1996 Cincinnati Bengals season
NFL team season
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The 1996 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 29th in professional football and its 27th with the National Football League. The Dave Shula era came to a sudden end when he was fired after a 1–6 start, as Jeff Blake struggled with turnovers. Former Bengals tight end Bruce Coslet, the team's offensive coordinator and a former New York Jets head coach, would replace Shula as head coach. The move paid off right away as the Bengals won the first three games under Coslet. After losing two of their next three games, the Bengals closed the year with three straight wins to finish with an 8–8 record.[1] One bright spot was that wide receiver Carl Pickens became the first member of the Bengals to have 100 receptions in a season.
Head coachDave Shula (fired October 21, 1-6 record)
Bruce Coslet (interim; 7-2 record)
Bruce Coslet (interim; 7-2 record)
Home stadiumCinergy Field
Record8–8
Division place3rd AFC Central
| 1996 Cincinnati Bengals season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Dave Shula (fired October 21, 1-6 record) Bruce Coslet (interim; 7-2 record) |
| Home stadium | Cinergy Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–8 |
| Division place | 3rd AFC Central |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | WR Carl Pickens CB Ashley Ambrose |
Offseason
NFL draft
| 1996 Cincinnati Bengals draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Willie Anderson * | Offensive tackle | Auburn | |
| 2 | 39 | Marco Battaglia | Tight end | Rutgers | |
| 3 | 69 | Ken Blackman | Guard | Illinois | |
| 4 | 108 | Jevon Langford | Defensive end | Oklahoma State | |
| 5 | 144 | Greg Myers | Defensive back | Colorado State | |
| 6 | 178 | Tom Tumulty | Linebacker | Pittsburgh | |
| 7 | 219 | Rod Jones | Offensive tackle | Kansas | |
| Made roster * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Ferguson | Safety | Georgia Tech |
| Chris Hetherington | Fullback | Yale |
| Damon Huard | Quarterback | Washington |
| Tim Morabito | Defensive tackle | Boston College |
Personnel
Staff
|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 1, 1996 | at St. Louis Rams | L 26–16 | 0-1 | Trans World Dome | 62,659 |
| 2 | September 8, 1996 | at San Diego Chargers | L 27–14 | 0-2 | Jack Murphy Stadium | 55,880 |
| 3 | September 15, 1996 | New Orleans Saints | W 30–15 | 1-2 | Cinergy Field | 45,412 |
| 4 | Bye | |||||
| 5 | September 29, 1996 | Denver Broncos | L 14–10 | 1-3 | Cinergy Field | 51,798 |
| 6 | October 6, 1996 | Houston Oilers | L 30–27 (OT) | 1-4 | Cinergy Field | 44,680 |
| 7 | October 13, 1996 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 20–10 | 1-5 | Three Rivers Stadium | 58,875 |
| 8 | October 20, 1996 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 28–21 | 1-6 | 3Com Park | 63,218 |
| 9 | October 27, 1996 | Jacksonville Jaguars | W 28–21 | 2-6 | Cinergy Field | 45,890 |
| 10 | November 3, 1996 | at Baltimore Ravens | W 24–21 | 3-6 | Memorial Stadium | 60,743 |
| 11 | November 10, 1996 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 34–24 | 4-6 | Cinergy Field | 57,265 |
| 12 | November 17, 1996 | at Buffalo Bills | L 31–17 | 4-7 | Rich Stadium | 75,549 |
| 13 | November 24, 1996 | Atlanta Falcons | W 41–31 | 5-7 | Cinergy Field | 44,868 |
| 14 | December 1, 1996 | at Jacksonville Jaguars | L 30–27 | 5-8 | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | 57,408 |
| 15 | December 8, 1996 | Baltimore Ravens | W 21–14 | 6-8 | Cinergy Field | 43,022 |
| 16 | December 15, 1996 | at Houston Oilers | W 21–13 | 7-8 | Houston Astrodome | 15,131 |
| 17 | December 22, 1996 | Indianapolis Colts | W 31–24 | 8-8 | Cinergy Field | 49,389 |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | ||||||
Standings
| AFC Central | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| (3) Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 344 | 257 | L2 |
| (5) Jacksonville Jaguars | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 325 | 335 | W5 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 372 | 369 | W3 |
| Houston Oilers | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 345 | 319 | W1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 4 | 12 | 0 | .250 | 371 | 441 | L3 |
Team leaders
Passing
| Player | Att | Comp | Yds | TD | INT | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Blake | 549 | 308 | 3624 | 24 | 14 | 80.3 |
Rushing
| Player | Att | Yds | YPC | Long | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garrison Hearst | 225 | 847 | 3.8 | 24 | 0 |
| Ki-Jana Carter | 91 | 264 | 2.9 | 31 | 8 |
Receiving
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Pickens | 100 | 1180 | 11.8 | 61 | 12 |
Defensive
| Player | Tackles | Sacks | INTs | FF | FR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steve Tovar | 104 | 3.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Wilkinson | 44 | 6.5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ashley Ambrose | 50 | 2.0 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
Kicking and punting
| Player | FGA | FGM | FG% | XPA | XPM | XP% | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doug Pelfrey | 28 | 23 | 82.1% | 41 | 41 | 100.0% | 110 |
| Player | Punts | Yards | Long | Blkd | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Johnson | 80 | 3630 | 67 | 1 | 45.4 |
Special teams
| Player | KR | KRYards | KRAvg | KRLong | KRTD | PR | PRYards | PRAvg | PRLong | PRTD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Dunn | 35 | 782 | 22.3 | 90 | 1 | 7 | 54 | 7.7 | 20 | 0 |
| Corey Sawyer | 12 | 241 | 20.1 | 33 | 0 | 15 | 117 | 7.8 | 62 | 0 |
Awards and records
- Carl Pickens, Franchise Record, Most Receptions in One Season, 100 Receptions[4]
- Carl Pickens, Led AFC, Receptions, 100 Receptions[5]
Milestones
- Carl Pickens, 3rd 1000 Yard Receiving Season, 1,180 yards[6]
