10-29-2021, 09:55 PM
The Bengals have pulled off a few "worst-to-first" type seasons in their history.
'81 Super Bowl season followed a 6-10 season and one of the worst 3 season stretches ever (14-34)
'88 Super Bowl season came after a 4-11 season and was only our second winning season in 6 years.
'11 Playoff season came after a 4-12 season that based on preseason expectations was the biggest disappointment in team history. And like '88 it was only our second winning season in 6 years.
I thought it would be interesting to go back and look at the big games that convinced fans that things really had changed.
1981.... 5-3 Bengals at 4-4 Oilers. Over the 3 previous seasons the Oilers had won 32 regular season games and 4 playoff games. They were on the decline in '81, but they had beaten the Bengals 6 straight times including 4 weeks earlier. Bengals beat the brakes off the Oilers. They lead 34-7 in the fourth quarter and coast to a 34-21 victory. Even though the win over the Oilers was big to Bengal fans it did drop the Oliers to 4-5 so ther were still doubters in the national media. But the very next week we went on the road to San Diego. The 6-3 Chargers had gone to the Conference Championship the year before and were 23-9 over the previous two seasons. They were an undisputed powerhouse. Again we jump out to a 31-7 lead and blow them out 41-17. At that point everyone everywhere knew we were a Super Bowl contender.
1988.... The '88 Bengals had won 10 games just 2 years ago, so they were not as big of a surprise as the '81 team. They started the season 6-0 but mostly against losing teams. In week 2 they beta an Eagles team that would go to the playoffs, but Philly was coming off a losing season so that win did not seem very impressive at the time. In week 4 they beat the defending AFC North champion Browns, but they Browns stumbled to a 3-3 start that year, so again it did not seem like a "defining" win. After the Bengals lost their first game to a 3-3 Patriots team there were some questions if Cincy was as good as their record. The next week the 6-1 Bengals faced the 5-2 Oilers with first place in the division on the line. The Oilers had won a playoff game the year before in Coach Jerry Glanville's second season and were looking to establish themselves as the best team in the division. Bengals blitzkreig the Oilers and take a 28-0 lead IN THE FIRST QUARTER. Bengals coast to a 44-21 win and are generally recognized as a Super Bowl contender.
2011.... The preseason power rankings had the Bengals as possibly the worst team in the league. They started 1-2. The Buffalo Bills did not have a history of winning, but they started the '11 season on fire. They scored 113 points in their 3-0 start and beat the Patriots. The game started badly for the Bengals. Rookie QB Andy Dalton struggled in the first half throwing 2 interceptions in the final 4 minutes of the 2nd quarter one of which was returned for a td. Bengals trailed 17-3 at the half. But after completing just 7 of 20 first half attempts Dalton scorches the Bills in the second half (11-16, 182 yds, 1 td, 0 int) and adds a rushing td as the Bengals score on 4 of their 5 second half possessions and win 23-20. Bengals followed that win with 3 victories against losing teams to run their record to 5-2 before going on the Road to play the Titans. Tennessee was 4-3 and just a half game behind the Texans in the AFC South. Again the Struggled early and trailed 17-7 halfway through the third period. Then over the next two possessions Dalton heated up. He completed 8 of 12 for 79 yards and 2 tds to give the Bengals a lead they would never relinquish. It pushed the Bengals to 6-2 and a tie for fisrt place in the division.
Everyone started to take them seriously.
'81 Super Bowl season followed a 6-10 season and one of the worst 3 season stretches ever (14-34)
'88 Super Bowl season came after a 4-11 season and was only our second winning season in 6 years.
'11 Playoff season came after a 4-12 season that based on preseason expectations was the biggest disappointment in team history. And like '88 it was only our second winning season in 6 years.
I thought it would be interesting to go back and look at the big games that convinced fans that things really had changed.
1981.... 5-3 Bengals at 4-4 Oilers. Over the 3 previous seasons the Oilers had won 32 regular season games and 4 playoff games. They were on the decline in '81, but they had beaten the Bengals 6 straight times including 4 weeks earlier. Bengals beat the brakes off the Oilers. They lead 34-7 in the fourth quarter and coast to a 34-21 victory. Even though the win over the Oilers was big to Bengal fans it did drop the Oliers to 4-5 so ther were still doubters in the national media. But the very next week we went on the road to San Diego. The 6-3 Chargers had gone to the Conference Championship the year before and were 23-9 over the previous two seasons. They were an undisputed powerhouse. Again we jump out to a 31-7 lead and blow them out 41-17. At that point everyone everywhere knew we were a Super Bowl contender.
1988.... The '88 Bengals had won 10 games just 2 years ago, so they were not as big of a surprise as the '81 team. They started the season 6-0 but mostly against losing teams. In week 2 they beta an Eagles team that would go to the playoffs, but Philly was coming off a losing season so that win did not seem very impressive at the time. In week 4 they beat the defending AFC North champion Browns, but they Browns stumbled to a 3-3 start that year, so again it did not seem like a "defining" win. After the Bengals lost their first game to a 3-3 Patriots team there were some questions if Cincy was as good as their record. The next week the 6-1 Bengals faced the 5-2 Oilers with first place in the division on the line. The Oilers had won a playoff game the year before in Coach Jerry Glanville's second season and were looking to establish themselves as the best team in the division. Bengals blitzkreig the Oilers and take a 28-0 lead IN THE FIRST QUARTER. Bengals coast to a 44-21 win and are generally recognized as a Super Bowl contender.
2011.... The preseason power rankings had the Bengals as possibly the worst team in the league. They started 1-2. The Buffalo Bills did not have a history of winning, but they started the '11 season on fire. They scored 113 points in their 3-0 start and beat the Patriots. The game started badly for the Bengals. Rookie QB Andy Dalton struggled in the first half throwing 2 interceptions in the final 4 minutes of the 2nd quarter one of which was returned for a td. Bengals trailed 17-3 at the half. But after completing just 7 of 20 first half attempts Dalton scorches the Bills in the second half (11-16, 182 yds, 1 td, 0 int) and adds a rushing td as the Bengals score on 4 of their 5 second half possessions and win 23-20. Bengals followed that win with 3 victories against losing teams to run their record to 5-2 before going on the Road to play the Titans. Tennessee was 4-3 and just a half game behind the Texans in the AFC South. Again the Struggled early and trailed 17-7 halfway through the third period. Then over the next two possessions Dalton heated up. He completed 8 of 12 for 79 yards and 2 tds to give the Bengals a lead they would never relinquish. It pushed the Bengals to 6-2 and a tie for fisrt place in the division.
Everyone started to take them seriously.
