The 2010 season was the Cincinnati Bengals' 41st in the National Football League (NFL) and their 43rd overall. The Bengals finished in last place in the AFC North with a 4–12 record and missed the playoffs, a marked regression from their 10–6 record in 2009, when they swept the division for the first time in team history and made the playoffs as division champions. This was the Bengals' first last place finish in the division since 2002. This would be the only time the Bengals played on Thanksgiving until 2025.
Offseason
2010 Draft
+ 2010 Cincinnati Bengals Draft Selections Round Selection Player Position College1 21 Jermaine Gresham TE Oklahoma2 54 Carlos Dunlap DE Florida3 84 Jordan Shipley WR Texas96* Brandon Ghee CB Wake Forest4 120 Geno Atkins DT Georgia131* Roddrick Muckelroy LB Texas5 152 Otis Hudson OL Eastern Illinois6 191 Dezmon Briscoe WR Kansas7 228 Reggie Stephens C Iowa State * – Compensatory Selection
Staff Cincinnati Bengals 2010 staff Front office Principal owner/president/general manager – Mike Brown Executive vice president – Katie Blackburn Senior vice president of player personnel – Pete Brown Vice president of player personnel – Paul H. Brown Director of football operations – Jim Lippincott Director of player personnel – Duke Tobin
Head coaches Head coach – Marvin Lewis Assistant head coach/offensive line – Paul Alexander
Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Bob Bratkowski Quarterbacks – Ken Zampese Running backs – Jim Anderson Wide receivers – Mike Sheppard Tight ends – Jonathan Hayes Offensive quality control – Kyle Caskey Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Mike Zimmer Defensive line – Jay Hayes Linebackers – Jeff FitzGerald Defensive backs – Kevin Coyle Assistant defensive backs – Louie Cioffi
Special teams coaches Special teams – Darrin Simmons Assistant special teams/assistant linebackers – Paul Guenther
Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Chip Morton Assistant strength and conditioning – Jeff Friday
Coaching assistants Brayden Coombs David Lippincott
Roster
Schedule
Preseason On February 24, 2010, the NFL announced that the Bengals will face the Dallas Cowboys in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game at Fawcett Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The game occurred on Sunday, August 8, 2010, and was aired by NBC.Cowboys to face Bengals in Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 8 The Bengals were the designated home team.
The Bengals' preseason opponents were announced on March 31, 2010. The finalized dates and times were announced on April 9, 2010.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap HOF August 8 vs. Dallas Cowboys L 7–16 0–1 Fawcett Stadium Recap 1 August 15 Denver Broncos W 33–24 1–1 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 2 Philadelphia Eagles W 22–9 2–1 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 3 at Buffalo Bills L 20–35 2–2 Ralph Wilson Stadium Recap 4 at Indianapolis Colts W 30–28 3–2 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap
Regular season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 12 at New England Patriots L 24–38 0–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 2 September 19 Baltimore Ravens W 15–10 1–1 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 3 September 26 at Carolina Panthers W 20–7 2–1 Bank of America Stadium Recap 4 October 3 at Cleveland Browns L 20–23 2–2 Cleveland Browns Stadium Recap 5 October 10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 21–24 2–3 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 6Bye 7 October 24 at Atlanta Falcons L 32–39 2–4 Georgia Dome Recap 8 October 31 Miami Dolphins L 14–22 2–5 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 9 Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–27 2–6 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 10 November 14 at Indianapolis Colts L 17–23 2–7 Lucas Oil Stadium Recap 11 November 21 Buffalo Bills L 31–49 2–8 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 12 November 25 at New York Jets L 10–26 2–9 New Meadowlands Stadium Recap 13 December 5 New Orleans Saints L 30–34 2–10 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 14 December 12 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–23 2–11 Heinz Field Recap 15 December 19 Cleveland Browns W 19–17 3–11 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 16 December 26 San Diego Chargers W 34–20 4–11 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 17 January 2 at Baltimore Ravens L 7–13 4–12 M&T Bank Stadium Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Preseason results Pro Football Hall of Fame Game – vs Dallas Cowboys
Preseason Week 1 – vs Denver Broncos
Preseason Week 2 – vs Philadelphia Eagles
Regular season results
Week 1: at New England Patriots
The Cincinnati Bengals began their season at Gillette Stadium for an AFC duel with the New England Patriots. In the first quarter, the Bengals trailed early when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady got a 9-yard TD pass to wide receiver Wes Welker, followed by kicker Stephen Gostkowski hitting a 32-yard field goal. In the second quarter, the Bengals struggled further when Brady made a 4-yard TD pass to Wes Welker, followed by linebacker Gary Guyton returning an interception 59 yards for a touchdown. Then, the Bengals made their first score of the half when kicker Mike Nugent nailed a 54-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, the Patriots increased their lead when wide receiver Brandon Tate returned the second half's opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. After that, the Bengals replied with quarterback Carson Palmer making a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Jermaine Gresham, followed by Palmer's 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. In the fourth quarter, the Patriots scored again with Brady making a 1-yard TD pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Bengals replied with running back Cedric Benson making a 1-yard TD run, but Cincinnati couldn't get any closer to New England's lead.
With the loss, the Bengals began their season at 0–1.
