1988 Cincinnati Bengals season The 1988 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team ' s 21st year in professional football and its 19th with the National Football League . The Bengals were a team on the rebound . During the 1987 strike - shortened season , quarterback Boomer Esiason and head coach Sam Wyche had openly feuded , and the team finished with a miserable 4 – 11 record . A lot of Bengals fans would have been happy to see them both leave the team , but they worked out their differences in the off - season and Esiason ended up having the best season of his career en route to Super Bowl XXIII . During the regular season , he threw for 3 , 572 yards and 28 touchdown passes with only 14 interceptions , while also rushing for 248 yards and a touchdown on 43 carries . Esiason ' s performance made him the top rated quarterback in the league with a 97 . 4 passer rating and earned him the NFL Most Valuable Player Award . Cincinnati had a number of offensive weapons , boasting 6 Pro Bowl selections . Wide receiver Eddie Brown was the top receiver on the team , with 54 receptions for 1 , 273 yards and 9 touchdowns , setting franchise records for most receiving yards in season , highest yards per catch average in a season ( 24 . 0 ) and most receiving yards in a single game ( 216 against the Pittsburgh Steelers ) . Wide receiver Tim McGee and Pro Bowl tight end Rodney Holman were also major threats , combining for 75 receptions , 1 , 213 yards , and 9 touchdowns . Rookie fullback Ickey Woods was their top rusher with 1 , 066 yards and 15 touchdowns , while also catching 21 passes for 199 yards . Woods gained a lot of media attention with his " Ickey Shuffle " , a dance routine he did in the end zone to celebrate his touchdowns . Multi - talented running back James Brooks was also a key contributor , gaining a total of 1 , 218 combined rushing and receiving yards and 14 touchdowns . And the Bengals ' offensive line was led by such Pro Bowl players as right guard Max Montoya and left tackle Anthony Muñoz . Muñoz was named the NFL Offensive Lineman of the Year the third time in his career , and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl for the 8th season in a row . The Bengals ' pioneering use of the Hurry - up offense was perfected that year , making it difficult for defenders to respond to plays . With all these weapons , Cincinnati ' s offense led the NFL in scoring ( 448 points ) , rushing yards ( 2 , 710 ) , and total yards ( 6 , 302 ) . The Bengals defense ranked 17th in the league , allowing 5 , 556 yards and 329 points during the regular season . Cincinnati had a superb defensive line , led by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tim Krumrie , along with linemen Jim Skow ( 9 . 5 sacks ) , David Grant ( 5 sacks ) , and Jason Buck ( 6 sacks ) . Pro Bowl defensive backs Eric Thomas and David Fulcher combined for 12 interceptions . The team ended up winning the AFC Central with a 12 – 4 record . Bengals were to play the San Francisco 49ers . On the evening of January 21 , 1989 , the night before the game , Stanley Wilson told the coaching staff that he had left his playbook in his hotel room before a team meeting . When he was fifteen minutes late , his position coach , Jim Anderson , looked for him . He found Wilson crumpled on the bathroom floor of his hotel room with cocaine next to him . Later that night , he slipped away from a Bengal staffer who was watching him and got more cocaine . No one from the Bengals heard from him again until the day after the game . Tim Krumrie may perhaps be best known for suffering one of the most dramatic football injuries ever televised , a shattered leg during Super Bowl XXIII against the San Francisco 49ers . Although it was reported at the time and widely believed that his foot caught in the grass , causing the break , a Cincinnati videographer had the best angle , and the breaks to Krumrie ' s leg occurred when Roger Craig ' s knee smashed through both lower leg bones . Krumrie suffered two breaks in his tibia and another in his fibula . It has been argued that the loss of Stanley Wilson and Tim Krumrie suffering a broken leg may have contributed to the Bengals ' loss to the 49ers . The field at Joe Robbie Stadium was somewhat muddy that night , but Wilson usually excelled in these conditions . Playoffs . AFC Divisional Playoff . Seattle ' s defense completely shut down Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason , the NFL ' s top rated quarterback and MVP during the season , limiting him to just 7 of 19 completions for 108 yards . But they were unable to contain Cincinnati on the ground . The Bengals recorded 254 rushing yards ( 126 of them and a touchdown from fullback Ickey Woods ) , while holding the Seahawks to 22 . Cincinnati jumped to a 21 – 0 halftime lead with Woods ' score and two from running back Stanley Wilson . Meanwhile , the Seahawks could only manage 47 total yards in the first half . But after a scoreless third quarter , Seattle attempted a comeback . First , quarterback Dave Krieg threw a 7 - yard touchdown pass to John L . Williams , who finished the game with 11 receptions for 137 yards . Then Krieg scored on a 1 - yard quarterback sneak . However , Norm Johnson missed the extra point attempt and the Seattle was unable to score again . AFC Championship Game . The Bengals forced 3 interceptions , and allowed only 45 rushing yards and 136 passing yards , while their offense held the ball for 39 : 29 . Bills starting running back Thurman Thomas was held to just 6 yards on 4 carries , while quarterback Jim Kelly completed only 14 of 30 passes for 161 yards and 1 touchdown , with 3 interceptions . Just like their previous game , the Bengals didn ' t get much of a performance from NFL MVP Boomer Esiason , who completed only 11 of 20 passes for 94 yards , with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions . But once again , their running game was able to pick up the slack , gaining 175 yards on the ground , 102 yards and 2 touchdowns coming from fullback Ickey Woods . Cincinnati took a 7 – 0 lead in the first quarter after defensive back Eric Thomas ' interception set up Woods ' 1 - yard touchdown . Kelly led the Bills back with 4 consecutive completions , the last one a 9 - yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Reed . Then after forcing a punt , Buffalo drove to the Bengals 26 - yard line , only to have Scott Norwood miss a 43 - yard field goal attempt . Following another punt , Kelly was intercepted again , this time by defensive back Lewis Billups , and the Bengals capitalized with running back James Brooks ' 10 - yard touchdown reception from Esiason . Later on , Bills defensive back Mark Kelso intercepted a pass from Esiason and returned it 25 yards , setting up a 39 - yard field goal by Norwood to cut the Bills deficit to 14 – 10 by halftime . The Bengals took over the game in the second half , forcing Buffalo to start all of their drives from inside their own 23 - yard line and holding them to 53 yards , 2 first downs , and 0 points . Late in the third quarter , Bengals running back Stanley Wilson gained 6 yards on a fake punt attempt , and Cincinnati drove to score on Woods ' second touchdown of the game , increasing their lead to 21 – 10 . The Bills responded with a drive into Bengals territory , but safety David Fulcher picked off a desperate fourth down pass from Kelly in the end zone . This was the last time the Bengals defeated the Bills until Week 4 of the 2011 season . The Bills would go on to win 10 straight against them . Super Bowl . The game started out with devastating injuries on both sides . On the third play of the game , 49ers tackle Steve Wallace was taken off the field with a broken ankle . Later on , Bengals defensive lineman Tim Krumrie twisted his ankle nearly 180 degrees , shattering two bones in his left leg . After the two teams traded punts on their first drives of the game , the 49ers , aided by a roughing the passer penalty and a 17 - yard screen pass to Tom Rathman on 3rd - and - 10 , marched 73 yards from their own 3 - yard line to the Bengals 24 . But dropped passes , including one by receiver Mike Wilson on the 2 - yard line ( the first time in a Super Bowl that instant replay was used to reverse a call ) , forced them to settle for a 41 - yard field goal from kicker Mike Cofer . On the 49ers next drive , Montana threw a pass to wide receiver Jerry Rice , who first tipped it to himself and then made a one - handed catch before stepping