CINCINNATI REACHES THE PROMISE LAND
Only To Fall Short
After the Bengals poor performance the previous
year, head coach Homer Rice was not retained. The Bengals organization turned to an
outside head coach to right the ship and they set their sails for the sunny shores of
Forrest Gregg. Gregg was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 1977 for his stellar
playing days with the Green Bay Packers. He played on five NFL championship teams (1961,
62, 65, 66 & 67)and two Super Bowl Championship teams (I & II).
Gregg went on to head coach the Cleveland
Browns beginning in 1975. However, the same year Gregg was inducted into the Hall of Fame
as a player, he would be released as a head coach midway through the 1977 season. Gregg
would reemerge 5 hours south of Cleveland as the new head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Greggs first Bengals team on offense consisted
of wide receivers Don Bass & Isaac Curtis, left guard Glenn Bujnoch, center Blair
Bush, Right Guard Max Montoya, right tackle Mike Wilson, tight end Dan Ross, quarterback
Ken Anderson and running backs Archie Griffin, Pete Johnson & Charles Alexander. New
to the team was left tackle and future Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz.
Forrest Greggs defensive unit consisted of
defensive ends Eddie Edwards & Ross Browner, nose tackle Wilson Whitley, linebackers
Tom Dinkel, Bo Harris, Jim LeClair & Glenn Cameron. cornerbacks Ray Griffin & Ken
Riley and safteys Greg Bright & Dick Jauron.
The Bengals kicked off the season on September
7th against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Riverfront Stadium. Cincinnati got on the board
early with a 35 yard field goal by kicker Ian Sunter. Tampa answered in the second quarter
with a field goal and touchdown. In the third quarter, Cincinnati notched a safety after
Buc's kicker Tom Blanchard ran out of bounds during a punt return. Tight end Dan Ross
scored a touch down for the Bengals in the fourth quarter, putting the Bengals ahead by 2
points. However, the Buc's answered by scoring a touchdown which sealed their victory over
the Bengals.
The Bengals went on to go 3-3 in their next 6
games, putting the Bengals a game behind the Browns, Steelers & Oilers who were tied
with a record of 4-3. Despite still being in the thick of things in week 7, the wheels
fell off the Bengals after a loss a 3-23 loss to the Houston Oilers (Titans).
Cincinnati went on to lose 4 more games and entered week 12 with a record of 3-9. The club
managed to pull off 3 straight victories over Kansas City, Baltimore & Chicago, but it
was far to late. The final game of the season saw the Bengals lose in a close match with
the Browns. The two clubs were tied up going into the fourth quarter with a score of
24-24. But after a Browns field goal, Cincinnati was unable to answer and the Bengals
finished the season with a loss and a last place record of 6-10. The club also managed
only 244 points on the season. It was the lowest in the AFC.
The 1981 season did not look to hopeful for the
Bengals. Cincinnati hadn't had a winning season since 1976. And the club had not made the
play-offs since 1975. Most people predicted that the Bengals would finish in last place
yet again. How wrong they were.
Forest Gregg in his sophomore year had on
offense left tackle Anthony Munoz, left guard Dave Lapham, center Blair Bush, right guard
Max Montoya, right tackle Mike Wilson, tight end Dan Ross, running backs Charles Alexander
& Pete Johnson, quarterback Ken Anderson and wide receiver Issac Curtis. Joining
Curtis on the wings was rookie receiver Chris Collinsworth.
On defense was Eddie Edwards and Ross Browner
at defensive end, Wilson Whitley at nose tackle, Bobby Kemp and Bryan Hicks at saftey and
Louis Breeden and Ken Riley at cornerback. The Bengals linebackers consisted of Bo Harris,
Jim LeClair, Glenn Cameron and Reggie Williams.
The Bengals kicked off the new season with a
new look. The plain orange helmets with "Bengals" inscribed on the side where
replaced with sleek black tiger stripes. The change would be the first since the franchise
began in 1968. Cincinnati donned their new uniforms for the first time against the Seattle
Seahawks on September 6th at Riverfront Stadium. The Seahawks got out to a big lead when
they scored three touchdowns in the first quarter. However, the Bengals came back in the
second quarter with a Jim Breech field goal and a Pete Johnson touchdown. The Bengals
defense would not allow anymore Seahawks points, while the Bengals tacked on 17 more
points and won the game.
In Week 2, the Bengals took on the New York
Jets in Shea Stadium. New York got on the board first with a couple of touchdowns, while
Cincinnati answered with a fieldgoal. The Jets tacked on 3 more points before heading in
halftime. Cincinnati came out in the third quarter and Anderson connecting with Steve
Krieder for a touchdown. Cincinnati went on to win a close one with a final score of 31 to
30.
The Bengals dropped another close one in Week 3
against the Cleveland Browns. And squeeked out yet again another close one against Buffalo
in overtime in Week 4. Cincinnati faced the Houston Oilers (Titans)
in Week 5, only to lose against their division rival. The standings at this point of the
season was a three way tie between the Bengals, Steelers and Oilers (Titans).
However, after the Bengals crushing win over the Baltimore Colts, Cincinnati hit their
stride, only dropping two more games on the season. When all was said and done, the
Bengals final season record was 12-4, which was the best record in the AFC. Cincinnati had
one its third division title and there would be more to come.
Quarterback Kenny Anderson won the NFL MVP, and
offensive Player of the year by passing for 3,754 yards and 29 TD passes. Chris
Collinsworth who caught 8 TD passes, while gaining 1,009 receiving yards in an impressive
first season. Forest Gregg also won AFC Coach of the Year honors.
The Bengals went on to beat the Buffallo Bills
in the divisional play-offs. The victory would mark the first time the Bengals notched a
win in the post season. And it would be the first playoff game played at Riverfront
Stadium. After their triumphant defeat over Buffalo, Cincinnati went on to face the San
Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship game. The game was played on January 10th 1982 and
was the coldest game in the history of the league. The temperature was 9 degrees below
zero, but the wind chill factor was 59 below zero. Forrest Gregg told his player
"Look at this game like you're going to the dentist. It's going to hurt."
Cincinnati went on to defeat the Chargers 27 to 7.
The Bengals were heading to their first Super
Bowl to take on the San Francisco 49ers. The Super Bowl was dubbed "The Cinderella
Bowl" due to the fact that both teams had never been to the big show and both teams
had a 6-10 record the following year. Super Bowl XVI was played in Detroit's Silverdome
and would be the first time a city in the north hosted the big game. The end result
however was a Bengals loss. Cincinnati fell to the 49ers 26-21.
After the incredible success of the 1981
Cincinnati Bengals, so many high hopes were given for the following season. Forest Gregg
returned as head coach and his offensive unit consisted of Chris Collinsworth and Isaac
Curtis at wide receiver, Anthony Munoz at left tackle, Dave Lapham at left guard, Blair
Bush at center, Max Montoya at right guard, Mike Wilson at right tackle, Dab Ross at tight
end, Pete Johnson at half back, Charles Alexander at fullback and Ken Anderson at
quarterback.
The Bengals defense was Eddie Edwards and Ross
Browner at defensive end, Wilson Whitley at nose tackle, Louis Breeden and Ken Riley at
cornerback and Bobby Kemp at saftey. The linebackers were Bo Harris, Jim LeClair, Gelnn
Cameron and Reggie Williams.
The Bengals kicked off their season on
September 12th against the Houston Oilers (Titans). The Bengals proceeded to
dominate the game with Anderson connecting with Ross for an 18 yard touchdown in the first
quarter. Jim Breech followed with a field gaol in the second quarter. In the third quarter
Anderson ran 2 yards into the end zone for a touchdown and added more points to the board
when he handed off to fullback Charles Alexander for a 7 yard touchdown. The Oilers (Titans)
managed a touchdown but missed the extra point in the fourth quarter. But the Bengals
answered with a fourth quarter field goal which sealed the victory.
For Week 2 the Bengals headed to Pittsburgh to
face the Steelers. The Bengals defense allowed only a single touchdown in the first
quarter. But the Bengals offense failed to answer. Cincinnati tacked on 3 points in the
second quarter only to give up a field goal to the Steelers. In the third quarter Pete
Johnson scored a touchdown from the 1 yard line. But the Steelers yet again matched the
Bengals point for point by scoring a touchdown of their own. Cincinnati came back in the
fourth quarter with Pete Johnson rushing 9 yards for another touchdown which tied up the
game. Breech kicked a field goal which put the Bengals over the top. However, the Steelers
answered with a field goal of their own to tie the game back up. The game went into
overtime and saw the Bengals defense give up one final touchdown by the Steelers.
After the second game of the season, all of the
NFL players went on strike. The strike lasted for 57 days and as a result it wiped out
games against the Browns, Dolphins, Patriots, Giants, Cowboys, Steelers, Redskins and
Oilers (Titans).
Eight games in total. When the season resumed on November 21st, the Bengals went on to win
their final six of their seven games. Putting Cincinnati at 7-2 on the shortened
season.The record gave the Bengals another division crown.
The NFL foolishly decided to alter the standard
play-off format of having three division winning teams and two wild card teams from each
conference compete in the play-offs. The league decided to conduct a 16-team postseason
Super Bowl Tournament. There would be no division winners, instead eight teams from each
conference would be considered "wild-card" teams and would be seeded 1-8 based
on their regular season records. This system allowed weak teams in the play-offs. The
Browns & Lions actually had losing records, but were in the play-offs due to this
system. Cincinnati was seeded number 3 and would face off against the 6th seeded New York
Jets. The Bengals proceeded to get demolished by the underdog Jets with a final score of
44 to 17. The Bengals would not retain their Conference Championship status.
After the forgetable 1982 season the Bengals
were gunning for a real championship run. On offense Gregg had Chris Collinsworth and
Isaac Curtis at wide receiver, Anthony Munoz at left tackle, Dave Lapham at left guard,
Dave Rimington at center, Max Montoya at right guard, Mike Wilson at right tackle, Dan
Ross at tight end, Pete Johnson, Charles Alexander and Rodney Tate at running back.
The Bengals defense was Eddie Edwards and Ross
Browner at defensive end, Jerry Boyarsky at nose tackle, Louis Breeden and Ken Riley at
cornerback and Bobby Kemp at saftey. The linebackers were Tom Dinkel, Jim LeCalir, Glenn
Cameron and Reggie Williams.
Cincinnati kicked off the season with a
miserable showing. The club lost six of its first seven games. The clubs only victory
against the horrid Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bengals finally rebounded a bit with
victories over Cleveland, Green Bay and Houston. Cincinnati set a single-game franchise
record during the Houston game by scoring five rushing touchdowns in a single game. Pete
Johnson scored three touchdowns while rookies Larry Kinnebrew and Stanly Wilson scored one
each.
Despite the record breaking game, Cincinnati
failed to make much of the 1983 season. The Bengals finished the season with a record of
7-9, which placed them in third within the division. It would be head coach Forest Greggs
last year in Cincinnati. Gregg would return to Green Bay as head coach where he spent most
of his playing days. Gregg would replace his former teammate Bart Starr as head coach.
For the 1984 Bengals football season, Foerst
Gregg would be replaced by former Bengals quarterback Sam Wyche. Wyche played with the
Bengals from 1968 to 1970. Wyches offensive unit consisted of wide receivers Isaac Curtis
& Chris Collinswoth, left tackle Anthony Munoz, left guard Brian Blados, center Dave
Rimington, right guard Max Montoya, tightend M.L. Harris, quarterback Ken Anderson and
running backs James Brooks & Charles Alexander. Brooks was acquired in a trade from
the Chargers for Pete Johnson.
