# 2003 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 2003 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 34th season in the National Football League (NFL), the 36th overall, and the first under head coach Marvin Lewis, who replaced Dick LeBeau, who was fired following the 2002 season which the worst season in Bengals history. The Bengals had the first overall pick in the 2003 NFL draft with which they selected 2002 Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. After a slow start, the Bengals got hot winning at midseason, winning four straight games to stand at 7–5, entering a key Week 14 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens with a chance to win the division. However, in the key showdown for first place the Bengals showed they were not quite ready for primetime as they were beaten 31–13. The Bengals would rebound to win their next game against the San Francisco 49ers, but at 8–6 the Bengals could not get that ninth win, losing their last two games to spoil an effort to earn their first winning season since 1990, finishing at 8–8.
Along with Willie Anderson, Chad Johnson, for the first time in his career, was named to the Pro Bowl at the end of the season.

## Offseason

The Bengals lost fullback Lorenzo Neal and linebacker Takeo Spikes in free agency, while signing cornerback Tory James, safety Rogers Beckett, linebacker Kevin Hardy, defensive tackle John Thornton, tight end Reggie Kelly, quarterback Shane Matthews and defensive ends Duane Clemons and Carl Powell.
| Additions | Subtractions |
| DT John Thornton (Titans) | QB Gus Frerotte (Vikings) |
| QB Shane Matthews (Redskins) | LB Takeo Spikes (Bills) |
| S Rogers Beckett (Chargers) | FB Lorenzo Neal (Chargers) |
| TE Reggie Kelly (Falcons) | QB Akili Smith (Packers) |
| LB Kevin Hardy (Cowboys) | K Neil Rackers (Cardinals) |
| CB Tory James (Raiders) | DE Reinard Wilson (Buccaneers) |
| DE Duane Clemons (Chiefs) | FB Nick Luchey (Packers) |
| DE Carl Powell (Redskins) | DE Eric Ogbogu (Cowboys) |
| | LB Steve Foley (Texans) |

### NFL Draft

2003 Cincinnati Bengals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 1 | Carson Palmer * | Quarterback | USC |
| 2 | 33 | Eric Steinbach * | Guard | Iowa |
| 3 | 65 | Kelley Washington | Wide receiver | Tennessee |
| 4 | 98 | Dennis Weathersby | Cornerback | Oregon State |
| 4 | 118 | Jeremi Johnson | Fullback | Western Kentucky |
| 5 | 136 | Khalid Abdullah | Linebacker | Mars Hill |
| 6 | 174 | Langston Moore | Defensive tackle | South Carolina |
| 7 | 215 | Scott Kooistra | Offensive tackle | North Carolina State |
| 7 | 259 | Elton Patterson | Defensive end | UCF |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Kickoff Time | Attendance |
| 1 | September 7 | Denver Broncos | L 10–30 | 0–1 | CBS 1:00pm | 63,820 |
| 2 | September 14 | at Oakland Raiders | L 20–23 | 0–2 | CBS 4:15pm | 50,135 |
| 3 | September 21 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–17 | 0–3 | CBS 1:00pm | 64,596 |
| 4 | September 28 | at Cleveland Browns | W 21–14 | 1–3 | CBS 1:00pm | 73,428 |
| 5 | October 5 | at Buffalo Bills | L 16–22 (OT) | 1–4 | CBS 1:00pm | 72,615 |
| 6 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 7 | October 19 | Baltimore Ravens | W 34–26 | 2–4 | CBS 1:00pm | 53,553 |
| 8 | October 26 | Seattle Seahawks | W 27–24 | 3–4 | FOX 1:00pm | 52,131 |
| 9 | November 2 | at Arizona Cardinals | L 14–17 | 3–5 | CBS 4:05pm | 23,531 |
| 10 | November 9 | Houston Texans | W 34–27 | 4–5 | CBS 1:00pm | 50,437 |
| 11 | November 16 | Kansas City Chiefs | W 24–19 | 5–5 | CBS 1:00pm | 64,923 |
| 12 | November 23 | at San Diego Chargers | W 34–27 | 6–5 | CBS 4:15pm | 52,069 |
| 13 | November 30 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–20 | 7–5 | CBS 1:00pm | 58,797 |
| 14 | December 7 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 13–31 | 7–6 | CBS 1:00pm | 69,468 |
| 15 | December 14 | San Francisco 49ers | W 41–38 | 8–6 | FOX 1:00pm | 64,666 |
| 16 | December 21 | at St. Louis Rams | L 10–27 | 8–7 | CBS 1:00pm | 66,061 |
| 17 | December 28 | Cleveland Browns | L 14–22 | 8–8 | CBS 1:00pm | 65,362 |
Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text

### Standings

AFC North :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| $^{(4)}$ Baltimore Ravens | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 4–2 | 7–5 | 391 | 281 | W2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 346 | 384 | L2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 3–3 | 5–7 | 300 | 327 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 2–4 | 3–9 | 254 | 322 | W1 |

## Team leaders
### Passing

| Player | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | Rating |
| Jon Kitna | 324 | 520 | 3591 | 26 | 15 | 87.4 |

### Rushing

| Player | Att | Yds | YPC | Long | TD |
| Rudi Johnson | 215 | 957 | 4.5 | 54 | 9 |

### Receiving

| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
| Chad Johnson | 90 | 1355 | 15.1 | 82 | 10 |

### Defensive

| Player | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FF | FR |
| Kevin Hardy | 124 | 1.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Duane Clemons | 63 | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| John Thornton | 60 | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Tory James | 68 | 1.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |

### Kicking and punting

| Player | FGA | FGM | FG% | XPA | XPM | XP% | Points |
| Shayne Graham | 25 | 22 | 88.0% | 40 | 40 | 100.0% | 106 |
| Player | Punts | Yards | Long | Blkd | Avg. |
| Kyle Richardson | 49 | 1961 | 58 | 0 | 40.0 |

### Special teams

| Player | KR | KRYards | KRAvg | KRLong | KRTD | PR | PRYards | PRAvg | PRLong | PRTD |
| Brandon Bennett | 53 | 1146 | 21.6 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peter Warrick | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 273 | 10.9 | 68 | 1 |

## Awards

* Jon Kitna QB, NFL Comeback Player of the Year

## Milestones

* Chad Johnson 2nd 1000 yard receiving season (1,355 yards)
* Brandon Bennett 2nd 1000-yard return season (1,146 yards)