Cincinnati Bengals

The **Cincinnati Bengals** are a professional American football franchise based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home stadium is Paul Brown Stadium, located in downtown Cincinnati. Cincinnati's divisional opponents are the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Bengals were founded in 1966 as a member of the American Football League (AFL) by former Cleveland Browns head coach Paul Brown, and began play in the 1968 season. Brown was the Bengals' head coach from their inception to 1975. After being dismissed as the Browns' head coach by Art Modell (who had purchased a majority interest in the team in 1961) in January 1963, Brown had shown interest in establishing another NFL franchise in Ohio and looked at both Cincinnati and Columbus. He ultimately chose the former when a deal between the city, Hamilton County, and Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds (who were seeking a replacement for the obsolete Crosley Field) was struck that resulted in an agreement to build a multipurpose stadium which could host both baseball and football games.

Due to the impending merger of the AFL and the NFL, which was scheduled to take full effect in the 1970 season, Brown agreed to join the AFL as its tenth and final franchise. The Bengals, like the other former AFL teams, were assigned to the AFC following the merger. Cincinnati was also selected because, like their neighbors the Reds, they could draw from several large neighboring cities (Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky; Columbus, Dayton, and Springfield, Ohio) that are all no more than 110 miles (180 km) away from downtown Cincinnati, along with Indianapolis, until the Baltimore Colts relocated there prior to the 1984 NFL season.

The Bengals won the AFC championship in 1981 and 1988, but lost Super Bowls XVI and XXIII to the San Francisco 49ers. After Paul Brown's death in 1991, controlling interest in the team was inherited by his son, Mike Brown. In 2011, Brown purchased shares of the team owned by the estate of co-founder Austin Knowlton and is now the majority owner of the Bengals franchise.

The 1990s and the 2000s were a period of great struggle. During that era they were occasionally referred to as "The Bungles" due to their struggles. Following the 1990 season, the team went 14 years without posting a winning record, nor qualifying to play in the NFL playoffs. The Bengals had several head coaches and several of their top draft picks did not pan out. The team does not have an official general manager, however, owner Mike Brown handles the normal day-to-day operations a general manager would typically handle. In a 2011 survey, Brown was rated as among the worst team owners in American professional sports. The team's fortunes improved in the mid-2000s, which saw them become more consistent postseason contenders, but they have continued to struggle past the regular season and have not won a playoff game since 1990, which is the longest active drought in the NFL.

The Bengals are one of 12 NFL teams to not have won a Super Bowl and one of six to have not won a championship, pre or post-Super Bowl era. They are also the only AFL franchise to have not won a championship in the AFL or NFL.

**History**

In 1967, an ownership group led by Paul Brown was granted a franchise in the American Football League. Brown named the team the Bengals in order "to give it a link with past professional football in Cincinnati". Another Cincinnati Bengals team had existed in the city and played in three previous American Football Leagues from 1937 to 1942. The city's world-renowned zoo was also home to a rare white Bengal tiger. However, possibly as an insult to Art Modell, or possibly as a homage to his own start as a head coach to the Massillon Tigers, Brown chose the exact shade of orange used by his former team. He added black as the secondary color. Brown chose a very simple logo: the word "BENGALS" in black lettering. One of the potential helmet designs Brown rejected was a striped motif that was similar to the helmets adopted by the team in 1981 and which is still in use; however, that design featured yellow stripes on a turquoise helmet[*citation needed*] which were more uniform in width. The Bengals would begin play in the 1968 season.

In 1966, the American Football League agreed to a merger with its older and more established rival, the National Football League. Among the terms of the merger was that the AFL was permitted to add one additional franchise; the NFL wanted an even number of clubs in the merged league, so a team needed to be added to bring the number of clubs in the merged league to twenty-six teams.

For the AFL, a key motive behind their agreement to accept a new team was that the guarantee of an eventual place in the NFL meant the league could charge a steep expansion fee of $10 million: 400 times the $25,000 the original eight owners paid when they founded the league in 1960. The cash from the new team provided the American Football League with the funds needed to pay the indemnities required to be paid by the AFL to the NFL, as stipulated by the merger agreement.

