The 1994 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 27th year in professional football and its 25th with the National Football League.
On October 2 history was made at Riverfront Stadium, when Dave Shula and the Bengals faced father Don Shula's Miami Dolphins in the first father-son coaching match up in NFL history. The elder Shula would emerge victorious 23–7, as the Bengals were in the midst of a 0–8 start for the third time in four years.
The Bengals equaled their 3-13 record from 1993 and again missed out on a playoff berth. During the season, the Bengals decided to move on from the struggling David Klingler, who had not lived up to his potential as the team's quarterback of the future despite being a high draft pick. After seven weeks without a win, Klingler was pulled in favor of off-season acquisition Jeff Blake, who nearly upset the defending world champion Dallas Cowboys in his first start.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1994 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJim BallardQuarterbackMount UnionJeff HillWide receiverPurdue
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Regular season October 2, 1994: Dubbed the “Shula Bowl”, it marked the first time in NFL history that a head coaching matchup featured father against son. Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins defeated David Shula’s Cincinnati Bengals by a 23-7 mark.100 Things Dolphins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Armando Salguero, Triumph Books, Chicago, 2020, ISBN 978-1-62937-722-3, p.157
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 4, 1994 Cleveland Browns L 20–28 0–1 Riverfront Stadium 2 September 11, 1994 at San Diego Chargers L 10–27 0–2 Jack Murphy Stadium 3 September 18, 1994 New England Patriots L 28–31 0–3 Riverfront Stadium 4 September 25, 1994 at Houston Oilers L 13–20 0–4 Houston Astrodome 5 October 2, 1994 Miami Dolphins L 7–23 0–5 Riverfront Stadium 6 Bye 7 October 16, 1994 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–14 0–6 Three Rivers Stadium 8 October 23, 1994 at Cleveland Browns L 13–37 0–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 9 October 30, 1994 Dallas Cowboys L 20–23 0–8 Riverfront Stadium 10 November 6, 1994 at Seattle Seahawks W 20–17 1–8 Kingdome 11 November 13, 1994 Houston Oilers W 34–31 2–8 Riverfront Stadium 12 November 20, 1994 Indianapolis Colts L 13–17 2–9 Riverfront Stadium 13 November 27, 1994 at Denver Broncos L 13–15 2–10 Mile High Stadium 14 December 4, 1994 Pittsburgh Steelers L 15–38 2–11 Riverfront Stadium 15 December 11, 1994 at New York Giants L 20–27 2–12 Giants Stadium 16 December 18, 1994 at Arizona Cardinals L 7–28 2–13 Sun Devil Stadium 17 December 24, 1994 Philadelphia Eagles W 33–30 3–13 Riverfront Stadium
Standings
Season summary
Week 13 at Broncos
Team leaders
Passing Player Att Comp Yds TD INT Rating Jeff Blake 306 156 2154 14 9 76.9
Rushing Player Att Yds YPC Long TD Derrick Fenner 141 468 3.3 21 1 Steve Broussard 94 403 4.3 37 2
Receiving Player Rec Yds Avg Long TD Carl Pickens 71 1127 15.9 70 11
Defensive Player Tackles Sacks INTs FF FR Steve Tovar 122 3.0 1 3 2 Alfred Williams 48 9.5 0 1 1 Louis Oliver 63 1.0 3 1 0
Kicking and punting Player FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Points Doug Pelfrey 33 28 84.8% 25 24 96.0% 104 Player Punts Yards Long Blkd Avg. Lee Johnson 79 3461 64 1 43.8
Special teams Player KR KRYards KRAvg KRLong KRTD PR PRYards PRAvg PRLong PRTD Eric Ball 42 915 21.8 43 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Corey Sawyer 1 14 14.0 14 0 26 307 11.8 82 1
Awards and records Doug Pelfrey, Franchise Record, Most Field Goals in One Game, 6 (achieved on November 6, 1994)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 37 Jeff Blake, AFC offensive player of the month for November Darnay Scott, WR, PFWA All-Rookie Team
Milestones Carl Pickens, 1st 1000 Yard Receiving Season (1,127 yards)NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 441
References
External links 1994 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com