The Cincinnati Bengals is an NFL team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Bengals compete in the AFC North division and play their home games at the Paul Brown stadium. Since its establishment in 1967, the club is still in a group of a dozen teams that have never won a Super Bowl.
The Bengals did get to two Super Bowls in the 1980s, but they lost both of them to the San Francisco 49ers. For much of the 1990s and early 2000s, the Cincinnati Bengals struggled to make it to the play-offs. From 2011, they managed to make the playoffs in five successive seasons but have not been back there since 2015.
History of the Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals were established in 1966 by Paul Brown, a former coach of the Cleveland Browns. A previous team had played under the same name in pre-War years, and it is thought that Brown also had in mind the fact that the city’s zoo was home to a rare white Bengal tiger.
They started competing in the NFL in 1968 and Brown remained the coach until 1975. One of Brown’s strategies was drafting players that had high levels of intelligence and many former players have gone on to have media careers.
The team played at the Riverfront Stadium from 1971 until moving to the Paul Brown Stadium in 2000.
Some Success
The Bengals reached the playoffs three times during the 1970s but did not progress any further. Both in 1982 and 1988 the Cincinnati Bengals reached the Super Bowl, only to lose out to the 49ers. After a barren few years in the 1990s and the early 2000s, the team started to turn around. Under head coach Marvin Lewis, the team reached the playoffs a number of times.
Getting Back to the Play-Offs
When former first-round pick quarterback Carson Palmer requested a trade at the end of the 2010 season, the Bengals drafted Andy Dalton who would become the starting quarterback for nearly a decade.
This began a strong spell during which the Cincinnati Bengals got to the playoffs in five successive years, although their record in the postseason wasn't great.
In 2019, the team had a particularly poor season, finishing with a record of 2-14, equalling the team’s previous worst performing year, 2002. This saw the Bengals get to number one pick in the NFL draft when they selected quarterback Joe Burrow.
Interesting Additions to the NFL
As well as having the interesting approach of drafting players with above-average intelligence, the Cincinnati Bengals have also been a trailblazer in the NFL in a couple of other ways.
They became massively popular for their use of the no-huddle offence, even when there was no demand on the clock. They were also was one of the teams that embraced passing schemes, integrating a West Coast offence when it was more of a running league.
Home Support
The Paul Brown Stadium, nicknamed “The Jungle”, has been the home arena for the Cincinnati Bengals since 2000. The stadium has a seating capacity of about 65,000 people and is also home to the University of Cincinnati’s Cincinnati Bearcats.
Chief rivals of the Bengals are the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens.
Notable Players
While the Cincinnati Bengals have been around for many decades, only three of their players have been inducted into the Hall of Fame: Terrell Owens, Charlie Joiner and Anthony Munoz.
Two Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks won the NFL MVP title during the 1980s, mainly thanks to the team’s reliance on a passing offence. Four players have earned NFL Rookie of the Year honours, while Paul Brown won back-to-back NFL Coach of the Year titles in 1969 and 1970, with Marvin Lewis winning this award in 2009.
Betting on Cincinnati Bengals Games
The Cincinnati Bengals have an interesting history but a Super Bowl victory still eludes them. With an exciting new quarterback, there's hope that their fortunes can improve going forward.
There are a lot of betting opportunities for each Cincinnati Bengals game. To see the best betting sites for American football, you can have a look at the expert reviews on Roger.com.
The signup process to one of these betting sites takes only a few minutes, so you will be betting on the Cincinnati Bengals in no time.
