The 1984 season was the Cincinnati Bengals' 15th season in the National Football League (NFL), their 17th overall, and their first under head coach Sam Wyche. 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 their division rival Pittsburgh Steelers 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
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 at New York Jets W 21–15 1–0 Giants Stadium 25,055 2 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 13–21 1–1 Tampa Stadium 33,588 3 at Chicago Bears W 25–17 2–1 Soldier Field 53,194 4 Detroit Lions W 35–14 3–1 Riverfront Stadium 41,715
Regular season
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 2 at Denver Broncos L 17–20 0–1 Mile High Stadium 74,178 Recap 2 September 9 Kansas City Chiefs L 22–27 0–2 Riverfront Stadium 47,111 Recap 3 September 16 at New York Jets L 23–43 0–3 Giants Stadium 64,193 Recap 4 September 23 Los Angeles Rams L 14–24 0–4 Riverfront Stadium 45,406 Recap 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–38 0–5 Three Rivers Stadium 57,098 Recap 6 October 7 Houston Oilers W 13–3 1–5 Riverfront Stadium 43,637 Recap 7 October 14 at New England Patriots L 14–20 1–6 Sullivan Stadium 48,154 Recap 8 October 21 Cleveland Browns W 12–9 2–6 Riverfront Stadium 50,667 Recap 9 October 28 at Houston Oilers W 31–13 3–6 Houston Astrodome 34,010 Recap 10 November 4 at San Francisco 49ers L 17–23 3–7 Candlestick Park 58,324 Recap 11 November 11 Pittsburgh Steelers W 22–20 4–7 Riverfront Stadium 52,497 Recap 12 November 18 Seattle Seahawks L 6–26 4–8 Riverfront Stadium 50,280 Recap 13 November 25 Atlanta Falcons W 35–14 5–8 Riverfront Stadium 44,678 Recap 14 December 2 at Cleveland Browns W 20–17 6–8 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 51,774 Recap 15 December 9 at New Orleans Saints W 24–21 7–8 Louisiana Superdome 40,855 Recap 16 December 16 Buffalo Bills W 52–21 8–8 Riverfront Stadium 55,771 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 6
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Oct-09
Week 7
Week 8
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Nov-07.
Week 10 (Sunday, November 4, 1984): at San Francisco 49ers The Football Database. Retrieved 2022-Jun-28.
Point spread: 49ers by 10½ Over/under: 43.0 (under) Time of game:
BengalsGame statistics49ers21 First downs 2625–116 Rushes–yards 31–91269 Passing yards 30121–34–2 27–42–46–39 Sacked–yards 1–7230 Net passing yards 294346 Total yards 385144 Return yards 1906–38.2 2–47.00–0 Fumbles–lost 0–06–46 Penalties–yards 5–3029:24 Time of Possession 30:36
Week 11
Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-25.
Standings
References
External links 1984 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com