Week 2: vs. Baltimore Ravens
Hoping to rebound from their loss to the Patriots the Bengals played on home ground for an AFC North rivalry match against the Ravens. In the 2nd quarter Cincinnati took the early lead as kicker Mike Nugent hit a 36 and a 30-yard field goal. In the third quarter the Ravens replied and took the lead with QB Joe Flacco completing a 31-yard TD pass to WR Derrick Mason. The Bengals replied when Nugent hit a 46-yard field goal. The Bengals fell behind again in the fourth quarter when kicker Billy Cundiff made a 38-yard field goal, but they got the win with Nugent making 38 and a 25-yard field goals.
With the win, the Bengals improved to 1–1 and picked up their 8th straight division victory.
Week 3: at Carolina Panthers
Coming off their divisional home win over the Ravens, the Bengals flew to Bank of America Stadium for a Week 3 interconference duel with the Carolina Panthers. Cincinnati would strike first in the opening half as running back Cedric Benson got a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, while kicker Mike Nugent got a 33-yard field goal. The Panthers would answer in the third quarter as running back Jonathan Stewart got a 1-yard touchdown run, yet the Bengals would close out the game in the fourth quarter as Nugent nailed a 50-yard field goal, followed by quarterback Carson Palmer finding Benson on a 7-yard touchdown pass.
With the win, Cincinnati improved to 2–1.
Week 4: at Cleveland Browns
Coming off their road win over the Panthers, the Bengals flew to Cleveland Browns Stadium for their Week 4 AFC North duel with the Cleveland Browns in Round 1 of 2010's Battle of Ohio. Cincinnati would trail early in the first quarter as Browns kicker Phil Dawson made a 30-yard field goal. Cleveland would add onto their lead in the second quarter as quarterback Seneca Wallace completed a 24-yard touchdown pass to tight end Evan Moore. Afterwards, the Bengals tied the game as kicker Mike Nugent got a 24-yard field goal, followed by quarterback Carson Palmer completing a 78-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Terrell Owens. The Browns would close out the half with Dawson getting a 31-yard field goal.
In the third quarter, Cleveland responded with running back Peyton Hillis' 1-yard touchdown run, followed by Dawson nailing a 22-yard field goal. Afterwards, Cincinnati came right back with Nugent's 25-yard field goal. The Bengals tried to rally in the fourth quarter as Palmer found running back Brian Leonard on a 3-yard touchdown pass, but the Browns' defense would prevent any further progress.
With the loss, not only did Cincinnati fall to 2–2. The Browns also improve to 1–3 and prevented the Bengals from a 9th straight division rival win.
Week 5: vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Bengals' 5th game was an Interconference duel with the Buccaneers at home. In the 1st quarter Cincinnati took the early lead as QB Carson Palmer made a 43-yard TD pass to WR Terrell Owens. The Buccaneers replied in the 2nd quarter with FS Cody Grimm returning an interception 11 yards for a touchdown. Then kicker Mike Nugent made a 31-yard field goal to put the Bengals up 10–7. In the 3rd quarter the Bengals fell behind as FB Earnest Graham made a 1-yard TD run; but they replied with Nugent making a 35-yard field goal. The Bengals took the lead with Palmer finding TE Jermaine Gresham on a 1-yard TD pass (With a successful 2-point conversion as RB Cedric Benson ran to the endzone), but the lead didn't last very long as QB Josh Freeman completed a 20-yard TD pass to WR Mike Williams. The decision was made when kicker Connor Barth made a 31-yard field goal to give the Bengals another loss.
With the loss, the Bengals went into their bye week at 2–3.
Week 7: at Atlanta Falcons
Coming off their bye week the Bengals played at Georgia Dome for an interconference duel with the Falcons. In the first quarter the Bengals trailed early as QB Matt Ryan made a 3-yard TD pass to WR Brian Finneran. But they replied with kicker Mike Nugent making a 20-yard field goal. The Bengals struggled in the second quarter with kicker Matt Bryant hitting a 45-yard field goal. Then Ryan found WR Roddy White on a 43-yard TD pass, followed by RB Michael Turner getting a 2-yard TD run. The Bengals took control in the third quarter with Nugent nailing a 33-yard field goal, followed by QB Carson Palmer completing a 19-yard TD pass to WR Terrell Owens. Then Palmer found WR Jordan Shipley on a 64-yard TD pass. Then DB Adam Jones returned a fumble 59 yards to the endzone for a touchdown (With a failed two-point conversion). The Falcons pulled away in the fourth quarter with Ryan making an 11-yard TD pass to White. (With the 2-point conversion successful as Ryan passed to White) This was followed by Turner getting a 3-yard TD run. The Bengals tried to tie the game, but only came away with one touchdown after Palmer found WR Chad Ochocinco on an 8-yard TD pass.
With the loss, the Bengals fell to 2–4.
Week 8: vs. Miami Dolphins
Hoping to break their current losing streak the Bengals played on home ground for an AFC duel with the Dolphins. In the first quarter the Bengals took the lead as QB Carson Palmer got a 7-yard TD pass to WR Terrell Owens. The Dolphins replied with kicker Dan Carpenter hitting a 38 and a 42-yard field goal. The Bengals increased their lead with Palmer finding Owens again on a 37-yard TD pass. The Dolphins caught up and eventually took the lead with Carpenter hitting a 24, 54, and a 31-yard field goal in the third quarter to put the Dolphins up 15–14. The Bengals fell further behind with RB Ricky Williams making a 1-yard TD run.
With the loss, the Bengals fell to 2–5.
Week 9: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers