| 1984 Cincinnati Bengals season | |
|---|---|
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| General manager | Paul Brown |
| Head coach | Sam Wyche |
| Home field | Riverfront Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–8 |
| Division place | 2nd AFC Central |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
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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]
| 1984 Cincinnati Bengals draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | Ricky Hunley | LB | Arizona | |
| 1 | 16 | Pete Koch | DE | Maryland | |
| 1 | 28 | Brian Blados | OT | North Carolina | |
| 2 | 38 | Boomer Esiason * | QB | Maryland | |
| 3 | 65 | Stanford Jennings | RB | Furman | |
| 4 | 92 | John Farley | RB | Sacramento State | |
| 5 | 119 | Barney Bussey | DB | South Carolina State | |
| 6 | 150 | Don Kern | TE | Arizona State | |
| 7 | 177 | Leo Barker | LB | New Mexico State | |
| 8 | 204 | Bruce Reimers | Guard | Iowa State | |
| 9 | 231 | Bruce Kozerski | Center | Holy Cross | |
| 10 | 262 | Aaron Jackson | LB | North Carolina | |
| 10 | 265 | Brent Ziegler | RB | Syracuse | |
| 11 | 289 | Steve McKeaver | RB | Central State (OK) | |
| 12 | 316 | Steve Raquet | LB | Holy Cross | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
Strength and conditioning
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Quarterbacks
Running backs Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
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| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 4 | atNew York Jets | W 21–15 | 1–0 | Giants Stadium | 25,055 |
| 2 | August 11 | atTampa Bay Buccaneers | L 13–21 | 1–1 | Tampa Stadium | 33,588 |
| 3 | August 18 | atChicago Bears | W 25–17 | 2–1 | Soldier Field | 53,194 |
| 4 | August 24 | Detroit Lions | W 35–14 | 3–1 | Riverfront Stadium | 41,715 |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
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| 1 | September 2 | atDenver 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 | atNew 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 | October 1 | atPittsburgh 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 | atNew 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 | atHouston Oilers | W 31–13 | 3–6 | Houston Astrodome | 34,010 | Recap |
| 10 | November 4 | atSan 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 | atCleveland Browns | W 20–17 | 6–8 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 51,774 | Recap |
| 15 | December 9 | atNew 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. | |||||||
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Week 10: Cincinnati Bengals at San Francisco 49ers
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals (3–7) | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 49ers (9–1) | 0 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 23 |
atCandlestick Park • San Francisco, California
| 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 |
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| Bengals | Game Statistics | 49ers |
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| 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 |
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| AFC Central | |||||||||
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W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Pittsburgh Steelers(3) | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 6–6 | 387 | 310 | W2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 5–1 | 6–6 | 339 | 339 | W4 |
| Cleveland Browns | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 3–3 | 4–8 | 250 | 297 | W1 |
| Houston Oilers | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 1–5 | 3–9 | 240 | 437 | L2 |
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Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance |
