff game The New York Jets came in and defeated the Bengals 44-17

The team ended 1983 with a 7-9 record –Forrest Gregg was fired following the season Sam Wyche took over as head coach in 1984 –Boomer Easison was drafted in the first round to take over the QB duties for Ken Anderson –Finished 8-8 with Boomer leading the team to the final 4 victories

Easison led the way in 1985 and 1986 throwing for over 3,000 yards each season –The Bengals failed to make the playoffs both seasons In 1987, the Bengals had a 3-1 record before a strike took place –Replacement players were brought in and went 1-2 The regulars came back and struggled finishing the season 4-1 Wyche was told he would have to make the playoffs in 1988 in order to keep his job

In 1988, the Bengals won their first 6 games on their way to a 12-4 record –They won the AFC Central and earned home field advantage through the playoffs Boomer Easison won the NFL MVP award throwing for 3,572 yards Rookie Elbert “Ickey” Woods won the AFC Offensive Rookie of the Year Award rushing for 1,066 yards and 15 TDs –Created the “Ickey Shuffle” as his celebration after every touchdown –Icky Shuffle Video

Fans dubbed Riverfront Stadium “The Jungle” during the season The chant “Who Dey” also became popular during this season –“Who dey think gonna’ beat ‘dem Bengals?” –Who Day Rap Video ature=relatedhttp:// ature=related

The Bengals defeated the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills to advance to their second Super Bowl Super Bowl XXIII was a rematch of Super Bowl XVI with the Bengals playing the San Francisco 49ers in Miami, FL

The Bengals lost DT Tim Krumrie to a broken leg in the first quarter The game was tied at halftime 3-3 –First Super Bowl to be tied at the half Stanford Jennings gave the Bengals the lead with a kickoff return for a TD Jim Breech broke a tie with a field goal with 3:20 left in the game Joe Montana led a 90 yard TD drive to give the 49ers the lead with 34 seconds left The Bengals lost 20-16

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The team failed to make the playoffs in 1989 but returned in 1990 with a 9-7 record. –Defeated the Houston Oilers in the 1 st round but fell to the Oakland Raiders in the 2 nd round This would be the last football game Bo Jackson would play after injuring his hip

Paul Brown passed away before the start of the 1991 season –His son Mike took over the team The team finished the 1991 season with a 3-13 record –Sam Wyche was fired as head coach Dave Shula was hired as head coach and led to Bengals to one of the worst decades in professional sports history

Bengals Records in the 1990s

The team drafted some forgettable players in the 1990s –David Klingler –John Copeland –Dan Wilkinson –Ki-Jana Carter –Reinard Wilson –Akili Smith

The team also had some well known players in the 1990s –Jeff Blake –Carl Pickens –Darnay Scott –Willie Anderson –Takeo Spikes –Corey Dillon –Brian Simmons

After the 2002 season Marvin Lewis was hired as head coach –Carson Palmer was drafted with the 1 st overall pick 2003 saw the Bengals become playoff contenders and finishing the season 8-8 –The team also finished 8-8 in 2004

PAUL BROWN STADIUM

2005 saw the Bengals explode offensively and start 9-3 –Solidified the first winning season in 15 years The team won the AFC North with a record of 11-5 –Would host the Pittsburgh Steelers in a Wild Card Playoff game Palmer was injured on the second offensive play keeping him out of the rest of the game –Pittsburgh went on to win 31-17

2006 saw the Bengals become a joke in the NFL once again –9 different players were arrested or suspended for off-field incidents The team missed the playoffs finishing 8-8 –Lost last 3 games, only needing 1 win to make it to the playoffs

2007 saw the team finish 7-9 and again miss the playoffs –Season was marked with close wins and loses 2008 saw the team finish –Palmer only played 4 games and the team would struggle offensively

2009 Season –Finished 10-6 after going 6-0 in the AFC Central. –Won the AFC Central after being picked to finish 3 rd –Finished 7 th in Offense and 9 th in Defense in the AFC –Lost in the AFC Wildcard game to the New York Jets. –Cedric Benson had yard rushing games.