The 1970 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's first season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), and the third overall. The NFL-AFL merger took place before the season and the Bengals, who were placed in the same division as the "old-guard NFL"

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

and

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

, were not expected to be playoff contenders. Nevertheless, the Bengals made their first NFL campaign a memorable one. After winning their first ever game as a member of the NFL, their inaugural game in the brand new

Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 Cincinnati Reds season, 1970 through 2002 Cincinna ...

, they would lose six games in a row. After the 1–6 start, the Bengals would win the rest of their games, rallying to an 8–6 finish and champions of the newly formed

AFC Central The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was created after the NFL realigned its divisions u ...

division. In their first playoff game, the Bengals lost 17–0, to the eventual Super Bowl champion

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

. Cincinnati

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Greg Cook Gregory Lynn Cook (November 20, 1946 – January 27, 2012) was an American football quarterback who played two professional seasons, in the American Football League (AFL) and later the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

was forced to the Injured Reserve list in training camp with a shoulder injury that would ultimately end his career;

Virgil Carter Virgil R. Carter (born November 9, 1945) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and the World Football League (WFL) from 1967 through 1976. College career Cart ...

took over as the starter. In just their third season, the 1970 Bengals set a league mark by being the first NFL expansion team to qualify for the playoffs within their first three seasons of existence. The team is one of only four teams since the 1970 merger to start the season 1–5 or worse and qualify for the playoffs, the others being the

2015 Kansas City Chiefs The 2015 NFL season, 2015 season was the Kansas City Chiefs' 46th in the National Football League (NFL), their 56th overall and their third under the List of Kansas City Chiefs head coaches, head coach/general manager tandem of Andy Reid and Joh ...

, the

2018 Indianapolis Colts Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number) * One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice'' * ''Eighteen'' (film), a 20 ...

, and the

2020 Washington Football Team The 2020 season was the Washington Football Team's 89th in the National Football League (NFL) and their first under head coach Ron Rivera. The season also marked the first time since their inaugural season as the Braves in 1932 that the team ...

Offseason

NFL draft

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

Final roster

Regular season

The Bengals set a league record for most points in a game scored by the special teams, with 31 in a 43–14 victory at

Buffalo Buffalo most commonly refers to: * True buffalo or Bubalina, a subtribe of wild cattle, including most "Old World" buffalo, such as water buffalo * Bison, a genus of wild cattle, including the American buffalo * Buffalo, New York, a city in the n ...

on November 8, 1970.

Cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

Lemar Parrish scored two special teams touchdowns: one on a 95-yard kickoff return, and another on an 83-yard return of a blocked

field goal A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, ...

attempt. Parrish is the only Bengals player ever to score two touchdowns in a game on returns and/or recoveries — and he did it three times.

Kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

Horst Muhlmann added 15 points on five field goals, and four

extra point Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...

s by Muhlmann completed the special teams onslaught. The offense scored only one touchdown, a one-yard run by

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

Jess Phillips Jessica Rose Phillips (; born 9 October 1981) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Birmingham Yardley since 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she has served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for S ...

. The defense scored a touchdown on an eight-yard fumble return by

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

Royce Berry Royce Elmer Berry (born April 19, 1946) is an American former defensive end in the American Football League (AFL) in 1969 and in the National Football League (NFL) from 1970 to 1976. Early life Berry grew up in Odessa, Texas, and played footbal ...

Schedule

Standings

NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 296

Season summary

Week 1 vs Raiders

Team stats

Team leaders

* Passing:

(278 Att, 143 Comp, 1647 Yds, 51.4 Pct, 9 TD, 9 Int, 66.9 Rating) * Rushing:

(163 Att, 648 Yds, 4.0 Avg, 76 Long, 4 TD) * Receiving:

Chip Myers Phillip Leon "Chip" Myers (July 9, 1945 – February 23, 1999) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver who in the National Football League (NFL) for the Cincinnati Bengals and San Francisco 49ers. He played college ...

(32 Rec, 542 Yds, 16.9 Avg, 56 Long, 1 TD) * Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 108 points (25 FG; 33 PAT)

Playoffs

Awards and records

Pro Bowl selections

* CB Lemar Parrish * TE

Bob Trumpy Robert Theodore Trumpy Jr. (born March 6, 1945) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL), from 1968 through 1977. ...

References

External links

1970 Cincinnati Bengals
at

Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro Football Reference (PFR) is an online statistics database for professional American football maintained by Sports Reference. The site provides career statistics for players, teams, and games, as well as records and NFL draft history. PFR was ...

{{1970 NFL season by team

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

Cincinnati Bengals seasons AFC Central championship seasons

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...