# 2002 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 2002 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League (NFL), the 35th overall, and the second and final full season under head coach Dick LeBeau. With a record of 2–14, however, they were the worst team in football in 2002. The team's struggles continued as they lost their first seven contests losing by an average of 19 points in each game. The Bengals would finally garner their first victory Week 8 by soundly defeating the expansion Houston Texans on the road 38–3. The winning would not last long, however, as the Bengals lost their next six games to fall to 1–13, this lethargic result was later matched by the 2019 team, which also finished at 2–14.
In their final game at home, the Bengals would stun the New Orleans Saints 20–13 to earn their second win on the season, but there would be no saving the Bengals from setting a new franchise record for losses as they finished the season with a 27–9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on the road to finish with a league-worst 2–14 record. This resulted in the Bengals owner Mike Brown firing head coach Dick LeBeau and replacing him with Washington's defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis.
By being the worst team in 2002, they earned the first pick in the 2003 NFL draft, which they would use to draft Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer out of USC, and releasing embattled quarterback Akili Smith.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| QB Gus Frerotte (Broncos) | TE Tony McGee (Cowboys) |
| WR Michael Westbrook (Redskins) | WR Darnay Scott (Cowboys) |
| CB Jeff Burris (Colts) | FS Chris Carter (Texans) |

### NFL draft

2002 Cincinnati Bengals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 10 | Levi Jones | Offensive tackle | Arizona State |
| 2 | 41 | Lamont Thompson | Safety | Washington State |
| 3 | 67 | Matt Schobel | Tight end | TCU |
| 4 | 109 | Travis Dorsch | Punter | Purdue |
| 6 | 181 | Marquand Manuel | Safety | Florida |
| 7 | 219 | Joey Evans | Defensive end | North Carolina |
| Made roster ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

2002 undrafted free agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Dwayne Levels | Linebacker | Oklahoma State |
| Reggie Myles | Defensive back | Alabama |
| Thatcher Szalay | Center | Montana |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
| 1 | September 8, 2002 | San Diego Chargers | L 6–34 | 0–1 | 53,705 |
| 2 | September 15, 2002 | at Cleveland Browns | L 7–20 | 0–2 | 73,358 |
| 3 | September 22, 2002 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 3–30 | 0–3 | 68,129 |
| 4 | September 29, 2002 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 7–35 | 0–4 | 57,234 |
| 5 | October 6, 2002 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 21–28 | 0–5 | 56,570 |
| 6 | October 13, 2002 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–34 | 0–6 | 63,900 |
| 7 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 8 | October 27, 2002 | Tennessee Titans | L 24–30 | 0–7 | 52,822 |
| 9 | November 3, 2002 | at Houston Texans | W 38–3 | 1–7 | 69,827 |
| 10 | November 10, 2002 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 27–38 | 1–8 | 69,024 |
| 11 | November 17, 2002 | Cleveland Browns | L 20–27 | 1–9 | 64,060 |
| 12 | November 24, 2002 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 21–29 | 1–10 | 60,473 |
| 13 | December 1, 2002 | Baltimore Ravens | L 23–27 | 1–11 | 44,878 |
| 14 | December 8, 2002 | at Carolina Panthers | L 31–52 | 1–12 | 66,799 |
| 15 | December 15, 2002 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 15–29 | 1–13 | 42,092 |
| 16 | December 22, 2002 | New Orleans Saints | W 20–13 | 2–13 | 43,544 |
| 17 | December 29, 2002 | at Buffalo Bills | L 9–27 | 2–14 | 47,850 |
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text

### Game summaries
#### Week 3: at Atlanta Falcons

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Falcons | 13 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 30 |
at Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
* Date: September 22, 2002
* Game time: 8:30 pm
* Game weather: None (indoor stadium)
* Game attendance: 68,129
* Referee: Terry McAulay (77)
* TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Patrick, Paul Maguire, Joe Theismann, and Suzy Kolber
* Recap, Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
ATL – Jay Feely 44-yard field goal, 10:01. Falcons 3–0. Drive: 7 plays, 46 yards, 4:69.
ATL – Jay Feely 26-yard field goal, 7:19. Falcons 6–0. Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 1:48.
ATL – Brian Finneran 20-yard pass from Michael Vick (Jay Feely kick), 1:57. Falcons 13–0. Drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, 3:28.
Second quarter
ATL – Brian Finneran 13-yard pass from Michael Vick (Jay Feely kick), 4:56. Falcons 20–0. Drive: 4 plays, 24 yards, 1:42.
CIN – Neil Rackers 24-yard field goal, 0:03. Falcons 20–3. Drive: 14 plays, 53 yards, 4:53.
Third quarter
ATL – Warrick Dunn 4-yard run (Jay Feely kick), 5:07. Falcons 27–3. Drive: 11 plays, 74 yards, 7:00.
Fourth quarter
ATL – Jay Feely 34-yard field goal, 7:30. Falcons 30–3. Drive: 10 plays, 46 yards, 5:39.
Top passers
CIN – Jon Kitna – 18/35, 136 yards, INT
ATL – Michael Vick – 16/26, 174 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
CIN – Corey Dillon – 18 rushes, 66 yards
ATL – TJ Duckett – 18 rushes, 67 yards
Top receivers
CIN – Peter Warrick – 4 receptions, 34 yards
ATL – Brian Finneran – 6 receptions, 77 yards, 2 TD :

