# 2001 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 2001 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise’s 34th year in professional football and its 32nd with the National Football League. In the first full season with Dick LeBeau as head coach, the Bengals abandoned their plans for developing quarterback Akili Smith as their starter by acquiring Jon Kitna from the Seattle Seahawks. The Bengals would win their first two games with Kitna behind center, and sat at 4–3 through the first seven games of the season. However, the Bengals would struggle again, losing their next seven games as Kitna struggled with inconsistency, throwing 22 interceptions while throwing only 12 touchdown passes. The Bengals would win their final two games to close the season with a 6–10 record, their eleventh consecutive season without a winning record. Despite the team’s struggles, All-Pro running back Corey Dillon had another stellar year, rushing for 1,315 yards.
2001 would turn out to be an important year for the team, as players such as Justin Smith, Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, and T. J. Houshmandzadeh were drafted, all those players would be important to Cincinnati in later years. One bright spot for the Bengals that year was they defeated the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the season opener.

## Offseason

| Additions | Subtractions |
| QB Jon Kitna (Seahawks) | T Rod Jones (Rams) |
| DT Tony Williams (Vikings) | DT Tom Barndt (Jets) |
| DE Bernard Whittington (Colts) | DE Michael Bankston (Redskins) |
| FB Lorenzo Neal (Titans) | |

### NFL draft

2001 Cincinnati Bengals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 4 | Justin Smith * | Defensive end | Missouri |
| 2 | 36 | Chad Johnson * | Wide receiver | Oregon State |
| 3 | 66 | Sean Brewer | Tight end | San Jose State |
| 4 | 100 | Rudi Johnson * | Running back | Auburn |
| 5 | 135 | Victor Leyva | Guard | Arizona State |
| 6 | 168 | Riall Johnson | Linebacker | Stanford |
| 7 | 204 | T. J. Houshmandzadeh * | Wide receiver | Oregon State |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

### Undrafted free agents

2001 undrafted free agents of note :
| Player | Position | College |
| Jeff Boyle | Defensive tackle | Wyoming |
| Kenny Bryant | Cornerback | Jackson State |
| Jeff Chase | Guard | Texas A&M–Kingsville |
| Chris Edmonds | Linebacker | West Virginia |
| Rashad Harris | Linebacker | Louisville |
| Jared Lee | Safety | BYU |
| Calvin Lewis | Defensive tackle | Memphis |
| Freddie Moore | Tackle | Florida A&M |
| Ramondo North | Wide receiver | North Carolina A&T |
| Duke Pettijohn | Linebacker | Syracuse |
| Dave Puloka | Linebacker | Holy Cross |
| Chris Rosier | Wide receiver | William & Mary |
| Kamal Shakir | Linebacker | Memphis |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 9 | New England Patriots | W 23–17 | 1–0 | Paul Brown Stadium | 51,521 |
| 2 | September 23 | Baltimore Ravens | W 21–10 | 2–0 | Paul Brown Stadium | 51,121 |
| 3 | September 30 | at San Diego Chargers | L 14–28 | 2–1 | Qualcomm Stadium | 56,048 |
| 4 | October 7 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 7–16 | 2–2 | Heinz Field | 62,335 |
| 5 | October 14 | Cleveland Browns | W 24–14 | 3–2 | Paul Brown Stadium | 64,217 |
| 6 | October 21 | Chicago Bears | L 0–24 | 3–3 | Paul Brown Stadium | 63,408 |
| 7 | October 28 | at Detroit Lions | W 31–27 | 4–3 | Pontiac Silverdome | 69,343 |
| 8 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 9 | November 11 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 13–30 | 4–4 | Alltel Stadium | 57,161 |
| 10 | November 18 | Tennessee Titans | L 7–20 | 4–5 | Paul Brown Stadium | 63,865 |
| 11 | November 25 | at Cleveland Browns | L 0–18 | 4–6 | Cleveland Browns Stadium | 72,918 |
| 12 | December 2 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 13–16 (OT) | 4–7 | Paul Brown Stadium | 52,135 |
| 13 | December 9 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 10–14 | 4–8 | Paul Brown Stadium | 44,920 |
| 14 | December 16 | at New York Jets | L 14–15 | 4–9 | Giants Stadium | 77,745 |
| 15 | December 23 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 0–16 | 4–10 | PSINet Stadium | 68,987 |
| 16 | December 30 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 26–23 | 5–10 | Paul Brown Stadium | 63,751 |
| 17 | January 6 | at Tennessee Titans | W 23–21 | 6–10 | Adelphia Coliseum | 68,798 |

