# 1982 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1982 season was the Cincinnati Bengals' 13th season in the National Football League, their 15th overall and their third under head coach Forrest Gregg. It was the first year in which the Bengals made the playoffs for a second-consecutive season, and they would not do so again until 2012.
The Bengals posted a 7–2 record in a strike-shortened season to earn a postseason berth but lost to the Jets in the first round of the playoffs, 44–17. This was the only playoff loss by the Bengals at Riverfront Stadium. Ken Anderson led the AFC in passing for the fourth time as the Bengals boasted the second-best offense in the NFL. Perhaps the best moment of the season for the Bengals was defeating the Raiders 31–17. The loss by the Raiders was their only loss of the season. The Bengals went 4–0 at home in 1982.
The last remaining active member of the 1982 Cincinnati Bengals was tight end Rodney Holman, who retired after the 1995 season.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1982 Cincinnati Bengals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 26 | Glen Collins | Defensive end | Mississippi State |
| 2 | 54 | Emanuel Weaver | Defensive tackle | South Carolina |
| 3 | 82 | Rodney Holman * | Tight end | Tulane |
| 4 | 110 | Rodney Tate | Running back | Texas |
| 5 | 138 | Paul Sorensen | Defensive back | Washington State |
| 6 | 166 | Arthur King | Defensive tackle | Grambling State |
| 7 | 194 | Ben Needham | Linebacker | Michigan |
| 8 | 222 | Kari Yli-Renko | Offensive tackle | Cincinnati |
| 9 | 250 | James Bennett | Wide receiver | Northwestern State |
| 10 | 278 | Larry Hogue | Defensive back | Utah State |
| 11 | 305 | Russell Davis | Running back | Idaho |
| 12 | 333 | Dan Feraday | Quarterback | Toronto |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 12 | Houston Oilers | W 27–6 | 1–0 | Riverfront Stadium | 52,268 |
| 2 | September 19 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–26 | 1–1 | Three Rivers Stadium | 53,973 |
| Players' strike |||||||
| 3 | November 21 | at Philadelphia Eagles | W 18–14 | 2–1 | Veterans Stadium | 65,172 |
| 4 | November 28 | Los Angeles Raiders | W 31–17 | 3–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 53,330 |
| 5 | December 5 | at Baltimore Colts | W 20–17 | 4–1 | Memorial Stadium | 23,598 |
| 6 | December 12 | Cleveland Browns | W 23–10 | 5–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 54,305 |
| 7 | December 20 | at San Diego Chargers | L 34–50 | 5–2 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 51,296 |
| 8 | December 26 | Seattle Seahawks | W 24–10 | 6–2 | Riverfront Stadium | 55,330 |
| 9 | January 2, 1983 | at Houston Oilers | W 35–27 | 7–2 | Astrodome | 26,522 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Cincinnati Bengals$^{(3)}$ | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 3–1 | 6–2 | 232 | 177 | W2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers$^{(4)}$ | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 204 | 146 | W2 |
| Cleveland Browns$^{(8)}$ | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 2–2 | 4–3 | 140 | 182 | L1 |
| Houston Oilers | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 0–4 | 1–5 | 136 | 245 | L7 |
AFCvte :
| # | Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| Seeded postseason qualifiers |||||||||
| 1 | Los Angeles Raiders | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 260 | 200 | W5 |
| 2 | Miami Dolphins | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 198 | 131 | W3 |
| 3 | Cincinnati Bengals | 7 | 2 | 0 | .778 | 232 | 177 | W2 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 204 | 146 | W2 |
| 5 | San Diego Chargers | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 288 | 221 | L1 |
| 6 | New York Jets | 6 | 3 | 0 | .667 | 245 | 166 | L1 |
| 7 | New England Patriots | 5 | 4 | 0 | .556 | 143 | 157 | W1 |
| 8 | Cleveland Browns | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 140 | 182 | L1 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason |||||||||
| 9 | Buffalo Bills | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 150 | 154 | L3 |
| 10 | Seattle Seahawks | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 127 | 147 | W1 |
| 11 | Kansas City Chiefs | 3 | 6 | 0 | .333 | 176 | 184 | W1 |
| 12 | Denver Broncos | 2 | 7 | 0 | .222 | 148 | 226 | L3 |
| 13 | Houston Oilers | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 136 | 245 | L7 |
| 14 | Baltimore Colts | 0 | 8 | 1 | .056 | 113 | 236 | L2 |
| Tiebreakers |||||||||
| 1 2 Miami finished ahead of Cincinnati based on better conference record (6–1 to Cincinnati’s 6–2). 1 2 Pittsburgh finished ahead of San Diego based on better record against common opponents (3–1 to Chargers' 2–1). Conference tiebreak was initially used to eliminate New York Jets. 1 2 3 Pittsburgh and San Diego finished ahead of New York Jets based on conference record (Pittsburgh and San Diego 5–3 against Jets’ 2–3) 1 2 3 Cleveland finished ahead of Buffalo and Buffalo ahead of Seattle based on conference record (4–3 to Buffalo’s 3–3 to Seattle’s 3–5). |||||||||

## Playoffs

| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| Wild Card | January 9, 1983 | New York Jets (6) | L 17–44 | 0–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 57,560 |