out of bounds at the San Francisco 45 - yard line . Then after reaching the Cincinnati 42 - yard line , Montana spotted defensive back Lewis Billups trying to cover Rice one - on - one and made him pay for it by completing a pass to the receiver at the 10 . But two plays later on a third down play , Bengals safety David Fulcher made a touchdown saving tackle at the 2 - yard line to keep full back Tom Rathman from scoring . Cofer then attempted a 19 - yard field goal , but a poor snap from center Randy Cross ( though NBC ' s Dick Enberg initially blamed backup guard Chuck Thomas ; who lined up next to Cross ) threw off the kicker ' s timing and his kick sailed wide left . It became the shortest missed field goal in Super Bowl history . The 49ers then forced the Bengals to punt on their next drive . On the play , San Francisco Pro Bowl punt returner John Taylor misplayed punter Lee Johnson ' s kick , and it sailed over his head , bouncing all the way to the 49ers 9 - yard line to make it a Super Bowl record 63 yard punt . But Taylor made up for his mistake by chasing the ball down and returning it for a Super Bowl record 45 yards to the Bengals 46 - yard line . Thanks to Taylor , a seemingly routine punt had turned into a double record setter . However , the 49ers were unable to take advantage of their excellent starting field position . On first down , running back Harry Sydney fumbled a pitch from Montana and was downed for a 10 - yard loss after he dove on the ball . On the next play , Montana was sacked by defensive lineman David Grant . Then on third down , Fulcher forced a fumble from 49ers running back Roger Craig , and Bengals defensive end Jim Skow recovered the ball on his own 41 - yard line . Cincinnati then drove to the San Francisco 42 - yard line , but after 2 incomplete passes and defensive end Danny Stubbs ' s 8 - yard sack on Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason , they were forced to punt . However , Johnson pinned the 49ers back at their own 11 - yard line with his punt . Then the Cincinnati defense limited the 49ers to just 1 yard on their ensuing drive , and ended up with great field position after defensive back Ray Horton returned San Francisco punter Barry Helton ' s 37 - yard punt 5 yards to the 49ers 44 - yard line On their ensuing drive , the Bengals managed to get into scoring range by driving 28 yards to the San Francisco 16 - yard line , assisted by an 18 - yard completion from Esiason to receiver Tim McGee . But after Esiason ' s third down pass intended to wide receiver Eddie Brown was overthrown , they were forced to settle for kicker Jim Breech ' s 34 - yard field goal with 1 : 15 left in the half . The two teams went into their locker rooms tied 3 – 3 , the first halftime tie in Super Bowl history , and the lowest halftime score since the Pittsburgh Steelers took a 2 – 0 halftime lead over the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IX . On their opening possession in the second half , the Bengals managed to get a sustained drive going , moving the ball 61 yards in 12 plays and taking 9 : 15 off the clock . Esiason , who completed only 4 of 12 passes for 48 yards in the first half , completed 3 of 4 passes for 54 yards on the drive , including a 20 - yard completion to James Brooks and 23 - yard and 11 - yard completions to Cris Collinsworth , setting up a 43 - yard field goal from Breech to give the Bengals their first lead of the game , 6 – 3 . Cincinnati then forced San Francisco to punt , but on the first play of their next drive , 49ers rookie linebacker Bill Romanowski intercepted a pass from Esiason at the Bengals ' 23 - yard line . However , after a dropped pass by Jerry Rice , the 49ers offense could not get a first down , and they had to settle for Cofer ' s 32 - yard field goal to tie the game . With less than a minute left in the third quarter , it appeared that this would become the first Super Bowl ever to go 3 quarters without either team scoring a touchdown . But on the ensuing kickoff , Bengals kick returner Stanford Jennings returned the ball 93 yards for a touchdown to give the Bengals a 13 – 6 lead . Jennings would be the second player to return a kickoff for a touchdown in Super Bowl history . In four games played at