2011 Cincinnati Bengals season The 2011 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise ' s 44th season as a professional football team and 42nd in the National Football League ( NFL ) . The Bengals entered the season coming off a 4 – 12 in 2010 . Head Coach Marvin Lewis was re - signed by the team ; quarterback ( QB ) Carson Palmer and wide receiver ( WR ) Chad Johnson left the Bengals for the Oakland Raiders and the New England Patriots , respectively . To replace the two , the organization drafted QB Andy Dalton and WR AJ Green in the 2011 NFL Draft . The start of the 2011 season was hindered by a lockout , which cancelled the teams ' mini - camp . After going 1 – 3 in pre - season , the Bengals started their season off with a win against division rival Cleveland Browns , en route to a 9 – 7 record — their best outing since 2009 . It received a Wild Card spot in the 2011 – 12 NFL playoffs where it lost in the opening round to the Houston Texans . Four players — Dalton , Green , defensive lineman ( DL ) Geno Atkins , and tight end ( TE ) Jermaine Gresham — were elected to the 2012 Pro Bowl ; Atkins was also selected to the Associated Press ' 2011 All - Pro Team . Offseason . The Bengals finished their 2010 season with 4 – 12 record , their worst outing since 2002 . In January 2011 , the Bengals organization re - signed coach Marvin Lewis for another two years . Wide receivers Chad Johnson ' s and Terrell Owens ' s contracts expired , and the team did not re - sign them . Also , veteran quarterback Carson Palmer wanted to leave the Bengals via trade ; he claimed if he could not be traded , he would retire . The Bengals organization decided to trade Palmer to the Oakland Raiders for a first - round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional draft pick in 2013 that is a second - rounder unless the Raiders win a playoff game , when it would become a first - rounder . Lockout . Following the end of 2010 season , the collective bargaining agreement ( CBA ) between the owners of all 32 NFL teams and the players was set to expire on March 3 , 2011 . The two parties , however , decided to extend the CBA one more week in order to create a new CBA . A new CBA was not reached , and the owners locked out the players from team facilities and shut down league operations . The major issues disputed were the salary cap , players ' safety and health benefits , revenue sharing and television contracts , transparency of financial information , rookie salaries , season length , and free agency guidelines . A new CBA could not be reached in time , and the annual Hall of Fame Game was cancelled . Also , teams could not hold official mini - camps because of the lockout . On July 25 , 2011 , NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA President DeMaurice Smith signed a new , 10 - year CBA , and the lockout officially ended . Draft . The 2011 NFL Draft was held on April 28 to 30 , 2011 at Radio City Music Hall . In the first round , the Bengals picked AJ Green , a wide receiver ( WR ) from Georgia University , at overall selection number 4 . In his last season at Georgia , Green missed the first four games , but he finished with a team - high 57 reception s for 848 receiving yards and 9 touchdown s . The Bengals selected TCU quarterback ( QB ) Andy Dalton in the second round , with overall selection number 35 . These first two picks were replacements for starting WR Chad Ochocinco and QB Carson Palmer , respectively . In the third round , the Bengals selected defensive lineman ( DL ) Dontay Moch of University of Nevada . During the NFL Scouting Combine , Moch ran a 4 . 44 40 - yard dash , making him the fastest DL to ever run the dash . The Bengals ' next pick was another player from Georgia University ; it selected offensive lineman ( OL ) Clint Boling in the fourth round . Boling was a 3 - time All - SEC pick and , during his college tenure , was a versatile lineman who can play tackle or guard . In the fifth round , free safety ( FS ) Robert Sands was chosen with the 134 pick . The Bengals ' picked WR Ryan Whalen of Stanford University in the sixth round . The final two picks for the Bengals were cornerback ( CB ) Korey Lindsey of Southern Illinois University and runningback ( RB ) Jay Finley of Baylor University . In July , the Bengals signed five draft picks to contracts . Training camp . Training camp was held at Georgetown College , in Georgetown , Kentucky , for the 15th straight year . Players reported on July 28 , the first practice was July 30 , and camp ended on August 7 . On July 28 , the Bengals traded Ochocinco to the New England Patriots for a late draft pick in 2012 and another late pick in 2013 . A few days later , RB Cedric Benson , who was arrested prior , signed a new , one - year contract with the team . Other notable roster changes during training camp include cutting DE Antwan Odom because of his injury , and CB Johnathan Joseph was picked up from free agency by the Houston Texans . The " San Diego Union Tribune " claimed Green was the best player of the entire training camp . The Bengals wanted CB Adam Jones to participate to hopefully become the starter ; however , he did not participate