1969 Cincinnati Bengals season

1969 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldNippert 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).

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

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Common draft

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Main article: 1969 NFL Draft
1969 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 5 Greg Cook  Quarterback Cincinnati
2 31 Bill Bergey *  Linebacker Arkansas State
3 57 Speedy Thomas  Wide receiver Utah
4 83 Clem Turner  Running back Cincinnati
5 109 Guy Dennis  Guard Florida
6 135 Ken Riley  Defensive back Florida A&M
7 161 Royce Berry  Defensive end Houston
8 187 Tim Buchanan  Linebacker Hawaii
9 213 Mike Stripling  Running back Tulsa
10 239 Steve Howell  Tight end Ohio State
11 265 Mark Stewart  Defensive back Georgia
12 291 Lonnie Paige  Defensive tackle North Carolina Central
13 316 Chuck Benson  Wide receiver Southern Illinois
14 343 Mike Wilson  Offensive tackle Dayton
15 369 Bill Shoemaker  Placekicker Stanford
16 395 Bill Schmidt  Linebacker Missouri
17 421 Terry Story  Offensive tackle Georgia Tech
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

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Staff

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1969 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office

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

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches




Roster

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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

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 14 Miami Dolphins W 27–21 1–0 Nippert Stadium 25,335 Recap
2 September 21 San Diego Chargers W 34–20 2–0 Nippert Stadium 26,243 Recap
3 September 28 Kansas City Chiefs W 24–19 3–0 Nippert Stadium 27,812 Recap
4 October 4 at San Diego Chargers L 14–21 3–1 San Diego Stadium 52,748 Recap
5 October 12 New York Jets L 7–21 3–2 Nippert Stadium 27,927 Recap
6 October 19 Denver Broncos L 23–30 3–3 Nippert Stadium 27,920 Recap
7 October 26 at Kansas City Chiefs L 22–42 3–4 Municipal Stadium 50,934 Recap
8 November 2 Oakland Raiders W 31–17 4–4 Nippert Stadium 27,927 Recap
9 November 9 at Houston Oilers T 31–31 4–4–1 Houston Astrodome 45,298 Recap
10 November 16 Boston Patriots L 14–25 4–5–1 Nippert Stadium 25,913 Recap
11 November 23 at New York Jets L 7–40 4–6–1 Shea Stadium 62,128 Recap
12 November 30 at Buffalo Bills L 13–16 4–7–1 War Memorial Stadium 35,122 Recap
13 December 7 at Oakland Raiders L 17–37 4–8–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 54,427 Recap
14 December 14 at Denver Broncos L 16–27 4–9–1 Mile High Stadium 42,198 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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AFL Western Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Oakland Raiders 12 1 1 .923 7–1 377 242 W6
Kansas City Chiefs 11 3 0 .786 5–3 359 177 L1
San Diego Chargers 8 6 0 .571 2–6 288 276 W4
Denver Broncos 5 8 1 .385 3–5 297 344 W1
Cincinnati Bengals 4 9 1 .308 3–5 280 367 L5

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

Team stats

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1969 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATS Bengals Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 172 278
Rushing 66 135
Passing 95 130
Penalty 11 13
TOTAL NET YARDS 3868 5337
Avg Per Game 276.3 381.2
Total Plays 728 935
Avg. Per Play 5.3 5.7
NET YARDS RUSHING 1523 2651
Avg. Per Game 167.5 189.4
Total Rushes 363 523
NET YARDS PASSING 2345 2686
Avg. Per Game 167.5 191.9
Sacked Yards Lost 57–375 16–180
Gross Yards 2720 2866
Att. Completions 308–163 396–205
Completion Pct. 52.9 51.8
Intercepted 15 21
PUNTS-AVERAGE 85–38.8 55–41.4
PENALTIES-YARDS 50–556 72–824
FUMBLES-BALL LOST 30–25 19–16
TOUCHDOWNS 33 42
Rushing 10 13
Passing 22 24
Returns 1 5
Score by Periods 1 2 3 4 Tot
Bengals 48 92 72 68 280
Opponents 78 130 68 91 367

Team leaders

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  • Passing: Greg Cook (197 Att, 106 Comp, 1854 Yds, 53.8 Pct, 15 TD, 11 Int, 88.3 Rating)
  • Rushing: Jess Phillips (118 Att, 578 Yds, 4.9 Avg, 83 Long, 3 TD)
  • Receiving: Eric Crabtree (40 Rec, 855 Yds, 21.4 Avg, 73 Long, 7 TD)
  • Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 80 points (16 FG; 32 PAT)

Awards and records

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AFL Coach of the Year

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AFL Passing Title

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AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

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AFL Pro Bowl Selections

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References

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  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.
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