The 2011 season was the Cincinnati Bengals' 42nd in the National Football League (NFL) and their 44th overall. They entered the season coming off a 4–12 record in 2010. Head Coach Marvin Lewis was re-signed by the team. Quarterback Carson Palmer demanded a trade and was dealt to the Oakland Raiders. Wide receiver Chad Johnson was traded to the New England Patriots. Replacing the two, the organization drafted quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A. J. Green in the 2011 NFL draft, who proceeded to make the Pro Bowl in their rookie seasons. The start of the 2011 season was hindered by a lockout, which cancelled the teams' mini-camp.

After going 1–3 in pre-season, the Bengals started their season off with a win against division rival Cleveland Browns, en route to a 9–7 record—their best outing since 2009. The franchise received a Wild Card spot in the 2011–12 NFL playoffs where it lost in the opening round to the Houston Texans. This would be paralleled the next year with another loss to Houston. 2011 marked Cincinnati's first of five consecutive playoff appearances through 2015. Four players—Dalton, Green, defensive lineman Geno Atkins, and tight end Jermaine Gresham—were elected to the 2012 Pro Bowl; Atkins was also selected to the Associated Press' 2011 All-Pro Team.

Offseason

Signings Pos. Player 2010 Team Contract LB Thomas Howard Oakland Raiders 2 years, $6.5 million RB Cedric Benson Cincinnati Bengals 1 year, $4.5 million QB Bruce Gradkowski Oakland Raiders 2 years, $4 million RB Brian Leonard Cincinnati Bengals 2 years, $2 million S Gibril Wilson Cincinnati Bengals 1 year G Nate Livings Cincinnati Bengals 1 year

Departures Pos. Player 2011 Team DEAntwan Odom WR Chad Ochocinco PatriotsLBDhani Jones G Evan Mathis Philadelphia EaglesTEGarrett MillsNew England PatriotsOTKirk ChambersDetroit Lions CB Johnathan Joseph Houston TexansSSChinedum NdukweOakland Raiders S Roy Williams retireDTTank Johnson WR Terrell Owens

The Bengals finished their 2010 season with 4–12 record, their worst outing since 2002. In January 2011, the Bengals organization re-signed coach Marvin Lewis for another two years. Wide receivers Chad Johnson's and Terrell Owens's contracts expired, and the team did not re-sign them. Also, veteran quarterback Carson Palmer wanted to leave the Bengals via trade; he claimed if he could not be traded, he would retire. The Bengals organization decided to trade Palmer to the Oakland Raiders for a first-round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional draft pick in 2013 that is a second-rounder unless the Raiders win a playoff game, when it would become a first-rounder. Also The Bengals fired Offensive Coordinator Bob Bratkowski and replaced him with Jay Gruden

Lockout

Following the end of 2010 season, the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the owners of all 32 NFL teams and the players was set to expire on March 3, 2011. The two parties, however, decided to extend the CBA one more week in order to create a new CBA. A new CBA was not reached, and the owners locked out the players from team facilities and shut down league operations. The major issues disputed were the salary cap, players' safety and health benefits, revenue sharing and television contracts, transparency of financial information, rookie salaries, season length, and free agency guidelines. A new CBA could not be reached in time, and the annual Hall of Fame Game was cancelled. Also, teams could not hold official mini-camps because of the lockout. On July 25, 2011, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and NFLPA President DeMaurice Smith signed a new, 10-year CBA, and the lockout officially ended.

Draft

The 2011 NFL draft was held on April 28 to 30, 2011 at Radio City Music Hall. In the first round, the Bengals picked A. J. Green, a wide receiver from the University of Georgia, at overall selection number 4. In his last season at Georgia, Green missed the first four games, but he finished with a team-high 57 receptions for 848 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns. The Bengals selected TCU quarterback Andy Dalton in the second round, with overall selection number 35. These first two picks were replacements for starting wide receiver Chad Ochocinco and quarterback Carson Palmer, respectively. In the third round, the Bengals selected defensive lineman Dontay Moch of University of Nevada. During the NFL Scouting Combine, Moch ran a 4.44 40-yard dash, making him the fastest defensive lineman to ever run the dash. The Bengals' next pick was another player from Georgia University; it selected offensive lineman Clint Boling in the fourth round. Boling was a 3-time All-SEC pick and, during his college tenure, was a versatile lineman who can play tackle or guard. In the fifth round, free safety Robert Sands was chosen with the 134 pick. The Bengals' picked wide receiver Ryan Whalen of Stanford University in the sixth round. The final two picks for the Bengals were cornerback Korey Lindsey of Southern Illinois University and running back Jay Finley of Baylor University. In July, the Bengals signed five draft picks to contracts.

