List of Cincinnati Bengals seasons explained

The Cincinnati Bengals franchise was founded in 1968 as a member of the West division of the American Football League (AFL). The Bengals joined the National Football League (NFL) as a result of the AFL–NFL merger before . This list documents the franchise's completed seasons from 1968 to present, including postseason records and results from postseason games.^[1] The Bengals have played over 850 games in their history, including three conference championships, ten division championships, and fifteen playoff appearances. As of the end of the 2023 season, the only NFL teams who have more Super Bowl appearances with no titles than Cincinnati (which has 3 of them) are the 4-time Super Bowl non-winning Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings.

The franchise has experienced several extended periods of success in their history. These periods came from to when the Bengals qualified for the playoffs four times and played in two Super Bowls, and from to 2015. However, during a fourteen-year span—1991 to 2004—the Bengals did not qualify for the playoffs. During this time, the franchise had nine seasons with ten or more losses, and three of those seasons the franchise had the league's worst record. Between 2005 and 2015, the Bengals were more successful, posting seven winning seasons, three division titles and seven wild card playoff berths (including a streak of five consecutive playoff seasons, a first in franchise history). Despite the success, the Bengals did not win a playoff game between 1990 and 2021, one of the longest droughts in league history. From 2016 to 2020, the Bengals suffered five straight losing seasons, including having the league's worst record in the 2019 season (finishing 2–14 that season), before winning the AFC North and qualifying for the playoffs again in 2021, which included an AFC Championship Game win and a berth in their first Super Bowl since the 1988 season.

Legend

Finish	Final position in league, division or conference
	Super Bowl champions^†
	AFC champions
	Division champions^^
	Wild Card berth^#

Season records

Season	Team	League	Conference	Division	Regular season				Postseason results	Awards	Head coaches
					Finish			width=2.5%
1968	1968^[2]	AFL		Western	5th	3	11	0		Paul Robinson (OROY)	Paul Brown
1969	1969^[3]	AFL		Western	5th	4	9	1		Paul Brown (COY) Greg Cook (OROY)
	1970^[4]	NFL	AFC	Central^^	1st^^	8	6	0	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Colts) 0–17	Paul Brown (COY)
	1971^[5]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	4	10	0
	1972^[6]	NFL	AFC	Central	3rd	8	6	0
	1973^[7]	NFL	AFC	Central^^	1st^^	10	4	0	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Dolphins) 16–34
	1974^[8]	NFL	AFC	Central	2nd	7	7	0
	1975^[9]	NFL	AFC	Central	2nd^#	11	3	0	Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Raiders) 28–31	Ken Anderson (WPMOY)
	1976^[10]	NFL	AFC	Central	2nd	10	4	0			Bill Johnson
	1977^[11]	NFL	AFC	Central	3rd	8	6	0
	1978^[12]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	4	12	0			Bill Johnson (0–5) Homer Rice (4–7)
	1979^[13]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	4	12	0			Homer Rice
	1980^[14]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	6	10	0			Forrest Gregg
	1981^[15]	NFL	AFC^*	Central^^	1st^^	12	4	0	Won Divisional Playoffs (Bills) 28–21 Won AFC Championship (Chargers) 27–7 Lost Super Bowl XVI (vs. 49ers) 21–26	Ken Anderson (MVP, OPOY, CPOY)
	1982^[16]	NFL	AFC		3rd^#	7	2	0	Lost First Round Playoffs (Jets) 17–44
	1983^[17]	NFL	AFC	Central	3rd	7	9	0
	1984^[18]	NFL	AFC	Central	2nd	8	8	0		Brian Pillman (EBCA)	Sam Wyche
	1985^[19]	NFL	AFC	Central	2nd	7	9	0		Eddie Brown (OROY)
	1986^[20]	NFL	AFC	Central	2nd	10	6	0		Reggie Williams (WPMOY)
	1987^[21]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	4	11	0
	1988^[22]	NFL	AFC^*	Central^^	1st^^	12	4	0	Won Divisional Playoffs (Seahawks) 21–13 Won AFC Championship (Bills) 21–10 Lost Super Bowl XXIII (vs. 49ers) 16–20	Boomer Esiason (MVP)
	1989^[23]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	8	8	0
	1990^[24]	NFL	AFC	Central^^	1st^^	9	7	0	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Oilers) 41–14 Lost Divisional Playoffs (at Raiders) 10–20
	1991^[25]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	3	13	0		Anthony Muñoz (WPMOY)
	1992^[26]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	5	11	0		Carl Pickens (OROY)	Dave Shula
	1993^[27]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	3	13	0
	1994^[28]	NFL	AFC	Central	3rd	3	13	0
	1995^[29]	NFL	AFC	Central	2nd	7	9	0
	1996^[30]	NFL	AFC	Central	3rd	8	8	0			Dave Shula (1–6) Bruce Coslet (7–2)
	1997^[31]	NFL	AFC	Central	4th	7	9	0			Bruce Coslet
	1998^[32]	NFL	AFC	Central	5th	3	13	0
	1999^[33]	NFL	AFC	Central	5th	4	12	0
	2000^[34]	NFL	AFC	Central	5th	4	12	0			Bruce Coslet (0–3) Dick LeBeau (4–9)
	2001^[35]	NFL	AFC	Central	6th	6	10	0			Dick LeBeau
	2002^[36]	NFL	AFC	North	4th	2	14	0
	2003^[37]	NFL	AFC	North	2nd	8	8	0		Jon Kitna (CPOY)	Marvin Lewis
	2004^[38]	NFL	AFC	North	3rd	8	8	0
	2005^[39]	NFL	AFC	North^^	1st^^	11	5	0	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Steelers) 17–31
	2006^[40]	NFL	AFC	North	2nd	8	8	0
	2007^[41]	NFL	AFC	North	3rd	7	9	0
	2008^[42]	NFL	AFC	North	3rd	4	11	1
	2009^[43]	NFL	AFC	North^^	1st^^	10	6	0	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Jets) 14–24	Marvin Lewis (COY)
	2010^[44]	NFL	AFC	North	4th	4	12	0
	2011^[45]	NFL	AFC	North	3rd^#	9	7	0	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Texans) 10–31
	2012^[46]	NFL	AFC	North	2nd^#	10	6	0	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Texans) 13–19
	2013^[47]	NFL	AFC	North^^	1st^^	11	5	0	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Chargers) 10–27
	2014^[48]	NFL	AFC	North	2nd^#	10	5	1	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (at Colts) 10–26
	2015^[49]	NFL	AFC	North^^	1st^^	12	4	0	Lost Wild Card Playoffs (Steelers) 16–18
	2016^[50]	NFL	AFC	North	3rd	6	9	1
	2017^[51]	NFL	AFC	North	3rd	7	9	0
	2018^[52]	NFL	AFC	North	4th	6	10	0
	2019^[53]	NFL	AFC	North	4th	2	14	0			Zac Taylor
	2020^[54]	NFL	AFC	North	4th	4	11	1
	2021	NFL	AFC^*	North^^	1st^^	10	7	0	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Raiders) 26−19 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Titans) 19–16 Won AFC Championship (at Chiefs) 27–24 Lost Super Bowl LVI (vs. Rams) 20–23	Ja'Marr Chase (OROY) Joe Burrow (CPOY)
	2022	NFL	AFC	North^^	1st^^	12	4	0	Won Wild Card Playoffs (Ravens) 24–17 Won Divisional Playoffs (at Bills) 27–10 Lost AFC Championship (at Chiefs) 20–23
	2023	NFL	AFC	North	4th	9	8	0
Totals						394	471	5	All-time regular season record (1968–2023)^[55]
						10	16	—	All-time postseason record (1968–2023)
						404	487	5	All-time regular season and postseason record (1968–2023)
						3 AFC Conference Championships, 11 Division titles

Footnotes

• The 1982 season was a strike-shortened season so the league was divided up into two conferences instead of its normal divisional alignment.
• The strike of 1987 reduced the regular season schedule from 16 to 15 games.

References

General

• Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History. CBSSports.com. CBS. June 17, 2011. August 11, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110811002304/http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/teams/history/CIN. live.
• Web site: NFL Standings: Divisions. NFL.com. National Football League. June 17, 2011. March 26, 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080326220102/http://www.nfl.com/standings. live.
• Web site: Pro Football Hall of Fame – Cincinnati Bengals. Pro Football Hall of Fame. June 17, 2011. August 3, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110803185004/http://www.profootballhof.com/history/team/cincinnati-bengals/. live.
• Web site: Cincinnati Bengals Team Encyclopedia. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference. January 1, 2013. June 4, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604173000/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/. live.

