Top 5 games in Cincinnati Bengals history are painful
Bengals:
With the frustration mounting and Seattle driving, the crowd pelts the Seahawks with snowballs. After conferring with the officials, Wyche races across the field to grab public address announcer Tom Kinder's microphone to belt out the most famous plea since "To be or not to be?"
"Will the next person who sees anybody throw anything on that field, point him out and get him out of here?" Wyche intones. "You don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati."
The game was secondary. Cincinnati head coach, Sam Wyche had been in arguments with officials the entire game. Tempers were high as Cinci tried to clinch a playoff berth. A penalty on the goal line gave Seattle an extra down, and they converted for a 24-17 lead.
The Bengals comeback falls short and Cinci does not make the playoffs even though they have outscored their opponents 404-285 on the season.
Wyche, furious at the officiating all day, closes the locker room to the media in violation of NFL rules. But it is his Super Bowl quote poking fun at the Browns' storied fan section in the end zone called "The Dawg Pound." The previous week, before the Bengals beat the Browns in Cleveland, Wyche ripped the Dawg Pound a few days before the game. Wyche would later use his quote to raise money for a local charity.
4. October 22, 2000 Cincinnati 31 Denver 21
In training camp in 2000 after his holdout, Corey Dillon made the headlines in Cincinati with his famous quote. "If the Bengals didn’t start winning, he wasn’t staying. He told one Cincinnati radio station that he would rather flip burgers for a living."
Corey was laying the groundwork for future employment with another NFL team. That would have to wait a few years. Following the third game of the season, Head Coach, Bruce Coslet resigned and was replaced by defensive coordinator, Dick Lebeau. The losing streak would reach six games as Cinci struggled with the top pick in the 2000 draft, Akili Smith starting at QB.
The Denver Broncos came to town with its solid linebacking corps of John Mobley, Glenn Cadrez, Keith Burns and Bill Romanowksi. Three hours later, they were part of a defense that had surrendered 407 rushing yards on 37 carries. In the second quarter, Bengals WR Peter Warrick had taken a pitch from QB Akili Smith and run 77 yards for a score. The rest of the ground game belonged to RB Corey Dillon.
Averaging almost 13 yards per carry, Dillon shredded a good Denver defense with 278 yards on only 22 carries. He had touchdown runs of 65 and 41 yards. He broke the NFL record for rushing yards in a game which had been held by Walter Payton of the Chicago Bears since 1977 with 275.
The 2000 Cincinnati Bengals would finish at 4-12. They would rank last in the NFL in total offense which was 31st. They completed a league low 207 passes at only a 45.6% completion rating. The QB rating was 52.0 when the league average was 76.2.
The Bengals finished second in the NFL in rushing at 4.7 yards per carry. Corey Dillon rushed for 1435 on 315 carries with only one fumble. Defensive teams would load up eight men on the line(eight in a box), and they still couldn't stop him.
3. November 17, 1975 Cincinnati 33 Buffalo 24
The Bengals faced the exciting "Electric Company" of the Buffalo Bills featuring star RB, O.J. Simpson. The Bills were coached by Lou Saban, former head coach of the Boston Patriots.
Cinci struggled defensively in stopping the former great USC tailback. O.J. would gain 197 yards on only 17 carries with 2 TD runs, and a 20 yard pass for a score as well.
QB Kenny Anderson would break the MNF record for passing yards with 447 on 30 completions in 46 attempts with two TD passes. This was the coming out party for Anderson. Cincinnati fans were ecstatic that the Bengals finally had a solid team. The hometown baseball team, the Reds had defeated the Boston Red Sox in a thrilling seven game series just weeks prior.
The win pushed the Bengals to 8-1 on their way to an 11-3 season.
2. January 10, 1982 Cincinnati 27 San Diego 7
The game was known as the "Freezer Bowl." The game time temperature was -9 with a wind chill of -37. Within one week, the Chargers had gone from playing an overtime game in Miami in 88 degree, high humidity weather to playing in the −37 wind chill in Cincinnati, an effective difference of 125 degrees. Icicles formed on the beard of San Diego QB Dan Fouts. Dan was only 15 for 28 for 185 yards in the brutal cold. The previous week, he had passed for 433 yards against the Miami Dolphins.
Cincinnati head coach, Forrest Gregg was once an offensive tackle for the Green Bay Packers who played in the Ice Bowl in 1967 against the Dallas Cowboys. The air temperature in that game was -13. The field was completely frozen. Gregg recalled that "some Dallas players believed that Packers head coach, Vince Lombardi had purposely removed power to the heating coils."
The weather was bad for both the Bengals and Chargers. Cincinnati linemen wore short sleeve jerseys to prevent San Diego defenders from holding on.
It was really just a case of Bengals QB Ken Anderson outplaying his rival from the Chargers, Dan Fouts. Ken was able to throw for 161 yards on 14 for 22 passing, and run for 39 yards as well. Fouts was impressed that Ken could throw spirals in those conditions. Anderson was a second round pick by the Bengals in 1971, and holds the NFL record for highest completion rating for a season of 70.6% in 1982.
**** San Diego and Cincinnati would meet on December 20, 1982 The two teams combined for 1,102 net yards, second-most in NFL history. The Chargers had 661 and the Bengals 441. The weather was the usual 72 degrees at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. The Chargers won, 50-34.
1. January 22, 1989 San Francisco 20 Cincinnati 16 Super Bowl XXIII
The photo is the most painful moment in Cincinnati Bengals history. This was the second time in seven years that the San Francisco 49ers stood in the way of a Bengals Super Bowl victory. The first game ended in a 26-21 loss, but Cinci fans were just happy to be there. The second cut was much deeper than the first.
Two important events took place even before the Super Bowl was played.
Wikipedia:
On January 16, a Hispanic Miami police officer shot and killed a speeding black motorcyclist in the Overtown section of Miami. A large crowd gathered and turned violent, leading to rioting and looting which lasted into January 18. A television van and several automobiles and buildings were set on fire, and police used tear gas against the rioters. A teenager was shot and killed in the melee and more than $1 million worth of damage was done.San Francisco marched 92 yards on the final drive. The 10 yard pass from QB Joe Montana to John Taylor with 34 seconds remaining was the only catch of the day for Taylor. The Cincinnati defense was busy covering WR Jerry Rice who had 11 catches, 215 yards and three touchdowns, and was named the Super Bowl MVP.
Rumors began that the Super Bowl might be moved to Tampa, and the incident later prompted the NFL to look at the league's hiring of minorities and its lack of a black coach.
On the night before the Super Bowl, Stanley Wilson, the Bengals' best blocking running back and their third-leading rusher during the season with 398 yards, was caught using cocaine in his hotel room and was immediately suspended.
It is still painful 25 years, later.
Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire.
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