2002 Cincinnati Bengals season

2002 Cincinnati Bengals season
2002 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Dick LeBeau
Home stadium	Paul Brown Stadium
Results
Record	2–14
Division place	4th AFC North
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	FB Lorenzo Neal
	← 2001; Bengals seasons; 2003 →;

The 2002 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League (NFL), the 35th overall, and the second and final full season under head coach Dick LeBeau. With a record of 2–14, however, they were the worst team in football in 2002. The team's struggles continued as they lost their first seven contests losing by an average of 19 points in each game. The Bengals would finally garner their first victory in Week 8 by soundly defeating the expansion Houston Texans on the road 38–3. The winning would not last long, however, as the Bengals lost their next six games to fall to 1–13, this lethargic result was later matched by the 2019 team, which also finished at 2–14.

Head coachDick LeBeau

Home stadiumPaul Brown Stadium

Record2–14

Division place4th AFC North

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In their final game at home, the Bengals would stun the New Orleans Saints 20–13 to earn their second win on the season, but there would be no saving the Bengals from setting a new franchise record for losses as they finished the season with a 27–9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on the road to finish with a league-worst 2–14 record. This resulted in the Bengals owner Mike Brown firing head coach Dick LeBeau and replacing him with Washington's defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis.

By being the worst team in 2002, they earned the first pick in the 2003 NFL draft, which they would use to draft Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer out of USC, and releasing embattled quarterback Akili Smith.^[1]

[1]

Additions	Subtractions
QB Gus Frerotte (Broncos)	TE Tony McGee (Cowboys)
WR Michael Westbrook (Redskins)	WR Darnay Scott (Cowboys)
CB Jeff Burris (Colts)	FS Chris Carter (Texans)

Round	Pick	Player	Position	College
2002 Cincinnati Bengals draft
1	10	Levi Jones	Offensive tackle	Arizona State
2	41	Lamont Thompson	Safety	Washington State
3	67	Matt Schobel	Tight end	TCU
4	109	Travis Dorsch	Punter	Purdue
6	181	Marquand Manuel	Safety	Florida
7	219	Joey Evans	Defensive end	North Carolina
Made roster

Player	Position	College
Chris Archie	Wide receiver	Eastern Michigan
Justin Bland	Offensive tackle	Missouri
John Grabowski	Offensive tackle	Eastern Michigan
Robert Grant	Safety	Hawaii
Gavin Hoffman	Quarterback	Penn
Harold Jackson	Fullback	Temple
Stephon Kelly	Safety	Winston-Salem State
Dwayne Levels	Linebacker	Oklahoma State
Kwazeon Leverette	Wide receiver	Syracuse
Darcey Levy	Wide receiver	Pittsburgh
Jason Murray	Fullback	Notre Dame
Reggie Myles	Defensive back	Alabama
Jermaine Petty	Linebacker	Arkansas
Pig Prather	Safety	Mississippi State
Tito Rodriguez	Linebacker	UCF
Tierre Sams	Cornerback	Fresno State
Trent Sansbury	Tight end	Furman
Michael Slater	Wide receiver	Murray State
Thatcher Szalay	Center	Montana

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 8	San Diego Chargers	L 6–34	0–1	Paul Brown Stadium	53,705
2	September 15	at Cleveland Browns	L 7–20	0–2	Cleveland Browns Stadium	73,358
3	September 22	at Atlanta Falcons	L 3–30	0–3	Georgia Dome	68,129
4	September 29	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 7–35	0–4	Paul Brown Stadium	57,234
5	October 6	at Indianapolis Colts	L 21–28	0–5	RCA Dome	56,570
6	October 13	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 7–34	0–6	Paul Brown Stadium	63,900
7	Bye
8	October 27	Tennessee Titans	L 24–30	0–7	Paul Brown Stadium	52,822
9	November 3	at Houston Texans	W 38–3	1–7	Reliant Stadium	69,827
10	November 10	at Baltimore Ravens	L 27–38	1–8	Ravens Stadium	69,024
11	November 17	Cleveland Browns	L 20–27	1–9	Paul Brown Stadium	64,060
12	November 24	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 21–29	1–10	Heinz Field	60,473
13	December 1	Baltimore Ravens	L 23–27	1–11	Paul Brown Stadium	44,878
14	December 8	at Carolina Panthers	L 31–52	1–12	Ericsson Stadium	66,799
15	December 15	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 15–29	1–13	Paul Brown Stadium	42,092
16	December 22	New Orleans Saints	W 20–13	2–13	Paul Brown Stadium	43,544
17	December 29	at Buffalo Bills	L 9–27	2–14	Ralph Wilson Stadium	47,850

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	10	10	7	7	34
Bengals	0	0	3	3	6

2002 Cincinnati Bengals season

Offseason

NFL draft

Undrafted free agents

Personnel

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers

Week 3: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 17: at Buffalo Bills

Standings

Division

Conference

Team leaders

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Defensive

Kicking and punting

Special teams

Awards and records

Pro Bowl selections

Milestones

References

External links

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks

AFC North
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
⁽³⁾ Pittsburgh Steelers	10	5	1	.656	6–0	8–4	390	345	W3
⁽⁶⁾ Cleveland Browns	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	344	320	W2
Baltimore Ravens	7	9	0	.438	3–3	7–5	316	354	L2
Cincinnati Bengals	2	14	0	.125	0–6	1–11	279	456	L1

AFC v t e
#	Team	Division	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	SOS	SOV
Division leaders
1^[a]	Oakland Raiders	West	11	5	0	.688	4–2	9–3	.529	.531
2^[a]	Tennessee Titans	South	11	5	0	.688	6–0	9–3	.479	.474
3	Pittsburgh Steelers	North	10	5	1	.656	6–0	8–4	.486	.451
4^[b]	New York Jets	East	9	7	0	.563	4–2	6–6	.500	.500
Wild Cards
5	Indianapolis Colts	South	10	6	0	.625	4–2	8–4	.479	.400
6^[c]	Cleveland Browns	North	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	.486	.413
Did not qualify for the postseason
7^[c]^[d]	Denver Broncos	West	9	7	0	.563	3–3	5–7	.527	.486
8^[b]^[c]^[d]^[e]	New England Patriots	East	9	7	0	.563	4–2	6–6	.525	.455
9^[b]^[e]	Miami Dolphins	East	9	7	0	.563	2–4	7–5	.508	.486
10^[f]	Buffalo Bills	East	8	8	0	.500	2–4	5–7	.473	.352
11^[f]^[g]	San Diego Chargers	West	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	.492	.453
12^[g]	Kansas City Chiefs	West	8	8	0	.500	2–4	6–6	.527	.516
13	Baltimore Ravens	North	7	9	0	.438	3–3	7–5	.506	.384
14	Jacksonville Jaguars	South	6	10	0	.375	1–5	4–8	.506	.438
15	Houston Texans	South	4	12	0	.250	1–5	2–10	.518	.492
16	Cincinnati Bengals	North	2	14	0	.125	0–6	1–11	.537	.406
Tiebreakers^[h]
[a] Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based on head-to-head victory. [b] N.Y. Jets finished ahead of New England based on win percentage in common games (8–4 to 7–5) after both finished ahead of Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4). [c] Cleveland finished ahead of Denver and New England based on conference record (7–5 vs 5–7/6–6) [d] Denver finished ahead of New England based on head-to-head victory. [e] New England finished ahead of Miami based on division record (4–2 to 2–4). [f] Buffalo finished ahead of San Diego based on head-to-head victory. [g] San Diego finished ahead of Kansas City based on division record (3–3 to 2–4). [h] When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.

Player	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	INT	Rating
Jon Kitna	473	294	3178	16	16	79.1

Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Chad Johnson	69	1166	16.9	72	5
Peter Warrick	53	606	11.4	37	6

Player	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	FF	FR
Takeo Spikes	171	1.5	0	2	4
Justin Smith	67	6.5	0	1	0
Artrell Hawkins	92	2.0	2	1	2
Kevin Kaesviharn	62	0.0	2	1	0

Player	FGA	FGM	FG%	XPA	XPM	XP%	Points
Neil Rackers	18	15	83.3%	32	30	93.8%	75

Player	Punts	Yards	Long	Blkd	Avg.
Nick Harris	65	2608	57	1	40.1

Player	KR	KRYards	KRAvg	KRLong	KRTD	PR	PRYards	PRAvg	PRLong	PRTD
Brandon Bennett	49	1231	25.1	94	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
T. J. Houshmandzadeh	13	288	22.2	44	0	24	117	4.9	34	0

Player	Att	Yds	YPC	Long	TD
Corey Dillon	314	1311	4.2	67	7