The Bengals defense was defensive ends Eddie
Edwards & Ross Browner, nose tackle Tim Krumrie, cornerbacks Louis Breeden & Ray
Horton, safteys Jimmy Turner & Bobby Kemp and linemen Jeff Schuh, Ron Simpkins, Glenn
Cameron and Reggie Williams.
Cincinnati kicked off the season on September
2nd in Denver against the Broncos. Cincinnati and Denver both remained scoreless in the
games first quarter. Jim Breech scored the games first points with a 46 yard field goal.
But Denver answered with 2 touchdowns. In the third quarter James Brooks scored a 1 yard
touchdown while in the fourth quarter Larry Kinnebrew scored another to put the Bengals in
the lead. However, the Broncos would score one more touchdown in the fourth quarter which
put them ahead 20 to 17 and gave the Broncos the game.
Cincinnati went on to drop the next four games
against Kansas City, New York Jets, Los Angeles Rams and Pittsburgh. Five straight loses
may seem as if the Bengals season was over. That was very much not the case. The Steelers
were 3-2, the Browns were 1-4 and the Oilers (Titans) were 0-5. Needless to say, the
AFC Central was very weak and the Bengals were still alive, even without a win.
The Bengals managed to nab their first win on
the season when they beat the Houston Oilers (Titans) by a final score of 13-3.
However, Cincinnati would lose in Week 7 to the New England Patriots. The Bengals bounced
back and went on to win their next 7 of 10 games, chasing the division leading Steelers
into the final week of the season. Despite a great midseason turnaround the Bengals fell
one game shy of winning the division. The Steelers (with a 9-7 record) took the division.
Cincinnati finished the season 8-8.
For the 1985 season Sam Wyche would have on
offense Cris Collinsworth and Eddie Brown at wide receiver, Anthony Munoz at left tackle,
Brian Blados at left guard, Dave Rimington at center, Max Montoya at right guard, Mike
Wilson at right tackle, Rodney Holman at tightend, halfback James Brooks and fullback
Larry Kinnebrew. Ken Anderson would be replaced by 24 year old Boomer Esiason.
The Bengals defense was left end Eddie Edwards,
nose tackle Tim Krumrie, right end Ross Browner, cornerbacks Louis Breeden and Ray Horton,
saftey Booby Kemp and linemen Jeff Schuh, Ron Simpkins, Carl Zander, Glenn Cameron and
Reggie Williams.
The Bengals began there season with three
straight loses against the Seahawks, Cardinals & Chargers. In Week 4 the Bengals
nabbed their first victory on the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Despite
Cincinnati being 1-3 on the season, the Browns and Steelers were 2-2. So Cincinnati was
only one game out of the division. The Bengals followed the vitcory with a loss to the
Jets the following week. Cincinnati managed to grab their second victory on the season
against the Giants only to drop their 5th loss on the season after a 44-27 loss to the
Oilers (Titans).
The Bengals were still only 1 game the division leading Browns and Steelers.
In Week 8 Cincinnati would take on the
Pittsburgh Steelers at Riverfront Stadium. The Bengals put up a Jim Breech field goal in
the first quarter. And Esiason connected with Rodney Holman for an 11 yard touchdown pass
in the second quarter. Robert Jackson intercepted a Steelers pass and ran it 49 yards for
a touchdown. The Steelers finally answered with a 49 yard touchdown by Steelers Louis
Lipps. In the third quarter Cincinnati kept the Steelers scoreless while kicking three
fieldgoals for themselves. The Steelers fianlly began to make a game out of it when Lipps
returned a kickoff for 62 yards and a touchdown. The Steelers managed to put 7 more points
on the board at the end. But the game was the Bengals when it was all said and done.
Cincinnati and Pittsburgh were now tied for second with a dismall record of 3-4.
Cincinnati went on to win their next two games
as did the Steelers. The Browns dropped their next two games which put the Steelers and
Bengals in a first place division tie with a record of 5-5. However, in the Bengals final
six games, Cincinnati went 2 & 4, finishing the season with a 7-9 record. The division
champs were the Cleveland Browns with a record of 8-8.
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