The 1969 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's second year as a franchise, and their final season in professional football's American Football League (AFL).

Head coach Paul Brown drafted quarterback Greg Cook of the University of Cincinnati in the first round. The same draft also produced linebacker Bill Bergey. Cook's season started spectacularly, as he led the Bengals to a 3–0 record. However, due to a pop in his right (throwing) shoulder while being tackled by linebacker Jim Lynch against Kansas City, he missed the next three games. With limited medical technology at the time, his injury went undiagnosed; it was later confirmed as a torn rotator cuff. Despite this, the Bengals defeated the Chiefs 24-19.

The Bengals jumped out to a 3–0 record, but finished 4–9–1 in their final season at Nippert Stadium, before moving to the brand new Riverfront Stadium the following season. Brown would be named AFL Coach of the Year.

The November 9, 1969 Bengals vs. Oilers game at the Astrodome in Houston is unique in Bengals history, as it is the only non-overtime tie game. Cincinnati played its first regular-season tie that afternoon, catching the Oilers at 31–31 on kicker Horst Muhlmann's 18-yard field goal with 0:22 left in the fourth quarter. Regular-season overtime was not in the rule book at that time.

The oldest season record in Bengals history, and the only one still standing from the Nippert Stadium years, is QB Greg Cook's average of 9.41 yards gained per passing attempt in 1969. The only other average of more than nine yards was 9.21 by QB Boomer Esiason in 1988. Cook went on to pass for 1,854 yards and led the Bengals to wins over the Oakland Raiders as well as the eventual Super Bowl Champion Chiefs.

Offseason

Common draft

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Regular season

Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 14 Miami Dolphins W 27–21 1–0 Nippert Stadium 25,335 Recap 2 September 21 San Diego Chargers W 34–20 2–0 Nippert Stadium 26,243 Recap 3 September 28 Kansas City Chiefs W 24–19 3–0 Nippert Stadium 27,812 Recap 4 at San Diego Chargers L 14–21 3–1 San Diego Stadium 52,748 Recap 5 October 12 New York Jets L 7–21 3–2 Nippert Stadium 27,927 Recap 6 October 19 Denver Broncos L 23–30 3–3 Nippert Stadium 27,920 Recap 7 October 26 at Kansas City Chiefs L 22–42 3–4 Municipal Stadium 50,934 Recap 8 November 2 Oakland Raiders W 31–17 4–4 Nippert Stadium 27,927 Recap 9 November 9 at Houston Oilers T 31–31 4–4–1 Houston Astrodome 45,298 Recap 10 November 16 Boston Patriots L 14–25 4–5–1 Nippert Stadium 25,913 Recap 11 November 23 at New York Jets L 7–40 4–6–1 Shea Stadium 62,128 Recap 12 November 30 at Buffalo Bills L 13–16 4–7–1 War Memorial Stadium 35,122 Recap 13 December 7 at Oakland Raiders L 17–37 4–8–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 54,427 Recap 14 December 14 at Denver Broncos L 16–27 4–9–1 Mile High Stadium 42,198 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Team stats 1969 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats TEAM STATS Bengals Opponents TOTAL FIRST DOWNS 172 278 Rushing 66 135 Passing 95 130 Penalty 11 13 TOTAL NET YARDS 3868 5337 Avg Per Game 276.3 381.2 Total Plays 728 935 Avg. Per Play 5.3 5.7 NET YARDS RUSHING 1523 2651 Avg. Per Game 167.5 189.4 Total Rushes 363 523 NET YARDS PASSING 2345 2686 Avg. Per Game 167.5 191.9 Sacked Yards Lost 57–375 16–180 Gross Yards 2720 2866 Att. Completions 308–163 396–205 Completion Pct. 52.9 51.8 Intercepted 15 21 PUNTS-AVERAGE 85–38.8 55–41.4 PENALTIES-YARDS 50–556 72–824FUMBLES-BALL LOST 30–25 19–16 TOUCHDOWNS 33 42 Rushing 10 13 Passing 22 24 Returns 1 5

Score by Periods 1 2 3 4 Tot Bengals 48 92 72 68 280 Opponents 78 130 68 91 367

Team leaders Passing: Greg Cook (197 Att, 106 Comp, 1854 Yds, 53.8 Pct, 15 TD, 11 Int, 88.3 Rating) Rushing: Jess Phillips (118 Att, 578 Yds, 4.9 Avg, 83 Long, 3 TD) Receiving: Eric Crabtree (40 Rec, 855 Yds, 21.4 Avg, 73 Long, 7 TD) Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 80 points (16 FG; 32 PAT)

Awards and records

AFL Coach of the Year Paul Brown

AFL Passing Title Greg Cook

AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Bill Bergey

AFL Pro Bowl Selections RB Paul Robinson TE Bob Trumpy

References

External links 1969 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com