# 1979 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1979 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, and the 12th overall. Fullback Pete Johnson powered his way to 15 touchdowns, but the Bengals struggled to their second straight 4–12 record. After the season, former Cleveland coach Forrest Gregg was named to replace Homer Rice as Bengals head coach. 1979 marked the end of an era, as the last remaining original Bengal, longtime center Bob Johnson, retired after 12 seasons, 2 in the AFL, and 10 in the NFL, all with the Bengals.

## Offseason
### NFL draft

1979 Cincinnati Bengals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 3 | Jack Thompson | Quarterback | Washington State |
| 1 | 12 | Charles Alexander | Running back | LSU |
| 2 | 30 | Dan Ross * | Tight end | Northeastern |
| 3 | 59 | Barney Cotton | Guard | Nebraska |
| 4 | 84 | Mike White | Defensive tackle | Albany State |
| 4 | 91 | Vaughn Lusby | Defensive back | Arkansas |
| 5 | 113 | Casey Merrill | Defensive end | UC Davis |
| 6 | 139 | Steve Kreider | Wide receiver | Lehigh |
| 7 | 168 | Max Montoya * | Guard | UCLA |
| 8 | 194 | Howie Kurnick | Linebacker | Cincinnati |
| 9 | 223 | Scott Burk | Defensive back | Oklahoma State |
| 10 | 250 | Nathan Poole | Running back | Louisville |
| 11 | 278 | Ken Bungarda | Offensive tackle | Missouri |
| 12 | 304 | Jim Browner | Defensive back | Notre Dame |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 2 | at Denver Broncos | L 0–10 | 0–1 | Mile High Stadium | 74,788 |
| 2 | September 9 | at Buffalo Bills | L 24–51 | 0–2 | Rich Stadium | 43,504 |
| 3 | September 16 | New England Patriots | L 14–20 | 0–3 | Riverfront Stadium | 41,805 |
| 4 | September 23 | Houston Oilers | L 27–30 | 0–4 | Riverfront Stadium | 45,615 |
| 5 | September 30 | at Dallas Cowboys | L 13–38 | 0–5 | Texas Stadium | 63,179 |
| 6 | October 7 | Kansas City Chiefs | L 7–10 | 0–6 | Riverfront Stadium | 40,041 |
| 7 | October 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 34–10 | 1–6 | Riverfront Stadium | 52,381 |
| 8 | October 21 | at Cleveland Browns | L 27–28 | 1–7 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 75,119 |
| 9 | October 28 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 37–13 | 2–7 | Riverfront Stadium | 42,036 |
| 10 | November 4 | at Baltimore Colts | L 28–38 | 2–8 | Municipal Stadium | 37,740 |
| 11 | November 11 | San Diego Chargers | L 24–26 | 2–9 | Riverfront Stadium | 40,782 |
| 12 | November 18 | at Houston Oilers | L 21–42 | 2–10 | Astrodome | 49,829 |
| 13 | November 25 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 34–28 | 3–10 | Riverfront Stadium | 25,103 |
| 14 | December 2 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 17–37 | 3–11 | Three Rivers Stadium | 46,521 |
| 15 | December 9 | at Washington Redskins | L 14–28 | 3–12 | RFK Stadium | 52,882 |
| 16 | December 16 | Cleveland Browns | W 16–12 | 4–12 | Riverfront Stadium | 42,183 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Pittsburgh Steelers$^{(2)}$ | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 4–2 | 9–3 | 416 | 262 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers$^{(4)}$ | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 9–3 | 362 | 331 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 6–6 | 359 | 352 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 2–4 | 2–10 | 337 | 421 | W1 |