Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals have been around, playing competitive professional football since 1968. After two seasons in the American Football League, they moved to the National Football League. The Bengals have never won a National Football League title. Despite that, Cincinnati has been to the Super Bowl three times in team history. The Bengals also head into the 2023 season, reaching the postseason 16 teams in team history.

What used to be known as Paul Brown Stadium is the home of the Cincinnati Bengals. The stadium was originally named after former Bengals founder Paul Brown. The stadium hosts more than 65,000 people and is located on 22 acres. Many refer to the stadium as “the Jungle” in reference to the team name – Bengals. Paycor has rights to the stadium for a 16-year deal, starting in 2022. The stadium also hosts over 110 executive suites.

The attendance record for Paycor Stadium is from a game on a Thursday night against the Miami Dolphins in 2022. That night the Bengals took on the Miami Dolphins. The stadium was opened in 2000, and, since then, has been home to many concerts, and other sporting events. The first College Football game played at the stadium saw 66,319 people as the Bearcats of Cincinnati took on the Buckeyes of Ohio State.

The name Bengals goes all the way back to the late 1930’s when there was a team in Ohio with that name playing in the AFL. A Bengal is a hybrid cat breed are known for having a slender build and wind kind of like a wildcat of sorts.

With no Super Bowl wins, the Bengals do not have a ton of historic National Football League records. The Bengals have their share of successful players, including Ja’Mar Chase, who is already the Bengals single-season leader in receiving yards. The rookie picked up just shy of 1,460 yards in the air during his rookie campaign of 2021. Chase also holds the single-game record, as he picked up 266 reviving yards and 3 touchdowns in a Week 17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021.

Heading into the 2023 season, the Bengals are 385-463-5 in the regular season, and have gone 10-15 in postseason play. On the downside of things, the 2019 Bengals team finished as the worst team in the league with just 2 wins.

Quarterback Joe Burrow set a record during the 2022 season, as he became the NFL’s all-time leader in career passing completion percentage. Burrow overtook the record from Drew Brees, who had it at 66.7%.

As we mentioned at the start of this, the Cincinnati Bengals have never in their franchise history won a Super Bowl. The team has been to three Super Bowls and lost all three of them. The most recent came during the 2021 season, when they were downed by the Los Angeles Rams. After beating the Raiders, Titans, and Chiefs in the postseason, they struggled to score, as they lost to the Rams 23-20. That season was marred by great offensive performances, as Jamaar Chase was the offensive rookie of the year, and Joe Burrow was the comeback player of the year winner.

Before that, the Bengals had a long history of losing. In fact, Cincinnati last won their playoff game in 1990, as they smoked the Oilers, before losing to the Raiders in the divisional round. The Bengals went 14 seasons of missing the postseason, before going in 2005. The Bengals also reached the postseason in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015; all to lose in the first round.

The 1998 team beat Seattle and Buffalo to get to Super Bowl XXIII, only to fall to the San Francisco 49ers. That was their second trip, as their first game in 1981, once again losing to the 49ers. The 49ers downed them 26-21, which came after wins over Buffalo and the Chargers in the postseason.

In all of the postseason trips for the Cincinnati Bengals, 7 quarterbacks have ever played in the postseason for them. Ken Anderson has 2 wins, Boomer Esiason 3, and Joe Burrow 5 wins. Other guys such as Virgil Carter, Carson Palmer, Andy Dalton, and A.J. McCarron did not win a postseason game, despite starting in one, or more.

Ken Anderson leads the franchise in games played under center and won 53% of those. The most successful regular season quarterback for the Bengals was Andy Dalton, with 70 wins and 61 losses. Joe Burrow has taken the league by storm in his first three seasons for Cincinnati and won over 58% of his games.

Dalton has thrown the most touchdowns in franchise history with 204, while Anderson leads with 160 interceptions. Carson Palmer was a gunslinger for Cincinnati with nearly 100 games started, 22,694 yards, and 154 touchdowns. Jon Kitna is a name many do not remember, as he won just 39% of his games under center.

Finally, Boomer Esiason, in his two stints as the Bengals quarterback. Esiason won 62 games and lost 61 while finishing with 187 passing touchdowns and 131 interceptions.

The Cincinnati Bengals currently have four players that have spent a portion of their career playing for the home team. Two of those played their entire career in Cincinnati. The two names more looked at are Anthony Munoz, an offensive tackle that played from 1980-1992, and was inducted in 1998, along with Ken Riley. Riley is a cornerback that was recently inducted during the 2023 season. Riley played for the Bengals from 1969-1983.

Two other guys that played a chunk of their career with the Bengals are both receivers. Charline Joiner, who was inducted in 1996, spent part of four seasons in the mid-1970’s with Cincinnati. Then, finally, probably the most famous name, just spent one season with the Bengals – Terrell Owens. Owens played the 2010 season with the Bengals, and was inducted back in 2018.

Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason are both quarterbacks, who were awarded Most Valuable Player awards for the Bengals. Anderson who his during the 1981 season, while Esiason took home the 1988 award.

The Bengals official mascot is a Bengal Tiger with the name “Who Dey.” He is accompanied at games with the teams cheerleaders. Laura Vikmanis is part of the cheerleading squad for the Bengals, and is the oldest cheerleader in the history of the league.