The 2001 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise’s 34th year in professional football and its 32nd with the National Football League. The Bengals abandoned their plans for developing quarterback Akili Smith as their starter by acquiring Jon Kitna from the Seattle Seahawks. The Bengals would win their first two games with Kitna behind center, and sat at 4–3 through the first seven games of the season. However, the Bengals would struggle again, losing their next seven games as Kitna struggled with inconsistency, throwing 22 interceptions while throwing only 12 touchdown passes. The Bengals would win their final two games to close the season with a 6–10 record, their eleventh consecutive season without a winning record. Despite the team’s struggles, All-Pro running back Corey Dillon had another stellar year, rushing for 1,315 yards.

In 2001 players such as Justin Smith, Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, and T. J. Houshmandzadeh were drafted, all of whom would be important to Cincinnati in later years. One positive for the Bengals that year was that they defeated the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the season opener.

Offseason Additions SubtractionsQB Jon Kitna (Seahawks) T Rod Jones (Rams)DT Tony Williams (Vikings) DT Tom Barndt (Jets)DE Bernard Whittington (Colts) DE Michael Bankston (Redskins)FB Lorenzo Neal (Titans) T Richmond Webb (Dolphins)

NFL draft

Undrafted free agents + 2001 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJeff BoyleDefensive tackleWyomingKenny BryantCornerbackJackson StateJeff ChaseGuardTexas A&M–KingsvilleChris EdmondsLinebackerWest VirginiaRashad HarrisLinebackerLouisvilleJared LeeSafetyBYUCalvin LewisDefensive tackleMemphisFreddie MooreTackleFlorida A&MRamondo NorthWide receiverNorth Carolina A&TDuke PettijohnLinebackerSyracuseDave PulokaLinebackerHoly CrossChris RosierWide receiverWilliam & MaryKamal ShakirLinebackerMemphis

Personnel

Roster

Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 9 New England Patriots W 23–17 1–0 Paul Brown Stadium 51,521 2 September 23 Baltimore Ravens W 21–10 2–0 Paul Brown Stadium 51,121 3 September 30 at San Diego Chargers L 14–28 2–1 Qualcomm Stadium 56,048 4 October 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–16 2–2 Heinz Field 62,335 5 October 14 Cleveland Browns W 24–14 3–2 Paul Brown Stadium 64,217 6 October 21 Chicago Bears L 0–24 3–3 Paul Brown Stadium 63,408 7 October 28 at Detroit Lions W 31–27 4–3 Pontiac Silverdome 69,343 8 Bye 9 November 11 at Jacksonville Jaguars L 13–30 4–4 Alltel Stadium 57,161 10 November 18 Tennessee Titans L 7–20 4–5 Paul Brown Stadium 63,865 11 November 25 at Cleveland Browns L 0–18 4–6 Cleveland Browns Stadium 72,918 12 December 2 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 13–16 (OT) 4–7 Paul Brown Stadium 52,135 13 December 9 Jacksonville Jaguars L 10–14 4–8 Paul Brown Stadium 44,920 14 December 16 at New York Jets L 14–15 4–9 Giants Stadium 77,745 15 December 23 at Baltimore Ravens L 0–16 4–10 PSINet Stadium 68,987 16 December 30 Pittsburgh Steelers W 26–23 (OT) 5–10 Paul Brown Stadium 63,751 17 January 6 at Tennessee Titans W 23–21 6–10 Adelphia Coliseum 68,798

Game summaries Week 1: vs. New England Patriots

Week 2: vs. Baltimore Ravens

Week 3: at San Diego Chargers

Week 4: at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 5: vs. Cleveland Browns

Week 6: vs. Chicago Bears

Week 7: at Detroit Lions

Standings

Team leaders Passing Player Att Comp Yds TD INT Rating Jon Kitna 581 313 3216 12 22 61.1

Rushing Player Att Yds YPC Long TD Corey Dillon 340 1315 3.9 96 10

Receiving Player Rec Yds Avg Long TD Peter Warrick 70 667 9.5 33 1 Darnay Scott 57 819 14.4 49 2 Corey Dillon 34 228 6.7 17 3

Defensive Player Tackles Sacks INTs FF FR Takeo Spikes 109 6.0 1 1 0 Reinard Wilson 37 9.0 0 1 2 Artrell Hawkins 59 0.0 3 2 1 Kevin Kaesviharn 25 0.0 3 0 0

Kicking and punting Player FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Points Neil Rackers 28 17 60.7% 24 23 95.8% 74 Player Punts Yards Long Blkd Avg. Nick Harris 84 3372 57 1 40.1

Special teams Player KR KRYards KRAvg KRLong KRTD PR PRYards PRAvg PRLong PRTD Curtis Keaton 42 891 21.2 64 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Peter Warrick 0 0 0.0 0 0 18 116 6.4 31 0 T. J. Houshmandzadeh 10 185 18.5 23 0 12 163 13.6 86 0

Awards and records Corey Dillon, 5th 1,000 yard rushing season

References

External links

2001 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com