# 1969 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1969 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's second year as a franchise, and their final season in professional football's American Football League (AFL).
Head coach Paul Brown drafted quarterback Greg Cook of the University of Cincinnati in the first round.
The same draft also produced linebacker Bill Bergey.
The Bengals jumped out to a 3–0 record, but finished 4–9–1 in their final season at Nippert Stadium, before moving to their brand new facility the following season.
The November 9, 1969 Bengals vs. Oilers game at the Astrodome in Houston is unique in Bengals history, as it is the only non-overtime tie game. Cincinnati played its first regular-season tie that afternoon, catching the Oilers at 31–31 on kicker Horst Muhlmann's 18-yard field goal with 0:22 left in the fourth quarter. Regular-season overtime was not in the rule book at that time.
The oldest season record in Bengals history, and the only one still standing from the Nippert Stadium years, is QB Greg Cook's average of 9.41 yards gained per passing attempt in 1969. The only other average of more than nine yards was 9.21 by QB Boomer Esiason in 1988. Cook went on to pass for 1,854 yards and led the Bengals to wins over the Oakland Raiders and the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

## Offseason
### Common draft

1969 Cincinnati Bengals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 5 | Greg Cook | Quarterback | Cincinnati |
| 2 | 31 | Bill Bergey * | Linebacker | Arkansas State |
| 3 | 57 | Speedy Thomas | Wide receiver | Utah |
| 4 | 83 | Clem Turner | Running back | Cincinnati |
| 5 | 109 | Guy Dennis | Guard | Florida |
| 6 | 135 | Ken Riley | Defensive back | Florida A&M |
| 7 | 161 | Royce Berry | Defensive end | Houston |
| 8 | 187 | Tim Buchanan | Linebacker | Hawaii |
| 9 | 213 | Mike Stripling | Running back | Tulsa |
| 10 | 239 | Steve Howell | Tight end | Ohio State |
| 11 | 265 | Mark Stewart | Defensive back | Georgia |
| 12 | 291 | Lonnie Paige | Defensive tackle | North Carolina Central |
| 13 | 316 | Chuck Benson | Wide receiver | Southern Illinois |
| 14 | 343 | Mike Wilson | Offensive tackle | Dayton |
| 15 | 369 | Bill Shoemaker | Placekicker | Stanford |
| 16 | 395 | Bill Schmidt | Linebacker | Missouri |
| 17 | 421 | Terry Story | Offensive tackle | Georgia Tech |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 14 | Miami Dolphins | W 27–21 | 1–0 | Nippert Stadium | 25,335 | Recap |
| 2 | September 21 | San Diego Chargers | W 34–20 | 2–0 | Nippert Stadium | 26,243 | Recap |
| 3 | September 28 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 24–19 | 3–0 | Nippert Stadium | 27,812 | Recap |
| 4 | October 4 | at San Diego Chargers | L 14–21 | 3–1 | San Diego Stadium | 52,748 | Recap |
| 5 | October 12 | New York Jets | L 7–21 | 3–2 | Nippert Stadium | 27,927 | Recap |
| 6 | October 19 | Denver Broncos | L 23–30 | 3–3 | Nippert Stadium | 27,920 | Recap |
| 7 | October 26 | at Kansas City Chiefs | L 22–42 | 3–4 | Municipal Stadium | 50,934 | Recap |
| 8 | November 2 | Oakland Raiders | W 31–17 | 4–4 | Nippert Stadium | 27,927 | Recap |
| 9 | November 9 | at Houston Oilers | T 31–31 | 4–4–1 | Houston Astrodome | 45,298 | Recap |
| 10 | November 16 | Boston Patriots | L 14–25 | 4–5–1 | Nippert Stadium | 25,913 | Recap |
| 11 | November 23 | at New York Jets | L 7–40 | 4–6–1 | Shea Stadium | 62,128 | Recap |
| 12 | November 30 | at Buffalo Bills | L 13–16 | 4–7–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 35,122 | Recap |
| 13 | December 7 | at Oakland Raiders | L 17–37 | 4–8–1 | Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum | 54,427 | Recap |
| 14 | December 14 | at Denver Broncos | L 16–27 | 4–9–1 | Mile High Stadium | 42,198 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

## Standings

AFL Western Division :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK |
| Oakland Raiders | 12 | 1 | 1 | .923 | 7–1 | 377 | 242 | W6 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 5–3 | 359 | 177 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 2–6 | 288 | 276 | W4 |
| Denver Broncos | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 3–5 | 297 | 344 | W1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 3–5 | 280 | 367 | L5 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings of the AFL.

### Team stats

1969 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats :
| TEAM STATS | Bengals | Opponents |
| TOTAL FIRST DOWNS | 172 | 278 |
| Rushing | 66 | 135 |
| Passing | 95 | 130 |
| Penalty | 11 | 13 |
| TOTAL NET YARDS | 3868 | 5337 |
| Avg Per Game | 276.3 | 381.2 |
| Total Plays | 728 | 935 |
| Avg. Per Play | 5.3 | 5.7 |
| NET YARDS RUSHING | 1523 | 2651 |
| Avg. Per Game | 167.5 | 189.4 |
| Total Rushes | 363 | 523 |
| NET YARDS PASSING | 2345 | 2686 |
| Avg. Per Game | 167.5 | 191.9 |
| Sacked Yards Lost | 57–375 | 16–180 |
| Gross Yards | 2720 | 2866 |
| Att. Completions | 308–163 | 396–205 |
| Completion Pct. | 52.9 | 51.8 |
| Intercepted | 15 | 21 |
| PUNTS-AVERAGE | 85–38.8 | 55–41.4 |
| PENALTIES-YARDS | 50–556 | 72–824 |
| FUMBLES-BALL LOST | 30–25 | 19–16 |
| TOUCHDOWNS | 33 | 42 |
| Rushing | 10 | 13 |
| Passing | 22 | 24 |
| Returns | 1 | 5 |
| Score by Periods | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Tot |
| Bengals | 48 | 92 | 72 | 68 | 280 |
| Opponents | 78 | 130 | 68 | 91 | 367 |

### Team leaders

* Passing: Greg Cook (197 Att, 106 Comp, 1854 Yds, 53.8 Pct, 15 TD, 11 Int, 88.3 Rating)
* Rushing: Jess Phillips (118 Att, 578 Yds, 4.9 Avg, 83 Long, 3 TD)
* Receiving: Eric Crabtree (40 Rec, 855 Yds, 21.4 Avg, 73 Long, 7 TD)
* Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 80 points (16 FG; 32 PAT)

## Awards and records
### AFL Coach of the Year

* Paul Brown

### AFL Passing Title

* Greg Cook

### AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

* Bill Bergey

### AFL Pro Bowl Selections

* RB Paul Robinson
* TE Bob Trumpy