## Game summaries
### Week 1: vs. New England Patriots

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Patriots | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| Bengals | 0 | 10 | 13 | 0 | 23 |
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
* Date: September 9
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 79 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 51,521
* Referee: John Smith
* TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson, Brent Jones, Sam Wyche
* Box score
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring plays
Second quarter
NE – Troy Brown 14-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Adam Vinatieri kick), 14:55. Patriots 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 68 yards, 6:44.
CIN – Neil Rackers 36-yard field foal, 11:22. Patriots 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 12 yards, 3:33.
NE – Adam Vinatieri 39-yard field goal, 6:04. Patriots 10–3. Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 5:18.
CIN – Corey Dillon 5-yard run (Neil Rackers kick), 2:16. Tied 10–10. Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 3:48.
Third quarter
CIN – Neil Rackers 47-yard field goal, 12:05. Bengals 13–10. Drive: 5 plays, 42 yards, 1:49.
CIN – Neil Rackers 33-yard field goal, 6:01. Bengals 16–10. Drive: 9 plays, 44 yards, 4:23.
CIN – Tony McGee 25-yard pass from Jon Kitna (Neil Rackers kick), 0:06. Bengals 23–10. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:18.
Fourth quarter
NE – Jermaine Wiggins 8-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Adam Vinatieri kick), 5:29. Bengals 23–17. Drive: 11 plays, 94 yards, 3:48.
Top passers
NE – Drew Bledsoe – 22/38, 241 yards, 2 TD
CIN – Jon Kitna – 18/27, 204 yards, TD
Top rushers
NE – Antowain Smith – 11 rushes, 33 yards
CIN – Corey Dillon – 24 rushes, 104 yards, TD
Top receivers
NE – Troy Brown – 7 receptions, 106 yards, TD
CIN – Darnay Scott – 5 receptions, 104 yards :

### Week 2: vs. Baltimore Ravens

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ravens | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Bengals | 0 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 21 |
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
* Date: September 23
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 73 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 51,121
* Referee: Ed Hochuli
* TV announcers (CBS): Ian Eagle, Solomon Wilcots
* Box score
Game information :
First quarter
BAL – Matt Stover 38-yard field goal, 4:22. Ravens 3–0. Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, 2:58.
Second quarter
No scoring plays
Third quarter
CIN – Corey Dillon 1-yard pass from Jon Kitna (Neil Rackers kick), 11:38. Bengals 7–3. Drive: 6 plays, 18 yards, 3:09.
CIN – Jon Kitna 2-yard run (Neil Rackers kick), 8:10. Bengals 14–3. Drive: 6 plays, 33 yards, 2:58.
Fourth quarter
BAL – Patrick Johnson 2-yard pass from Elvis Grbac (Matt Stover kick), 13:40. Bengals 14–10. Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards, 1:28.
CIN – Takeo Spikes 66-yard interception return (Neil Rackers kick), 6:04. Bengals 21–10.
Top passers
BAL – Elvis Grbac – 33/63, 326 yards, TD, 3 INT
CIN – Jon Kitna – 19/30, 154 yards, TD
Top rushers
BAL – Terry Allen – 17 rushes, 61 yards
CIN – Corey Dillon – 18 rushes, 57 yards
Top receivers
BAL – Shannon Sharpe – 8 receptions, 84 yards
CIN – Darnay Scott – 5 receptions, 82 yards :

### Week 3: at San Diego Chargers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Chargers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
at Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, California
* Date: September 30
* Game time: 4:15 p.m. EDT/1:15 PDT
* Game weather: Clear and sunny, 78 °F (26 °C)
* Game attendance: 56,048
* Referee: Dick Hantak
* TV announcers (CBS): Bill Macatee, Trevor Matich, and Scott Kaplan
* Box score