#### Week 17: at Buffalo Bills

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| Bills | 6 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
* Date: December 29, 2002
* Game time: 1:00 pm
* Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
* Game attendance: 47,850
* Referee: Mike Carey (94)
* TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui, Steve Tasker
* Recap, Game Book
Game information :
First quarter
BUF – Mike Hollis 32-yard field goal, 8:36. Bills 3-0. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:15.
BUF – Mike Hollis 25-yard field goal, 1:12. Bills 6-0. Drive: 4 plays, 4, yards, 1:32.
Second quarter
BUF – Drew Bledsoe 7-yard run (Mike Hollis kick), 10:25. Bills 13-0. Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 4:15.
BUF – Eric Moulds 2-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Mike Hollis kick), 2:41. Bills 20-0. Drive: 10 plays, 54 yards, 5:12.
CIN – Neil Rackers 19-yard field goal, 0:24. Bills 20-3. Drive: 11 plays, 78 yards, 2:17.
Third quarter
BUF – Larry Centers 4-yard run (Mike Hollis kick), 1:37. Bills 27-3. Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards, 4:11.
Fourth quarter
CIN – Jon Kitna 6-yard run (run failed), 8:05. Bills 27-9. Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 2:49.
Top passers
CIN – Jon Kitna – 19/35, 241 yards, 2 INT
BUF – Drew Bledsoe – 23/31, 231 yards, TD
Top rushers
CIN – Corey Dillon – 13 rushes, 53 yards
BUF – Travis Henry – 30 rushes, 80 yards
Top receivers
CIN – Chad Johnson – 6 receptions, 123 yards
BUF – Eric Moulds – 9 receptions, 75 yards, TD :

### Standings
#### Division

AFC North :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(3)}$ Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 6–0 | 8–4 | 390 | 345 | W3 |
| $^{(6)}$ Cleveland Browns | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 344 | 320 | W2 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 316 | 354 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | 279 | 456 | L1 |

#### Conference

AFCvte :
| # | Team | Division | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | SOS | SOV |
| Division leaders |||||||||||
| 1 | Oakland Raiders | West | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 4–2 | 9–3 | .529 | .531 |
| 2 | Tennessee Titans | South | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 6–0 | 9–3 | .479 | .474 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | North | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 6–0 | 8–4 | .486 | .451 |
| 4 | New York Jets | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .500 | .500 |
| Wild Cards |||||||||||
| 5 | Indianapolis Colts | South | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 8–4 | .479 | .400 |
| 6 | Cleveland Browns | North | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .486 | .413 |
| Did not qualify for the postseason |||||||||||
| 7 | Denver Broncos | West | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 5–7 | .527 | .486 |
| 8 | New England Patriots | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4–2 | 6–6 | .525 | .455 |
| 9 | Miami Dolphins | East | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 2–4 | 7–5 | .508 | .486 |
| 10 | Buffalo Bills | East | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 5–7 | .473 | .352 |
| 11 | San Diego Chargers | West | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–6 | .492 | .453 |
| 12 | Kansas City Chiefs | West | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 6–6 | .527 | .516 |
| 13 | Baltimore Ravens | North | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 7–5 | .506 | .384 |
| 14 | Jacksonville Jaguars | South | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 1–5 | 4–8 | .506 | .438 |
| 15 | Houston Texans | South | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 1–5 | 2–10 | .518 | .492 |
| 16 | Cincinnati Bengals | North | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | .537 | .406 |
| Tiebreakers |||||||||||
| 1 2 Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based on head-to-head victory. 1 2 3 N.Y. Jets finished ahead of New England based on win percentage in common games (8–4 to 7–5) and Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4). 1 2 3 Cleveland finished ahead of Denver and New England based on conference record (7–5 vs 5–7/6–6) 1 2 Denver finished ahead of New England based on head-to-head victory. 1 2 New England finished ahead of Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4). 1 2 Buffalo finished ahead of San Diego based on head-to-head victory. 1 2 San Diego finished ahead of Kansas City based on division record (3–3 to 2–4). ↑ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division. |||||||||||

## Team leaders
### Passing

| Player | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | Rating |
| Jon Kitna | 473 | 294 | 3178 | 16 | 16 | 79.1 |

### Rushing

| Player | Att | Yds | YPC | Long | TD |
| Corey Dillon | 314 | 1311 | 4.2 | 67 | 7 |

### Receiving

| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
| Chad Johnson | 69 | 1166 | 16.9 | 72 | 5 |
| Peter Warrick | 53 | 606 | 11.4 | 37 | 6 |

### Defensive

| Player | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FF | FR |
| Takeo Spikes | 171 | 1.5 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Justin Smith | 67 | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Artrell Hawkins | 92 | 2.0 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Kevin Kaesviharn | 62 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |

### Kicking and punting

| Player | FGA | FGM | FG% | XPA | XPM | XP% | Points |
| Neil Rackers | 18 | 15 | 83.3% | 32 | 30 | 93.8% | 75 |
| Player | Punts | Yards | Long | Blkd | Avg. |
| Nick Harris | 65 | 2608 | 57 | 1 | 40.1 |

### Special teams

| Player | KR | KRYards | KRAvg | KRLong | KRTD | PR | PRYards | PRAvg | PRLong | PRTD |
| Brandon Bennett | 49 | 1231 | 25.1 | 94 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. J. Houshmandzadeh | 13 | 288 | 22.2 | 44 | 0 | 24 | 117 | 4.9 | 34 | 0 |

## Awards and records
### Pro Bowl Selections

* Lorenzo Neal FB, AFC Pro-Bowl Selection

### Milestones

* Corey Dillon, 6th 1,000 yard rushing (1,311 yards) season