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NFL/Teams/Cincinnati Bengals
FRANCHISE

NFL franchise story

Cincinnati Bengals

Paul Brown's expansion club grew into two distinct Super Bowl teams before Joe Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase restored Cincinnati to the league's biggest stage.

Every era · The defining players · Five essential games

The franchise timeline

Every era of the Cincinnati Bengals.

Move through the franchise chronologically. The jerseys identify each chapter’s central cast, and every card opens the complete story of that era.

Historical reference: Cincinnati Bengals official NFL team page ↗
The beginning↓
01▼

Franchise era

1968—1979

01
CINANDERSON14Ken Anderson
CINCURTIS—Isaac Curtis
CINJOHNSON—Bob Johnson

An expansion franchise learns through innovation

Paul Brown's new team

Brown built Cincinnati with modern organization and passing concepts, reaching the playoffs in the team's third season and developing Anderson into its leader.

Read the era story →

Chapter 01

1968—1979

02▼

Franchise era

1980—1991

02
CINANDERSON14Ken Anderson
CINESIASON7Boomer Esiason
CINMUÑOZ—Anthony Muñoz

Anderson and Esiason lead different Super Bowl teams

Two AFC championships

Forrest Gregg's 1981 team and Sam Wyche's no-huddle 1988 team each reached the Super Bowl, both falling late to San Francisco.

Read the era story →

Chapter 02

1980—1991

03▼

Franchise era

1992—2002

03
CINDILLON28Corey Dillon
CINPICKENS81Carl Pickens
CINANDERSON71Willie Anderson

Instability overwhelms individual talent

The lost decade

Cincinnati went fourteen seasons without a winning record even as Dillon and a handful of draft successes supplied isolated excellence.

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Chapter 03

1992—2002

04▼

Franchise era

2003—2010

04
CINPALMER9Carson Palmer
CINJOHNSON85Chad Johnson
CINHOUSHMANDZADEH84T.J. Houshmandzadeh

The passing game restores belief

Palmer and Ochocinco revive the stadium

Marvin Lewis brought credibility and Palmer's vertical offense won the 2005 division before injuries and inconsistency shortened the window.

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Chapter 04

2003—2010

05▼

Franchise era

2011—2019

05
CINDALTON14Andy Dalton
CINGREEN18A.J. Green
CINATKINS97Geno Atkins

Dalton and Green make winning routine

Five straight playoff trips

A young core reached the postseason in each of its first five seasons together, though it could not secure the franchise's first playoff win in decades.

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Chapter 05

2011—2019

06

Franchise era

2020—present

06
CINBURROW9Joe Burrow
CINCHASE—Ja'Marr Chase
CINHENDRICKSON91Trey Hendrickson

A fearless quarterback returns Cincinnati to the Super Bowl

Burrow changes the ceiling

Burrow and Chase reunited from LSU, produced an immediate AFC championship and made Cincinnati a threat whenever its quarterback is healthy.

Read the era story →

Chapter 06

2020—present

◆Present day

The essential watchlist

Five Cincinnati Bengals games to start with.

Curated from the franchise’s defining eras, championship stakes and the games that still carry its story.

#01 · Divisional Round

Divisional Round
1975
CINCINNATIBENGALS
OAKLANDRAIDERS
1975-12-28

Cincinnati Bengals vs Oakland Raiders

1975-12-28

#02 · Super Bowl

Super Bowl
XXIII
CINCINNATIBENGALS
SAN FRANCISCO49ERS
1989-01-22

Cincinnati Bengals vs San Francisco 49ers

1989-01-22

#03 · Wild Card

Wild Card
2009
NEW YORKJETS
CINCINNATIBENGALS
2010-01-09

New York Jets vs Cincinnati Bengals

2010-01-09

#04 · Wild Card

Wild Card
2015
PITTSBURGHSTEELERS
CINCINNATIBENGALS
2016-01-09

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Cincinnati Bengals

2016-01-09

#05 · Super Bowl

Super Bowl
LVI
LOS ANGELESRAMS
CINCINNATIBENGALS
2022-02-13

Los Angeles Rams vs Cincinnati Bengals

2022-02-13

Season history

Every season

59 seasons · newest first

Game archive

Latest games

947 total · loaded 10 at a time