### Week 4: at Pittsburgh Steelers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Steelers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 6 | 16 |
at Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Date: October 7
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Party cloudy, 46 °F (8 °C)
* Game attendance: 62,335
* Referee: Larry Nemmers
* TV announcers (CBS): Bill Macatee and Trevor Matich
* Box score

### Week 5: vs. Cleveland Browns

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Browns | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Bengals | 3 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 24 |
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
* Date: October 14
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 57 °F (14 °C)
* Game attendance: 64,217
* Referee: Mike Carey
* TV announcers (CBS): Don Criqui, Steve Tasker
* Box score

### Week 6: vs. Chicago Bears

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bears | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Bengals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
* Date: October 21
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 63,408
* Referee: Bernie Kukar
* TV announcers (Fox): Curt Menefee, Brian Baldinger, and Dan Jiggetts
* Box score
Game information :
First quarter
CHI – Paul Edinger 48-yard field goal, 4:29. Bears 3–0. Drive: 4 plays, 2 yards, 0:53.
Second quarter
CHI – Fred Baxter 1-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick), 12:51. Bears 10–0. Drive: 3 plays, 51 yards, 1:28.
Third quarter
CHI – Marty Booker 13-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick), 3:25. Bears 17–0. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 3:22.
Fourth quarter
CHI – Anthony Thomas 23-yard run (Paul Edinger kick), 9:05. Bears 24–0. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 5:09.
Top passers
CHI – Jim Miller – 23/30, 232 yards, 2 TD
CIN – Jon Kitna – 19/46, 244 yards, INT
Top rushers
CHI – Anthony Thomas – 22 rushes, 188 yards, TD
CIN – Corey Dillon – 16 rushes, 30 yards
Top receivers
CHI – David Terrell – 7 receptions, 91 yards
CIN – Peter Warrick – 8 receptions, 84 yards :

### Week 7: at Detroit Lions

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
| Lions | 3 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 27 |
at Pontiac Silverdome, Detroit, Michigan
* Date: October 28
* Game time: 1:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: None (played indoors)
* Game attendance: 69,343
* Referee: Johnny Grier
* TV announcers (CBS): Gus Johnson, Brent Jones
* Box score

## Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(1)}$ Pittsburgh Steelers | 13 | 3 | 0 | .813 | 352 | 212 | W1 |
| $^{(5)}$ Baltimore Ravens | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 303 | 265 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 285 | 319 | L1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 336 | 388 | L2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 294 | 286 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 226 | 309 | W2 |

## Team leaders
### Passing

| Player | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | Rating |
| Jon Kitna | 581 | 313 | 3216 | 12 | 22 | 61.1 |

### Rushing

| Player | Att | Yds | YPC | Long | TD |
| Corey Dillon | 340 | 1315 | 3.9 | 96 | 10 |

### Receiving

| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
| Peter Warrick | 70 | 667 | 9.5 | 33 | 1 |
| Darnay Scott | 57 | 819 | 14.4 | 49 | 2 |
| Corey Dillon | 34 | 228 | 6.7 | 17 | 3 |

### Defensive

| Player | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FF | FR |
| Takeo Spikes | 109 | 6.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Reinard Wilson | 37 | 9.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Artrell Hawkins | 59 | 0.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Kevin Kaesviharn | 25 | 0.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |

### Kicking and punting

| Player | FGA | FGM | FG% | XPA | XPM | XP% | Points |
| Neil Rackers | 28 | 17 | 60.7% | 24 | 23 | 95.8% | 74 |
| Player | Punts | Yards | Long | Blkd | Avg. |
| Nick Harris | 84 | 3372 | 57 | 1 | 40.1 |

### Special teams

| Player | KR | KRYards | KRAvg | KRLong | KRTD | PR | PRYards | PRAvg | PRLong | PRTD |
| Curtis Keaton | 42 | 891 | 21.2 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Warrick | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 116 | 6.4 | 31 | 0 |
| T. J. Houshmandzadeh | 10 | 185 | 18.5 | 23 | 0 | 12 | 163 | 13.6 | 86 | 0 |

## Awards and records

* Corey Dillon, 5th 1,000 yard rushing season