Undrafted free agents Name Position College Colin Cochart Tight end South Dakota State Landon Cox Wide receiver Northern Illinois DeQuin Evans Linebacker Kentucky Stephen Franklin Linebacker Southern Illinois John Griffin Running back UMass Andrew Hawkins Wide receiver Toledo Jamere Holland Wide receiver Lindenwood Bart Johnson Wide receiver TCU Lolomana Mikaele Defensive tackle Arizona Matthew O’Donnell Tackle Queen's Chris Riley Guard Illinois State Thomas Weber Kicker Arizona State Jonathan Williams Running back East Carolina

Staff 2011 Cincinnati Bengals staff Front office 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 – Jay Gruden Quarterbacks – Ken Zampese Running backs – Jim Anderson Wide receivers – James Urban 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 Defensive quality control – David Lippincott

Special teams coaches Special teams – Darrin Simmons Assistant special teams/assistant defensive backs – Paul Guenther

Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Chip Morton Assistant strength and conditioning – Jeff Friday

Coaching assistants Brayden Coombs

Final roster

Training camp

Training camp was held at Georgetown College, in Georgetown, Kentucky, for the 15th straight year. Players reported on July 28, the first practice was July 30, and camp ended on August 7. On July 28, the Bengals traded Ochocinco to the New England Patriots for a late draft pick in 2012 and another late pick in 2013. A few days later, running back Cedric Benson, who was arrested prior, signed a new, one-year contract with the team. Other notable roster changes during training camp include cutting defensive end Antwan Odom because of his injury, and cornerback Johnathan Joseph was picked up from free agency by the Houston Texans.

The San Diego Union Tribune claimed Green was the best player of the entire training camp. The Bengals wanted cornerback Adam Jones to participate to hopefully become the starter; however, he did not participate in camp due to a neck injury. On the first day of practice, linebacker Roddrick Muckelro ruptured his Achilles' tendon, which caused him to miss the entire season. Dalton played well enough in training camp for Marvin Lewis to nominate him to be the starter for the opening pre-season game. Former Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason criticized this move claiming, "If they force-feed [Dalton] and put him in games right away, he will get killed. He will get eaten alive."

Preseason Cincinnati opened their pre-season schedule with a 34–3 loss to the Detroit Lions. The first offensive play for the Bengals resulted in a sack from DL Ndamukong Suh, and the pass was intercepted by CB Chris Houston. The only score for the Bengals was a field goal from kicker Mike Nugent. For its second game, the Bengals traveled to New Jersey to play the New York Jets. The final score of the game was a 27–7 defeat. The Bengals' offense was not productive, and Dalton claimed, "I have to come out and play better." In pre-season week 3, the Bengals played their first home game of the season, and won 24–13 against the Carolina Panthers. The Bengals' final game was another home game, playing against the Indianapolis Colts. The starters did not play much, and the team ended up losing 17–14. On September 3, 2011, the Bengals' organization released 27 roster spots, in order to make room for the limit of 53 players. It also acquired WR Brandon Tate, OL Mike McGlynn, and TE Mickey Shuler from waivers.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 at Detroit Lions L 3–34 0–1 Ford Field Recap 2 August 21 at New York Jets L 7–27 0–2 New Meadowlands Stadium Recap 3 Carolina Panthers W 24–13 1–2 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 4 Indianapolis Colts L 13–17 1–3 Paul Brown Stadium Recap

Regular season

Based on 2010 standings, the Bengals had an easy schedule, with an opponent winning percentage of .473; 5 teams were played against that finished 2011 with winning records, and 8 teams were played against that finished 2011 with losing records. The Bengals played each of the teams in the AFC North twice, once home and once on the road. It played its home games at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati's match-ups included the Seattle Seahawks and the Colts, both of which won its respective divisions in 2010. Because of the Bengals' losing record in 2010, the NFL decided to not give Cincinnati any prime-time games.

Six of the Bengals' eight home games were blacked out locally due to poor ticket sales. Dating back to 2010, seven consecutive games were blacked out locally. That streak ended in week 10 when the Bengals hosted the Pittsburgh Steelers. There were three more blackouts before the Bengals sold out the final home game of the season against the Baltimore Ravens, a game with playoff implications for both teams. The Bengals' average home crowd of 49,251 was the worst of the entire NFL.

Green was one of four players from the Bengals to be nominated to the 2012 Pro Bowl, who became the first rookie wide receiver to accomplish this feat since 2003. The other three players were Dalton, Atkins, and Gresham. Andrew Whitworth was the only player to make the Associated Press' All-Pro team. In week 10, Dalton threw his thirteenth and fourteenth touchdown pass, making him the most passing touchdowns by a rookie in his team's first nine games since the AFL–NFL merger (1970). He also placed second in the Associated Press' Offensive Player of the Year award.

Schedule