Joe Robbie Stadium , each game had a kickoff return for a score , all by the eventual losing team . But the 49ers immediately responded with a touchdown of their own , on an 85 - yard , 4 - play drive . First , Montana threw a short pass to Jerry Rice , who turned it into a 31 - yard gain . Then the San Francisco quarterback completed a 40 - yard pass to Craig on the first play of the 4th quarter , moving the ball to the Bengals 14 - yard line . Montana ' s next pass was nearly intercepted but dropped by Billips in the endzone . Montana then threw a 14 - yard touchdown pass to Rice , and the game was tied , 13 – 13 . Cofer ' s ensuing kickoff went out of bounds , giving the Bengals the ball at their own 35 - yard line . But they could only reach the 43 - yard line before being forced to punt . Taylor nearly turned the ball over by fumbling Johnson ' s punt , but his teammate Darryl Pollard recovered the ball at the San Francisco 18 - yard line . On the first play of the ensuing drive , Montana completed a 44 - yard pass to Rice , and then Craig ran for 7 yards , moving the ball to the Bengals 31 - yard line . But after Craig was tackled for a 1 - yard loss on the next play , Fulcher broke up a third down pass intended for Taylor , and then Cofer ' s ensuing 49 - yard field attempt sailed wide right . The Bengals took over from their own 32 - yard line following the missed field goal , and retook the lead with a 10 - play , 46 - yard drive , featuring a 17 - yard reception by backup receiver Ira Hillary on third down and 13 , along with 21 yards on three carries from Ickey Woods and a 12 - yard play - action sideline pass to James Brooks . At the end of the drive , Breech kicked a 40 - yard field goal , giving the Bengals a 16 – 13 lead with 3 : 20 left in the game . The 49ers returned the ensuing kickoff to their own 15 - yard line with 3 : 10 on the clock , but an illegal block penalty on the play pushed the ball back half the distance to the goal line to the 8 . Montana then led an 11 - play , 92 - yard drive to score the winning touchdown . In order to calm his teammates in the huddle just before the final game - winning drive , Montana pointed into the stadium crowd and said " Hey , isn ' t that John Candy ? " The moment worked [ 3 ] , and the 49ers were able to drive down the field for the win . It became the defining moment of Montana ' s " Joe Cool " reputation . Assuming that the Bengals would expect him to throw the ball near the sidelines ( to enable the receivers to step out of bounds to immediately stop the clock ) , Montana first threw a pair of completions in the middle of the field , one to Craig and one to tight end John Frank . His next pass went 7 yards to Rice , which was then followed up by a pair of runs by Craig to reach their own 35 - yard line . Montana then completed a 17 - yard pass to Rice to advance the team to the Bengals 48 - yard line , and followed it up with a 13 - yard completion to Craig to move them to the 35 - yard line . But on the next play , Montana threw his first incomplete pass of the drive . After that , Cross committed an illegal man downfield penalty , which at the time was a 10 - yard foul , moving the ball back to the 45 - yard line and bringing up second down and 20 to go with just 1 : 15 left in the game . But Montana overcame the situation on the next play with a 27 - yard completion to Rice , who caught the ball at the 33 , evaded 3 Bengal defenders , and ran to the 18 - yard line before Horton managed to tackle him to prevent a touchdown . An 8 - yard pass to Craig then advanced San Francisco to the 10 - yard line . Then with 39 seconds left in the game , Montana finished the drive with a 10 - yard touchdown pass to Taylor , giving the 49ers the lead for good . Finally , San Francisco ' s defense sealed the victory after Esiason ' s pass to Collinsworth was broken up as time expired . Awards and records . The most 100 - yard rushing games in a Bengals season is seven , during the 12 – 4 season of 1988 . Ickey Woods had five while James Brooks had two . Ickey Woods set the franchise record for most rushing yards in a postseason game when he rumbled for 126 yards in Cincinnati ' s 21 – 13 victory over Seattle in the AFC Divisional Playoffs ( Dec . 31 ) .