NFL team season
The 1984 season was the Cincinnati Bengals ' 15th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 17th overall, and their first under head coach Sam Wyche . The team lost their first five games, before winning eight of their final eleven games to finish the season with a .500 record.
The season was the first for head coach Sam Wyche , who had replaced former coach Forrest Gregg after Gregg had resigned following the previous season . Wyche had been the head coach at Indiana University in 1983.
The club stumbled out of the gate, and went winless in September en route to a 1–6 start. However, the team began a turnaround, and by December, was one of the hottest teams in the league. The team won seven out of their last nine games, including a crucial win against their division rival Pittsburgh Steelers in week 11.
In the final week of the season, Cincinnati needed to win, and hope for the Steelers to lose at the Raiders, to secure an improbable AFC Central division title. The Bengals did their part, routing the Bills 52–21, and finished the season 8–8. Later in the day, the Bengals were forced to "scoreboard watch." The Steelers, however, managed to beat the Raiders, clinching the division, and effectively eliminating the Bengals from the playoffs.
In a 2018 article from FiveThirtyEight , the 1984 Cincinnati Bengals team is rated as the most average team in the history of American sports.[ 1] They both scored and allowed 339 points in addition to their 8–8 record.[ 2]
Offseason
NFL Draft
Personnel
Staff / Coaches
1984 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Front office
Owner/president – John Sawyer
Owner/general manager – Paul Brown
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood
Roster
Preseason
[ 3]
Regular season
Schedule
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
Recap
1
September 2
at Denver Broncos
L 17–20
0–1
Mile High Stadium
74,178
Recap
2
September 9
Kansas City Chiefs
L 22–27
0–2
Riverfront Stadium
47,111
Recap
3
September 16
at New York Jets
L 23–43
0–3
Giants Stadium
64,193
Recap
4
September 23
Los Angeles Rams
L 14–24
0–4
Riverfront Stadium
45,406
Recap
5
at Pittsburgh Steelers
L 17–38
0–5
Three Rivers Stadium
57,098
Recap
6
October 7
Houston Oilers
W 13–3
1–5
Riverfront Stadium
43,637
Recap
7
October 14
at New England Patriots
L 14–20
1–6
Sullivan Stadium
48,154
Recap
8
October 21
Cleveland Browns
W 12–9
2–6
Riverfront Stadium
50,667
Recap
9
October 28
at Houston Oilers
W 31–13
3–6
Houston Astrodome
34,010
Recap
10
November 4
at San Francisco 49ers
L 17–23
3–7
Candlestick Park
58,324
Recap
11
November 11
Pittsburgh Steelers
W 22–20
4–7
Riverfront Stadium
52,497
Recap
12
November 18
Seattle Seahawks
L 6–26
4–8
Riverfront Stadium
50,280
Recap
13
November 25
Atlanta Falcons
W 35–14
5–8
Riverfront Stadium
44,678
Recap
14
December 2
at Cleveland Browns
W 20–17
6–8
Cleveland Municipal Stadium
51,774
Recap
15
December 9
at New Orleans Saints
W 24–21
7–8
Louisiana Superdome
40,855
Recap
16
December 16
Buffalo Bills
W 52–21
8–8
Riverfront Stadium
55,771
Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 6
1
2 3 4 Total
Oilers
0
0 3 0
3
• Bengals
0
3 7 3
13
Scoring summary Q2 CIN Breech 33 yard field goalCIN 3–0
Q3 HOU Kempf 24 yard field goalTie 3–3
Q3 CIN Esiason 3 yard run (Breech kick)CIN 10–3
Q4 CIN Breech 22 yard field goal CIN 13–3
[ 4]
Week 7
Week 8
1
2 3 4 Total
Browns
3
3 0 3
9
• Bengals
3
3 0 6
12
Scoring summary Q1 CIN Breech 24 yard field goalCIN 3–0
Q1 CLE Bahr 50 yard field goalTie 3–3
Q2 CIN Breech 23 yard field goal CIN 6–3
Q2 CLE Cox 60 yard field goalTie 6–6
Q4 CIN Breech 25 yard field goal CIN 9–6
Q4 CLE Bahr 47 yard field goal Tie 9–9
Q4 CIN Breech 33 yard field goal CIN 12–9
[ 5]
[ 6]
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
CIN
Passing
Ken Anderson
21/34, 269 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INTs
Rushing
Charles Alexander
8 CAR, 48 YDS
Receiving
Cris Collinsworth
4 REC, 71 YDS, 1 TD
SF
Passing
Joe Montana
27/42, 301 YDS, 2 TDs, 4 INTs
Rushing
Wendell Tyler
14 CAR, 52 YDS
Receiving
Dwight Clark
7 REC, 124 YDS
Point spread : 49ers by 10½
Over/Under: 43.0 (under)
Time of Game:
Bengals
Game Statistics
49ers
21
First downs
26
25–116
Rushes–yards
31–91
269
Passing yards
301
21–34–2
Passes
27–42–4
6–39
Sacked–yards
1–7
230
Net passing yards
294
346
Total yards
385
144
Return yards
190
6–38.2
Punts
2–47.0
0–0
Fumbles–lost
0–0
6–46
Penalties–yards
5–30
29:24
Time of Possession
30:36
Week 11
1
2 3 4 Total
Steelers
0
13 0 7
20
• Bengals
3
0 12 7
22
Scoring summary Q1 CIN Jim Breech 21 yard field goalCIN 3–0
Q2 PIT Gary Anderson 47 yard field goalTie 3–3
Q2 PIT Mark Malone 1 yard run (Gary Anderson kick)PIT 10–3
Q2 PIT Gary Anderson 21 yard field goal PIT 13–3
Q3 CIN James Brooks 24 yard run (kick failed)PIT 13–9
Q3 CIN Jim Breech 42 yard field goal PIT 13–12
Q3 CIN Jim Breech 28 yard field goal CIN 15–13
Q4 PIT Louis Lipps 36 yard run (Gary Anderson kick)PIT 20–15
Q4 CIN Larry Kinnebrew 3 yard run (Jim Breech kick)CIN 22–20
[ 8]
Standings
References
External links
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (11) Conference championships (3) Retired numbers Ring of Honor Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation