1984 Cincinnati Bengals season


The 1984 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 17th year in professional football and its 15th with the National Football League. The team lost their first five games, before winning eight of their final eleven games to finish the season with a.500 record.
The season was the first for head coach Sam Wyche, who had replaced former coach Forrest Gregg after Gregg had resigned following the previous season. Wyche had been the head coach at Indiana University in 1983.
The club stumbled out of the gate, and went winless in September en route to a 1–6 start. However, the team began a turnaround, and by December, was one of the hottest teams in the league. The team won seven out of their last nine games, including a crucial win against division rival Pittsburgh in week 11.
In the final week of the season, Cincinnati needed to win, and hope for the Steelers to lose at the Raiders, to secure an improbable AFC Central division title. The Bengals did their part, routing the Bills 52–21, and finished the season 8–8. Later in the day, the Bengals were forced to "scoreboard watch." The Steelers, however, managed to beat the Raiders, clinching the division, and effectively eliminating the Bengals from the playoffs.
In a 2018 article from FiveThirtyEight, the 1984 Cincinnati Bengals team is rated as the most average team in the history of American sports. They both scored and allowed 339 points in addition to their 8–8 record.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 11

Standings