in camp due to a neck injury . On the first day of practice , LB Roddrick Muckelro ruptured his Achilles ' tendon , which caused him to miss the entire season . Dalton played well enough in training camp for Marvin Lewis to nominate him to be the starter for the opening pre - season game . Former Bengals QB Boomer Esiason criticized this move claiming , " If they force - feed [ Dalton ] and put him in games right away , he will get killed . He will get eaten alive . " Pre - season . Cincinnati opened their pre - season schedule with a 34 – 3 loss to the Detroit Lions . The first offensive play for the Bengals resulted in a sack from DL Ndamukong Suh , and the pass was intercepted by CB Chris Houston . The only score for the Bengals was a field goal from kicker Mike Nugent . For its second game , the Bengals traveled to New Jersey to play the New York Jets . The final score of the game was a 27 – 7 defeat . The Bengals ' offense was not productive , and Dalton claimed , " I have to come out and play better . " In pre - season week 3 , the Bengals played their first home game of the season , and won 24 – 13 against the Carolina Panthers . The Bengals ' final game was another home game , playing against the Indianapolis Colts . The starters did not play much , and the team ended up losing 17 – 14 . On September 3 , 2011 , the Bengals ' organization released 27 roster spots , in order to make room for the limit of 53 players . It also acquired WR Brandon Tate , OL Mike McGlynn , and TE Mickey Shuler from waivers . Regular season . Based on 2010 standings , the Bengals had an easy schedule , with an opponent winning percentage of . 473 ; 5 teams were played against that finished 2011 with winning records , and 8 teams were played against that finished 2011 with losing records . The Bengals played each of the teams in the AFC North twice , once home and once on the road . It played its home games at Paul Brown Stadium . Cincinnati ' s match - ups included the Seattle Seahawks and the Colts , both of which won its respective divisions in 2010 . Because of the Bengals ' losing record in 2010 , the NFL decided to not give Cincinnati any prime - time games . Six of the Bengals ' eight home games were blacked out locally due to poor ticket sales . Dating back to 2010 , seven consecutive games were blacked out locally . That streak ended in week 10 when the Bengals hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers . There were three more blackouts before the Bengals sold out the final home game of the season against the Baltimore Ravens , a game with playoff implications for both teams . The Bengals ' average home crowd of 49 , 251 was the worst of the entire NFL . Green was one of four layer from the Bengals to be nominated to the 2012 Pro Bowl , who became the first rookie WR to accomplish this feat since 2003 . The other three players were Datlon , Atkins , and Gresham . Andrew Whitworth was the only player to make the Associated Press ' All - Pro team . In week 10 , Dalton threw his thirteenth and fourteenth touchdown pass , making him the the most passing touchdowns by a rookie in his team ' s first nine games since the AFL – NFL merger ( 1970 ) . He also placed second in the Associated Press ' Offensive Player of the Year award . Standings . The 2011 season was the Bengals ' tenth season as members of the AFC North Division . In 2010 , the Bengals finished fourth — and last — place in the standings . Entering the 2011 season , sportswriter Andy Benoit of " The New York Times " and five analysts for ESPN predicted the team to finish last . The Bengals finished the regular season with a 9 – 7 record , which was good enough for the team to win a Wild Car spot in the playoffs . The Cleveland Browns was the only team from the division to not make the playoffs ; the Baltimore Ravens won the division , and the Pittsburgh Steelers earned the second Wild Card spot . Week 1 : at Cleveland Browns . " September 11 , 2011 at Cleveland Browns Stadium , Cleveland , Ohio " The Bengals started their regular season against the Cleveland Browns , in front of 67 , 321 spectators at Cleveland Browns Stadium in Cleveland , Ohio . On the Bengals ' opening drive , the team drove 53 - yards and got a field goal . The Bengals ' next two drives were a touchdown and another field goal , respectively . Cleveland scored two touchdowns in the second quarter to be up 14 – 13 going into halftime . On the Bengals ' final offensive play before halftime , Dalton was sacked and injured ; he did not play the rest of the game . The Bengals were the first to get the ball in the third quarter , but it did not score the entire quarter . On the other hand , the Browns kicked a field goal in the third to go up by four points . In the final quarter , the Bengals scored two touchdowns , including the longest play of the game : a 44 - yard reception to Green . With the win , the Bengals began the season 1 – 0 and secured their first regular season opening day win since 2007 . Also , Dalton became the fifth quarterback to win his road debut as a rookie . Week 2 : at Denver Broncos . " September 18 , 2011 at Sports Authority Field at Mile High , Denver , Colorado " The Bengals came into the game losing the previous two games against the Denver Broncos . The Bengals have not won at Denver since 1975 . Dalton started the game , despite missing practices and not being cleared until Friday because of his wrist injury . Paid attendance of 73 , 281 was the highest amount of any games the Bengals played in 2011 . The first score of the game happened in the first quarter when RB Willis McGahee ran one yard for a touchdown . Both teams scored a field goal in the second quarter to make the game 10 – 3 going into halftime . Denver QB Kyle Orton threw two touchdown passes to WR Eric Decker — one in the third quarter and one in the fourth quarter . With two minutes left in the game , the Bengals were down 24 – 22 and tried to score to win the game . The Bengals reached midfield , but the Broncos ' defense stopped the Bengals and a fourth - and - nineteen occurred . Dalton threw the ball away , and a turnover on downs happened . Dalton ' s passer rating of 107 . 0 was a franchise best by a rookie , and WR Jerome Simpson had a career - high 136 receiving yards . WR Jordan Shipley torn his anterior cruciate ligament this game , which ended his 2011 season . Week 3 : vs . San Francisco 49ers . " September 25 , 2011 at Paul Brown Stadium , Cincinnati , Ohio " Playing versus the San Francisco 49ers for the first time since 2003 , the Bengals lost 13 – 8 with the smallest crowd for a Bengals home opener since 1981 . Before the game , the team activated Simpson , who was previously injured . The only score in the first half was when Nugent kicked a 22 - yard field goal in the first quarter . It took until 3 minutes left in the third quarter for another score , when 49ers ' kicker David Akers tied the game with a field goal . The Bengals ' final possession ended when when 49ers ' Reggie Smith intercepted Dalton ' s pass with 1 : 45 left in the game . It was Dalton ' s first performance where his passer rating was below 100 ; this game he completed 17 of 32 passes for 157 yards and a rating of 40 . 8 . Coach Lewis claimed the lack of third - down conversions ( 1 – 10 ) were the main reason why the team lost , saying that " We are not converting the third downs or converting in the red zone , and we are not coming away with touchdowns . Right now , that is our biggest deficiency . " Week 4 : vs . Buffalo Bills . " October 2 , 2011 at Paul Brown Stadium , Cincinnati , Ohio " After two losses , the Bengals played the Buffalo Bills at home with 41 , 142 people in attendance . Simpson was able to play this game , despite being under investigation for marijuana . Prior to this game , the Bengals lost 10 - straight games to the Bills , dating back to the 1988 AFC championship game . After two possessions resulting in punts , the Bengals got a field goal in the first quarter . In the second quarter , the Bills scored three times . Kicker Rian Lindell kicked a 43 - yard field goal . In the next Bengals possession , Dalton threw an interception , which was returned for a touchdown . The Bills ' running back Fred Jackson scored a 2 - yard rushing touchdown for the team to be up 17 – 3 going into half time . Nugent kicked a field goal , and Gresham caught a touchdown pass in the third quarter to make the score 13 – 17 going into the final quarter . Lindell kicked a field goal on the Bills ' opening drive to make the score 20 – 13 . Dalton had a three - yard rushing touchdown two possessions later to tie the game at 20 – 20 . On the Bengals ' final possession of the game , on third - down - and - three - yards - to - go , Dalton scrambled and attempted to make the first down . He was originally called short the referee , but the call was reversed once the play was reviewed . Nugent kicked a game - winning field goal as time expired to beat the Bills 23 – 20 . Week 17 : vs . Baltimore Ravens . " January 1 , 2012 at Paul Brown Stadium , Cincinnati , Ohio " In their final regular season game of the year , the Bengals played against the Ravens for a second time . Since the game had playoff implications for both teams , the game time was moved from 1 : 00 PM EST to 4 : 15 PM EST . It was the first sell - out game for the Bengals all season . The first score of the game came in the first quarter when Ravens running back Ray Rice ran for a 70 - yard touchdown . Nugent made three field goals this game , which gave him a team - record of 33 for the season . The team was down by 8 with 1 : 05 left in the game on their own 20 yard line . The game ended in a 24 – 16 loss when Dalton threw a pass out of the end zone as time expired . Despite the loss , the Bengals still gained a playoff spot because the Oakland Raiders and New York Jets lost , which allowed the Bengals to have the final Wild Card spot — their third appearance in the past 20 years . Postseason . Their 9 – 7 regular season record gave the Bengals the second Wild Card spot in the AFC . It ' s record was tied with the Tennessee Titans , but it won the tie breaker because it had a better head - to - head win percentage . The Bengals were looking to win their first playoff win since 1990 . This did not occur , as the team lost to the Houston Texans on January 7 , 2012 .