Prior to the merger's announcement, Brown had not seriously considered joining the American Football League, and was not a supporter of what he openly regarded to be an inferior competition, once famously stating that "I didn't pay ten million dollars to be in the AFL." However, with the announcement of the merger, Brown realized that the AFL expansion franchise would likely be his only realistic path back into the NFL in the short to medium term, and ultimately acquiesced to joining the AFL after learning that the team was guaranteed to become an NFL franchise after the merger was completed in 1970.

There was also a major problem: Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds were in need of a facility to replace Crosley Field, which they had used since 1912. By this time, the small park was antiquated and rundown, and parking issues had plagued the city since the early 1950s, while the park also lacked modern amenities, issues which were exacerbated by the Mill Creek Expressway (I-75) project that ran alongside the park.

While New York City (which had lost both its National League teams in 1957 after the Dodgers relocated to Los Angeles, and the Giants relocated to San Francisco) had actively courted Reds owner Powel Crosley to relocate his team there, Crosley was adamant that the Reds remain in Cincinnati and tolerated the worsening problems with the Crosley Field location.

With assistance from Ohio governor James A. Rhodes, Hamilton County and the Cincinnati city council agreed to build a single multi-purpose facility on the dilapidated riverfront section of the city: the new facility had to be ready by the opening of the 1970 NFL season, and was officially named Riverfront Stadium.

With the completion of the merger in 1970, the Cleveland Browns were one of three NFL teams that agreed to move to the AFL-based American Football Conference to give both conferences an equal number of teams and were placed in the AFC Central, the same division as the Bengals. An instant rivalry was born, fueled initially by Paul Brown's rivalry with Art Modell.

For their first two seasons, the Bengals played at Nippert Stadium, the current home of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. The team held training camp at Wilmington College in Wilmington, through the 1968 preseason. The team finished its first season with a 3–11 record and running back Paul Robinson, who rushed for 1,023 yards, and was named the AFL Rookie of the Year.

Founder Paul Brown coached the team for its first eight seasons. One of Brown's college draft strategies was to draft players with above-average intelligence. Punter/wide receiver Pat McInally attended Harvard University, and linebacker Reggie Williams attended Dartmouth College and served on Cincinnati city council while on the Bengals' roster. Because of this policy, many former players were highly articulate and went on to have successful careers in commentary and broadcasting as well as the arts. In addition, Brown had a knack for locating and recognizing pro football talent in unusual places.

In 1970, the Bengals moved to play at Riverfront Stadium, a home they shared with the Cincinnati Reds until the team moved to Paul Brown Stadium in 2000. Notable players of the 1970 team included Virgil Carter, Chip Meyers, Jack Meckstroth, Bob Trumpy, Lemar Parrish. Virgil Carter threw for 1,647 yards. Chip Myers paced all receivers, grabbing 32 passes for 542 yards. Bob Trumpy contributed to the receiving game, too. The team reached the playoffs three times during that decade, but could not win any of those postseason games. In 1975, the team posted an 11–3 record, giving them what is to this day the highest winning percentage (.786) in franchise history. But it only earned them a wild card spot in the playoffs, behind the 12–2 Pittsburgh Steelers, who went on to win the Super Bowl: the Bengals lost to the Oakland Raiders 31–28 in the divisional playoffs.

The Bengals reached the Super Bowl twice during the 1980s, in Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XXIII, but lost both times to the San Francisco 49ers. The team appeared in the playoffs in 1990, making it to the second round before losing to the Los Angeles Raiders.

Before the following season got underway, Paul Brown died at age 82. Due to declining health, he had already transferred control to his son, Mike Brown, but was reported to still influence the daily operations of the team. The Bengals' fortunes changed for the worse as the team posted 14 consecutive non-winning seasons and were saddled with numerous draft busts. They began to emerge from that dismal period into a new era of increased consistency, however, after the team finished with its worst record in history, 2–14, which led to the hiring of Marvin Lewis as head coach in 2003. Carson Palmer, the future star quarterback, was drafted in 2003, but did not play a snap that whole season, as Jon Kitna had a comeback year (voted NFL Comeback Player of the Year). Despite Kitna's success, Palmer was promoted to starting quarterback the following season. Under Palmer, the team advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 1990 in the 2005 season, which also was the first time the team had a winning percentage above .500 since 1990.

The Bengals returned to the playoffs again in 2009 in a season that included the franchise's first-ever division sweep. This was especially impressive since two of the teams swept by the Bengals (the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens) had made it to the AFC Championship Game the previous season. Marvin Lewis was rewarded for the accomplishment with the NFL Coach of the Year Award. In the 2010 season, the Bengals posted a 4–12 record.

Following the disappointing 2010 season, quarterback Carson Palmer demanded to be traded. When the Bengals refused to do so, Palmer announced his retirement from the NFL. He later was moved at the NFL trade deadline to the Oakland Raiders. In the 2011 NFL draft, the Bengals selected wide receiver AJ Green in the first round, and quarterback Andy Dalton in the second round. The Bengals improved to 9–7 in the 2011 season, and clinched a playoff spot. Dalton and Green became the most prolific rookie WR-QB duo in history, connecting 65 times for 1,057 yards. However, they lost to the Houston Texans 31–10 in the Wild Card Round. In the 2012 season, the Bengals clinched a playoff spot once more with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, going to the playoffs in back-to-back years for the first time since 1982. However, the Bengals faced the Texans in the first round yet again and took another early exit, losing 19–13.

In the 2013 season, for the third straight year, the Bengals clinched a playoff berth and also won the AFC North, finishing with an 11–5 record. But once again, the Bengals were defeated in the wild card round, this time by the San Diego Chargers, 27–10. Most of the blame was put on Andy Dalton, who threw 2 interceptions and fumbled on a forward dive. This made the Bengals 0–5 in playoff games since Mike Brown took over as owner. The 2014 season started well with the Bengals winning their first three contests against the Baltimore Ravens, the Atlanta Falcons, and the Tennessee Titans. However, they lost their week 5 matchup at the New England Patriots, 43–17. An overtime tie to the Carolina Panthers and shutout loss to the Indianapolis Colts followed the primetime loss to the Patriots. Finishing the season 10–5–1 as the 5th seed, they lost to the Colts, 26–10, in the first round of the playoffs. This was the first time the franchise made the playoffs four straight seasons.

In 2015, the Bengals got out to a franchise-best 8–0 start with a 31–10 win over the Cleveland Browns, but they then lost multiple consecutive games yet clinched a playoff berth. However, they lost to the division rival Pittsburgh Steelers, 18–16, in the Wild Card round in the final minute, making them the first franchise in NFL history to lose five straight opening-round playoff games. This frustration continued in 2016 for the Bengals. The Bengals finished the 2016 campaign with a 6–9–1 record, losing several key players to injury including AJ Green, Giovani Bernard, and Jeremy Hill. They missed the playoffs for the first time since 2010, marking the first time Andy Dalton missed the playoffs as the Bengals' starting quarterback. One notable game was a 27–27 tie against the Washington Redskins which was played in London in 2016.

Following a rough 2016 season, the Bengals looked forward into 2017. However, after starting 0–3, the Bengals never found their footing. At one point in the season, the Bengals were 5–9. There were rumors that Marvin Lewis would not return for the next season as the Bengals' head coach. However, after two come-from-behind victories over the Lions and Ravens, that eliminated both teams from the playoffs, the Bengals finished 7–9. The final two games were convincing enough for owner Mike Brown to give Lewis a new two-year contract.

The 2018 campaign began with promise for the Bengals under Lewis. Cincinnati began the season with a 4–1 record with impressive wins over the Colts, Ravens, Falcons, and the Dolphins. However, the Bengals suffered many setbacks after the hot start. Defensive Coordinator Teryl Austin was fired mid-season because of defensive woes, AJ Green was injured and officially out for the last 4 games, and Andy Dalton injured his thumb in the Bengals' first game against the Browns and replaced by Jeff Driskel for the rest of the season. The Bengals ended 2018 with a final record of 6-10 and last place in the AFC North. On December 31, 2018, with one year to go on his contract, Lewis and the Bengals mutually parted ways after three straight losing seasons under his watch.

