1970 Cincinnati Bengals season

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NFL team season The 1970 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League (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 and Pittsburgh Steelers, 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, 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 division. In their first playoff game, the Bengals lost 17–0, to the eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore Colts. Cincinnati quarterback Greg Cook was forced to the Injured Reserve list in training camp with a shoulder injury that would ultimately end his career; Virgil Carter 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 2018 Indianapolis Colts, and the 2020 Washington Football Team.

Regular season

File:Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.jpg

The Bengals began playing home games at Riverfront Stadium in 1970

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 on November 8, 1970. Cornerback 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 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 Horst Muhlmann added 15 points on five field goals, and four extra points by Muhlmann completed the special teams onslaught. The offense scored only one touchdown, a one-yard run by running back Jess Phillips. The defense scored a touchdown on an eight-yard fumble return by defensive end Royce Berry.

Schedule

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Week	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Recap
1	September 20	Oakland Raiders	W 31–21	1–0	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
2	September 27	at Detroit Lions	L 3–38	1–1	Tiger Stadium	Recap
3	October 4	Houston Oilers	L 13–20	1–2	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
4	October 11	at Cleveland Browns	L 27–30	1–3	Cleveland Stadium	Recap
5	October 18	Kansas City Chiefs	L 19–27	1–4	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
6	October 25	at Washington Redskins	L 0–20	1–5	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium	Recap
7	Template:Dow tooltip	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 10–21	1–6	Three Rivers Stadium	Recap
8	November 8	at Buffalo Bills	W 43–14	2–6	War Memorial Stadium	Recap
9	November 15	Cleveland Browns	W 14–10	3–6	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
10	November 22	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 34–7	4–6	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
11	November 29	New Orleans Saints	W 26–6	5–6	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
12	December 6	at San Diego Chargers	W 17–14	6–6	San Diego Stadium	Recap
13	December 13	at Houston Oilers	W 30–20	7–6	Astrodome	Recap
14	December 20	Boston Patriots	W 45–7	8–6	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Raiders

Week One: Oakland Raiders (0–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	7	0	14	0	21
Bengals	7	7	14	3	31

at Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

• Date: September 20, 1970
• Game time: 1:00 p.m.
• Game weather:
• Game attendance: 56,616
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information

First quarter CIN – Sam Wyche 5-yard run (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 7–0. Drive: OAK – Fred Biletnikoff 20-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick). Tie 7–7. Drive: Second quarter CIN – Essex Johnson 51-yard pass from Sam Wyche (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 14–7. Drive: Third quarter CIN – Paul Robinson 3-yard run (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 21–7. Drive: OAK – Fred Biletnikoff 18-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick). Bengals 21–14. Drive: OAK – Alvin Wyatt 63-yard punt return (George Blanda kick). Tie 21–21. CIN – Jess Phillips 76-yard run (Horst Muhlmann kick). Bengals 28–21. Drive: Fourth quarter CIN – Horst Muhlmann 38-yard field goal. Bengals 31–21. Drive: Top passers OAK – Daryle Lamonica – 17/36, 265 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT CIN – Sam Wyche – 8/18, 147 yards, TD Top rushers OAK – Charlie Smith – 8 rushes, 29 yards CIN – Jess Phillips – 15 rushes, 130 yards, TD Top receivers OAK – Fred Biletnikoff – 6 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TD CIN – Bob Trumpy – 4 receptions, 67 yards

Team stats

1970 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATS	Bengals	Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS	210	236
Rushing	100	87
Passing	97	131
Penalty	13	18
TOTAL NET YARDS	3927	4178
Avg Per Game	280.5	298.4
Total Plays	831	874
Avg. Per Play	4.7	4.8
NET YARDS RUSHING	2057	1543
Avg. Per Game	146.9	110.2
Total Rushes	461	418
NET YARDS PASSING	1870	2635
Avg. Per Game	133.6	188.2
Sacked Yards Lost	31–227	28–250
Gross Yards	2097	2885
Att. Completions	339–172	428–209
Completion Pct.	50.7	48.8
Intercepted	11	23
PUNTS-AVERAGE	79–46.2	80–43.8
PENALTIES-YARDS	71–831	81–784
FUMBLES-BALL LOST	22–12	28–16
TOUCHDOWNS	34	31
Rushing	16	11
Passing	12	18
Returns	6	2

Score by Periods	1	2	3	4	Tot
Bengals	56	111	85	60	312
Opponents	49	82	52	72	255

Team leaders

• Passing: Virgil Carter (278 Att, 143 Comp, 1647 Yds, 51.4 Pct, 9 TD, 9 Int, 66.9 Rating)
• Rushing: Jess Phillips (163 Att, 648 Yds, 4.0 Avg, 76 Long, 4 TD)
• Receiving: Chip Myers (32 Rec, 542 Yds, 16.9 Avg, 56 Long, 1 TD)
• Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 108 points (25 FG; 33 PAT)

Playoffs

style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Round	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Date	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Opponent	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Result	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Record	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Venue	style="Template:NFLPrimaryStyle"| Recap
Divisional	December 26	at Baltimore Colts	L 0–17	0–1	Memorial Stadium	Recap

Awards and records

Pro Bowl selections

• CB Lemar Parrish
• TE Bob Trumpy

External links

• 1970 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com