Specific

External links

• Cincinnati Bengals season database

Notes and References

1. Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list can only regularity season game results and exclude any postseason play records. Regular and postseason records are combined only at the bottom of the list.
2. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1968. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20121114030911/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1968.html. November 14, 2012. dead.
3. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1969. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072347/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1969.html. dead.
4. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1970. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072311/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1970.html. dead.
5. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1971. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072345/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1971.html. dead.
6. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1972. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. December 20, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101220183929/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1972.html. dead.
7. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1973. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. December 6, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091206012134/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1973.html. dead.
8. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1974. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. December 20, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101220184256/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1974.html. dead.
9. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1975. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072230/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1975.html. dead.
10. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1976. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 22, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180122181641/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1976.html. dead.
11. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1977. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 24, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100124074836/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1977.html. dead.
12. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1978. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 22, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180122181647/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1978.html. dead.
13. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1979. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072130/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1979.html. dead.
14. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1980. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072207/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1980.html. January 23, 2018. dead.
15. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1981. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20091105042910/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1981.html. November 5, 2009. dead.
16. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1982. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20091206012640/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1982.html. December 6, 2009. dead.
17. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1983. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20091206012144/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1983.html. December 6, 2009. dead.
18. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1984. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20101220183116/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1984.html. December 20, 2010. dead.
19. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1985. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20091206012645/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1985.html. December 6, 2009. dead.
20. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1986. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 22, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180122181649/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1986.html. dead.
21. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1987. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072127/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1987.html. dead.
22. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1988. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20101220182007/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1988.html. December 20, 2010. dead.
23. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1989. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. November 5, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091105042916/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1989.html. dead.
24. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1990. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. June 4, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180604102257/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1990.html. dead.
25. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1991. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20101220185025/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1991.html. December 20, 2010. dead.
26. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1992. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20090813114506/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1992.html. August 13, 2009. dead.
27. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1993. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20180604111356/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1993.html. June 4, 2018. dead.
28. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1994. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20180604110545/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1994.html. June 4, 2018. dead.
29. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1995. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20091206012150/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1995.html. December 6, 2009. dead.
30. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1996. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20091112020756/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1996.html. November 12, 2009. dead.
31. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1997. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. June 4, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180604111526/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1997.html. dead.
32. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1998. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. June 4, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180604110037/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1998.html. dead.
33. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 1999. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. November 12, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091112025510/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory1999.html. dead.
34. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2000. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. July 17, 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090717011245/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2000.html. dead.
35. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2001. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. April 26, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100426135549/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2001.html. dead.
36. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2002. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. June 4, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180604100833/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2002.html. dead.
37. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2003. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. December 20, 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20101220182351/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2003.html. dead.
38. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2004. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072308/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2004.html. dead.
39. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2005. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072352/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2005.html. dead.
40. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2006. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072129/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2006.html. dead.
41. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2007. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. July 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170703053710/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2007.html. dead.
42. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2008. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. July 3, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170703054700/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2008.html. dead.
43. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2009. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20101220182056/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2009.html. December 20, 2010. dead.
44. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2010. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. June 17, 2011. February 8, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110208205644/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2010.html. dead.
45. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2011. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. January 14, 2016. November 6, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20121106042722/https://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2011.html. dead.
46. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2012. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. January 14, 2016. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072313/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2012.html. dead.
47. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2013. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. January 14, 2016. January 23, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180123072342/http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2013.html. dead.
48. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2014. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. January 14, 2016.
49. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2015. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. January 14, 2016.
50. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2016. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. December 17, 2016.
51. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2017. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. December 17, 2017.
52. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2018. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. December 30, 2018.
53. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2019. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. April 16, 2021.
54. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals History: 2020. Bengals.com. Cincinnati Bengals. April 16, 2021.
55. Web site: Cincinnati Bengals Team Encyclopedia - Pro-Football-Reference.com. pro-football-reference.com. December 30, 2018. June 4, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110604173000/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/. live.