Cincinnati Bengals – Decades of Ups and Downs By Rick Grantham At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

The Cincinnati Bengals is based in Cincinnati, Ohio and a former member of the now defunct professional football league, American Football League (AFL). The AFL merged with the National Football League (NFL) in 1966. The Bengals first season was in 1968, playing as an AFL franchise and expansion team; they only became part of the NFL in 1970. The team is now a part of the American Football Conference (AFC) North Division in the National Football League (NFL). Their uniform colors are black, white, and orange.

Their first seasons in the NFL

During their membership in the AFL, rusher Paul Robinson led the team and got the honor of rookie of the year. In their first NFL season in 1970, the Bengals won the AFC Central Division but during the playoff, they lost in the first round. Paul Brown, the Bengals esteemed coach from the 1950s guided the team to postseason games in 1973 and 1975. During that time, Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson emerged as one of the premier quarterbacks in the NFL. In both the 1973 and 1975, the Bengals got as far as the playoffs but lost again in the first round.

1980s - A good decade for the Bengals

The next few seasons saw a number of changes, particularly the several replacements of head coach. The result was mixed over the next NFL seasons. In 1981, the Bengals won the division crown once again under the guidance of head coach and hall of famer Forrest Gregg, formerly an offensive tackle. It was a fairly successful season for the Bengals with a couple of their players earning awards. Ken Anderson won his fourth passing title. Wide receiver and rookie Cris Collinsworth and running back Pete Johnson both gained more than a thousand yards. During the playoffs, their luck also turned around, defeating the San Diego Chargers and Buffalo Bills and playing in the Super Bowl. They finally lost to the San Francisco 49ers, the eventual Super Bowl Champions with a record of 26-21. Throughout the mid-80s, the Bengals was a team to contend with and played competitively. In 1985, Boomer Esiason replaced Ken Anderson as quarterback. Like Anderson, Esiason also became one of the best quarterbacks in NFL. In 1987, Cincinnati had a win-loss record of 4-11. The next season, 1988, they finished with a 12-4 record. Esiason won his first National Football Conference passing title and won player of the year together with quarterback Randall Cunningham of the Philadelphia Eagles. Among the American Football Conference’s top-rated offense were Cincinnati running back James Brooks, tackle Anthony Munoz, and receiver Eddie Brown. The Bengals once again advanced to their second Super Bowl in a decade, playing against the San Francisco 49ers. But, history, repeating itself, the Bengals lost to the 49ers who scored a touchdown at the last minute.

1990s – A struggle for the Bengals

In 1990, the Bengals once again won in the Divisions, gaining their fifth division title. Boomer Esiason got a 3,000-yard season for six consecutive times. The 1990s was a struggle for the Bengals compared to the 1980s. Between 1992 and 1994, the Bengals won only eleven games.

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