# 1977 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1977 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 8th season in the National Football League, and the 10th overall. Second-year Running Back Archie Griffin struggled to learn the NFL game rushing for only 549 yards while failing to cross the end zone. A loss to Houston in the final game cost the Bengals a spot in the playoffs. The team finished with an 8–6 record.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1977 Cincinnati Bengals draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | 3 | Eddie Edwards | Defensive end | Miami (FL) |
| 1 | 8 | Wilson Whitley | Defensive tackle | Houston |
| 1 | 22 | Mike Cobb | Tight end | Michigan State |
| 2 | 49 | Pete Johnson * | Running back | Ohio State |
| 3 | 76 | Mike Voight | Running back | North Carolina |
| 4 | 85 | Rick Walker | Tight end | UCLA |
| 4 | 103 | Mike Wilson | Offensive tackle | Georgia |
| 4 | 105 | Jerry Anderson | Defensive back | Oklahoma |
| 5 | 133 | Ray Phillips | Linebacker | Nebraska |
| 6 | 160 | Tommy Duniven | Quarterback | Texas Tech |
| 7 | 187 | Louis Breeden * | Defensive back | North Carolina Central |
| 7 | 194 | Jim Corbett | Tight end | Pittsburgh |
| 8 | 214 | Jose St. Victor | Guard | Syracuse |
| 9 | 245 | Willie Zachary | Wide receiver | Central State (OH) |
| 10 | 272 | Bob Bialik | Punter | Hillsdale |
| 11 | 292 | Joel Parrish | Guard | Georgia |
| 11 | 299 | Carl Allen | Defensive back | Southern Miss |
| 12 | 326 | Alex Percival | Wide receiver | Morehouse |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | September 18 | Cleveland Browns | L 3–13 | 0–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 52,847 |
| 2 | September 25 | Seattle Seahawks | W 42–20 | 1–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 45,579 |
| 3 | October 2 | at San Diego Chargers | L 3–24 | 1–2 | San Diego Stadium | 40,352 |
| 4 | October 9 | at Green Bay Packers | W 17–7 | 2–2 | Milwaukee County Stadium | 53,653 |
| 5 | October 17 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 14–20 | 2–3 | Three Rivers Stadium | 47,950 |
| 6 | October 23 | Denver Broncos | L 13–24 | 2–4 | Riverfront Stadium | 54,395 |
| 7 | October 30 | Houston Oilers | W 13–10 (OT) | 3–4 | Riverfront Stadium | 53,194 |
| 8 | November 6 | at Cleveland Browns | W 10–7 | 4–4 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 81,932 |
| 9 | November 13 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 10–42 | 4–5 | Metropolitan Stadium | 45,371 |
| 10 | November 20 | Miami Dolphins | W 23–17 | 5–5 | Riverfront Stadium | 46,733 |
| 11 | November 27 | New York Giants | W 30–13 | 6–5 | Riverfront Stadium | 32,705 |
| 12 | December 4 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–7 | 7–5 | Arrowhead Stadium | 38,488 |
| 13 | December 10 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 17–10 | 8–5 | Riverfront Stadium | 36,133 |
| 14 | December 18 | at Houston Oilers | L 16–21 | 8–6 | Astrodome | 46,212 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. |||||||

### Season summary
#### Week 5 at Steelers

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bengals | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Steelers | 0 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
at Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* Date: October 17
* Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
* Game weather: 39 °F (4 °C)
* Game attendance: 47,950
* TV announcers (ABC): Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, and Howard Cosell
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
PIT – Rocky Bleier 1-yard run (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 7–0.
PIT – Rocky Bleier 2-yard run (kick failed). Steelers 13–0.
CIN – Glenn Bujnoch 4-yard run (Chris Bahr kick). Steelers 13–7.
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
PIT – Sidney Thornton 1-yard run (Roy Gerela kick). Steelers 20–7.
CIN – Reggie Williams recovered special teams fumble in end zone. Steelers 20–14.
Top passers
CIN – John Reaves – 8/25, 142 yards, 3 INT
PIT – Terry Bradshaw – 6/9, 117 yards
Top rushers
CIN – Lenvil Elliott – 13 rushes, 44 yards
PIT – Franco Harris – 16 rushes, 73 yards
Top receivers
CIN – Isaac Curtis – 5 receptions, 88 yards
PIT – Bennie Cunningham – 2 receptions, 49 yards :
Bob Trumpy was knocked out of the game by Mel Blount

#### Week 8

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Bengals | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| Browns | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

#### Week 11

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Giants | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 13 |
| • Bengals | 20 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 30 |

### Standings

AFC Central :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Pittsburgh Steelers$^{(3)}$ | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 4–2 | 7–5 | 276 | 243 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 299 | 230 | W2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 3–3 | 6–5 | 238 | 235 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 2–4 | 5–7 | 269 | 267 | L4 |