With Zac Taylor assuming the head coaching mantle, the 2019 campaign started off with reasonable success, barely losing to Seattle 21–20 in CenturyLink Field, but what started with promise, ended in disaster. The Bengals then lost 10 more games and were 0-11 heading into December 2019. To open the month of December, they got their first win against the Jets 22–6 in Cincinnati. They eventually lost to the Patriots and lost to the Dolphins 38–35 in OT after Dalton led the team back from 23 points down in the fourth quarter. With the loss to the Dolphins, the Bengals officially clinched the #1 Overall Pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. They'd cap off the season with a win against the underperforming Cleveland Browns, finishing 2–14, equaling the 2002 season as the team's worst record in history.

The Bengals improved under rookie Joe Burrow, but lost Burrow to a season-ending in week 10 to the Washington Football Team that all but ended their season. The Bengals finished 4-11-1.

**Roster**

**Cincinnati Bengals roster**
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* 9 Joe Burrow

**Running backs**
* 28 Joe Mixon
* 25 *Chris Evans*
* 34 Samaje Perine
* 32 Trayveon Williams

**Wide receivers**
* 83 Tyler Boyd
* 1 *Ja'Marr Chase*
* 85 Tee Higgins
* 16 Trenton Irwin
* 17 Stanley Morgan Jr.
* 80 Mike Thomas

**Tight ends**
* 89 Drew Sample
* 87 C. J. Uzomah
* 84 Mitchell Wilcox
* 79 *Jackson Carman* G
* 63 *Trey Hill* C
* 66 Trey Hopkins C
* 74 Fred Johnson G
* 75 Isaiah Prince T
* 70 *D'Ante Smith* T
* 67 Quinton Spain G
* 73 Jonah Williams T

**Defensive linemen**
* 91 Trey Hendrickson DE
* 92 B. J. Hill DT
* 94 Sam Hubbard DE
* 90 Khalid Kareem DE
* 65 Larry Ogunjobi DT
* 98 D. J. Reader DT
* 96 *Cameron Sample* DE
* 99 *Tyler Shelvin* DT
* 68 Josh Tupou DT
* 44 Clay Johnston MLB
* 47 Keandre Jones OLB
* 57 Germaine Pratt OLB
* 93 Wyatt Ray OLB
* 55 Logan Wilson MLB

**Defensive backs**
* 37 Ricardo Allen FS
* 20 Eli Apple CB
* 22 Chidobe Awuzie CB
* 30 Jessie Bates FS
* 35 Jalen Davis CB
* 33 Tre Flowers CB
* 24 Vonn Bell SS
* 29 Vernon Hargreaves CB
* 21 Mike Hilton CB
* 31 Michael Thomas SS
* 26 Trae Waynes CB

**Special teams**
* 46 Clark Harris LS
* 10 Kevin Huber P
* 2 *Evan McPherson* K
* 59 Akeem Davis-Gaither OLB (IR)
* 50 Jordan Evans OLB (IR)
* 56 *Wyatt Hubert* DE (NF-Inj.)
* 58 *Joseph Ossai* DE (IR)
* 23 Darius Phillips CB (IR)
* 71 Riley Reiff T (IR)
* 72 Xavier Su'a-Filo G (IR)
* 19 Auden Tate WR (IR)
* 40 Brandon Wilson FS (IR)

**Practice squad**
* 39 John Brannon CB
* 6 Jake Browning QB
* 48 Austin Calitro OLB
* 4 *Drue Chrisman* P
* 76 Mike Daniels DT
* 3 Elliott Fry K (Injured)
* 61 Lamont Gaillard C
* 41 Trayvon Henderson SS
* 88 Colin Holba LS
* 36 Elijah Holyfield RB
* 81 Thaddeus Moss TE (Injured)
* 43 Chris Myarick TE
* 86 Mason Schreck TE (Injured)
* 52 Noah Spence DE
* 64 Keaton Sutherland G
* 11 Trent Taylor WR
* 82 Scotty Washington TE
* 12 *Pooka Williams Jr.* WR
* 95 Renell Wren DT