1969 Cincinnati Bengals season

Last updated

1969 Cincinnati Bengals season
Cincinnati Bengals wordmark (1968-1970).png
Head coach Paul Brown
Home field Nippert Stadium
Results
Record4–9–1
Division place5th AFL West
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1969 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's second year as a franchise, and their final season in professional football's American Football League (AFL).

Contents

Head coach Paul Brown drafted quarterback Greg Cook of the University of Cincinnati in the first round.

The same draft also produced linebacker Bill Bergey.

The Bengals jumped out to a 3–0 record, but finished 4–9–1 in their final season at Nippert Stadium, before moving to their brand new facility the following season.

The November 9, 1969 Bengals vs. Oilers game at the Astrodome in Houston is unique in Bengals history, as it is the only non-overtime tie game. Cincinnati played its first regular-season tie that afternoon, catching the Oilers at 31–31 on kicker Horst Muhlmann's 18-yard field goal with 0:22 left in the fourth quarter. Regular-season overtime was not in the rule book at that time.

The oldest season record in Bengals history, and the only one still standing from the Nippert Stadium years, is QB Greg Cook's average of 9.41 yards gained per passing attempt in 1969. The only other average of more than nine yards was 9.21 by QB Boomer Esiason in 1988. Cook went on to pass for 1,854 yards and led the Bengals to wins over the Oakland Raiders and the eventual Super Bowl Champion Kansas City Chiefs.

Offseason

Common draft

1969 Cincinnati Bengals draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
15 Greg Cook   Quarterback Cincinnati
231 Bill Bergey  *  Linebacker Arkansas State
357 Speedy Thomas   Wide receiver Utah
483 Clem Turner   Running back Cincinnati
5109 Guy Dennis   Guard Florida
6135 Ken Riley   Defensive back Florida A&M
7161 Royce Berry   Defensive end Houston
8187 Tim Buchanan  Linebacker Hawaii
9213Mike Stripling Running back Tulsa
10239Steve Howell  Tight end Ohio State
11265Mark Stewart Defensive back Georgia
12291Lonnie Paige  Defensive tackle North Carolina Central
13316Chuck Benson Wide receiver Southern Illinois
14343 Mike Wilson   Offensive tackle Dayton
15369Bill Shoemaker  Placekicker Stanford
16395Bill Schmidt Linebacker Missouri
17421Terry Story Offensive tackle Georgia Tech
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff

1969 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office

  • President – John Sawyer
  • Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches




Roster

1969 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad


Rookies in italics

[2]

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 14 Miami Dolphins W 27–211–0 Nippert Stadium 25,335 Recap
2September 21 San Diego Chargers W 34–202–0Nippert Stadium26,243 Recap
3September 28 Kansas City Chiefs W 24–193–0Nippert Stadium27,812 Recap
4October 4at San Diego Chargers L 14–213–1 San Diego Stadium 52,748 Recap
5October 12 New York Jets L 7–213–2Nippert Stadium27,927 Recap
6October 19 Denver Broncos L 23–303–3Nippert Stadium27,920 Recap
7October 26at Kansas City Chiefs L 22–423–4 Municipal Stadium 50,934 Recap
8November 2 Oakland Raiders W 31–174–4Nippert Stadium27,927 Recap
9November 9at Houston Oilers T 31–314–4–1 Houston Astrodome 45,298 Recap
10November 16 Boston Patriots L 14–254–5–1Nippert Stadium25,913 Recap
11November 23at New York Jets L 7–404–6–1 Shea Stadium 62,128 Recap
12November 30at Buffalo Bills L 13–164–7–1 War Memorial Stadium 35,122 Recap
13December 7at Oakland Raiders L 17–374–8–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 54,427 Recap
14December 14at Denver Broncos L 16–274–9–1 Mile High Stadium 42,198 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFL Western Division
WLTPCTDIVPFPASTK
Oakland Raiders 1211.9237–1377242W6
Kansas City Chiefs 1130.7865–3359177L1
San Diego Chargers 860.5712–6288276W4
Denver Broncos 581.3853–5297344W1
Cincinnati Bengals 491.3083–5280367L5

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings of the AFL.

Team stats

1969 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATSBengalsOpponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS172278
Rushing66135
Passing95130
Penalty1113
TOTAL NET YARDS38685337
Avg Per Game276.3381.2
Total Plays728935
Avg. Per Play5.35.7
NET YARDS RUSHING15232651
Avg. Per Game167.5189.4
Total Rushes363523
NET YARDS PASSING23452686
Avg. Per Game167.5191.9
Sacked Yards Lost57–37516–180
Gross Yards27202866
Att. Completions308–163396–205
Completion Pct.52.951.8
Intercepted1521
PUNTS-AVERAGE85–38.855–41.4
PENALTIES-YARDS50–55672–824
FUMBLES-BALL LOST30–2519–16
TOUCHDOWNS3342
Rushing1013
Passing2224
Returns15
Score by Periods1234Tot
Bengals48927268280
Opponents781306891367

Team leaders

Awards and records

AFL Coach of the Year

AFL Passing Title

AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

AFL Pro Bowl Selections

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References

  1. "1969 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  2. "1969 Cincinnati Bengals starters, roster, and players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 20, 2014.