NFL team season (inaugural season)
1968 Cincinnati Bengals season Head coach Paul Brown Home field Nippert Stadium Record 3–11 Division place 5th AFL West Playoff finish Did not qualify AFL All-Stars Team ROY Paul Robinson
The 1968 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise 's inaugural season . Their head coach was Paul Brown , who left the Cleveland Browns following the 1962 season with National Football League (NFL) record of 115–49–6, seven conference titles, and three NFL championships. His son Mike Brown did a study on pro football expansion and recommended Cincinnati as a potential site. In 1965, Brown met with Ohio Governor James Rhodes and the two agreed the state could accommodate a second pro football team. The team recorded its first win in franchise history in week 2 with a 24–10 victory over the Denver Broncos .
Timeline to establishment [ ]
1966 – Fearful the Cincinnati Reds baseball team would leave town and feeling pressure from local businessmen pushing for a pro football franchise, Cincinnati's city council approved the construction of Riverfront Stadium .
1967 – Brown's group was awarded an American Football League (AFL) expansion franchise. Brown named the team the Bengals, the name of Cincinnati's pro teams in the old AFL of the late 1930s. The Bengals acquired their first player late in the year when they traded two draft picks to Miami for quarterback John Stofa .
1968 – The Bengals were awarded 40 veteran players in the allocation draft. In the college draft, they selected University of Tennessee center Bob Johnson as their first pick. The Bengals lost their first preseason game 38–14 to the Kansas City Chiefs before 21,682 fans at the University of Cincinnati 's Nippert Stadium . The Bengals upset the Denver Broncos 24–10 and the Buffalo Bills 34–23 in their first two regular-season home games. Halfback Paul Robinson led the AFL in rushing with 1,023 yards and was named Rookie of the Year.
Offseason [ ]
Common draft [ ]
Main article: 1968 NFL draft
[1]
Pre-season [ ]
[2]
Regular season [ ]
Schedule [ ]
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
Recap
1
at San Diego Chargers
L 13–29
0–1
San Diego Stadium
33,687
Recap
2
September 15
Denver Broncos
W 24–10
1–1
Nippert Stadium
25,049
Recap
3
September 22
Buffalo Bills
W 34–23
2–1
Nippert Stadium
24,045
Recap
4
September 29
San Diego Chargers
L 10–31
2–2
Nippert Stadium
28,642
Recap
5
October 6
at Denver Broncos
L 7–10
2–3
Mile High Stadium
41,257
Recap
6
October 13
at Kansas City Chiefs
L 3–13
2–4
Municipal Stadium
47,096
Recap
7
October 20
Miami Dolphins
L 22–24
2–5
Nippert Stadium
25,942
Recap
8
October 27
at Oakland Raiders
L 10–31
2–6
Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
37,083
Recap
9
November 3
Houston Oilers
L 17–27
2–7
Nippert Stadium
24,012
Recap
10
November 10
Kansas City Chiefs
L 9–16
2–8
Nippert Stadium
25,537
Recap
11
November 17
at Miami Dolphins
W 38–21
3–8
Miami Orange Bowl
31,747
Recap
12
November 24
Oakland Raiders
L 0–34
3–9
Nippert Stadium
27,116
Recap
13
December 1
at Boston Patriots
L 14–33
3–10
Fenway Park
17,796
Recap
14
December 8
at New York Jets
L 14–27
3–11
Shea Stadium
61,111
Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
[3] [4]
Standings [ ]
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Game summaries [ ]
Week 1 [ ]
1
2
3
4
Total
Bengals
7
3
3
0
13
Chargers
10
0
13
6
29
at San Diego Stadium , San Diego, California
Game time:
Game weather:
Game attendance:
Referee:
TV announcers:
CIN
SDG
CIN
Paul Robinson 2-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
7
0
SDG
Dennis Partee 42-yard field goal
7
3
SDG
Dickie Post 48-yard rush (Dennis Partee kick)
7
10
CIN
Dale Livingston 22-yard field goal
10
10
SDG
Brad Hubbert 1-yard rush (Dennis Partee kick)
10
17
CIN
Dale Livingston 35-yard field goal
13
17
SDG
Willie Frazier 48-yard pass from John Hadl (kick failed)
13
23
SDG
Willie Frazier 56-yard pass from John Hadl (kick failed)
13
29
CIN
SDG
First downs
13
27
Rush-yards-TDs
30–122–1
33–229–2
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
14–26–125–0–1
20–37–325–2–0
Sacked-yards
2–21
0–0
Net pass yards
104
325
Total yards
226
554
Fumbles-lost
4–1
2–2
Turnovers
2
2
Penalties-yards
5–56
10–100
Week 2 [ ]
Week 2
1
2
3
4
Final
Denver Broncos (0–1–0)
0
0
3
7
10
Cincinnati Bengals (1–1–0)
0
0
10
14
24
DEN
CIN
CIN
Dale Livingston 49-yard field goal
0
3
CIN
Bob Trumpy 58-yard pass from John Stofa (Dale Livingston kick)
0
10
DEN
Bob Humphreys 33-yard field goal
3
10
DEN
Eric Crabtree 5-yard pass from Jim M. LeClair (Bob Humphreys kick)
10
10
CIN
Warren McVea 54-yard pass from John Stofa (Dale Livingston kick)
10
17
CIN
Essex Johnson 35-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
10
24
DEN
CIN
First downs
15
11
Rush-yards-TDs
25–78–0
27–104–1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
14–33–171–1–1
12–22–224–2–0
Sacked-yards
4–50
3–39
Net pass yards
121
185
Total yards
199
289
Fumbles-lost
2–0
1–0
Turnovers
1
0
Penalties-yards
2–15
2–24
Week 3 [ ]
Week 3
1
2
3
4
Final
Buffalo Bills (0–3–0)
0
7
7
9
23
Cincinnati Bengals (2–1–0)
10
0
10
14
34
BUF
CIN
CIN Dale Livingston 11-yard field goal
0
3
CIN Warren McVea 80-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
0
10
BUF Max Anderson 14-yard rush (Mike Mercer kick)
7
10
BUF Gary McDermott 5-yard rush (Mike Mercer kick)
14
10
CIN Dale Livingston 39-yard field goal
14
13
CIN Charlie King 32-yard interception return (Dale Livingston kick)
14
20
CIN Al Beauchamp 17-yard interception return (Dale Livingston kick)
14
27
BUF Max Anderson 100-yard kickoff return (Mike Mercer kick)
21
27
BUF Safety, Robinson tackled in end zone
23
27
CIN Tommie Smiley 1-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
23
34
BUF
CIN
First downs
17
9
Rush-yards-TDs
24–92–2
29–149–2
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
15–36–160–0–2
8–18–68–0–1
Sacked-yards
5–37
2–16
Net pass yards
123
52
Total yards
215
201
Fumbles-lost
1–0
2–1
Turnovers
2
2
Penalties-yards
5–65
6–34
Week 4 [ ]
Sunday September 29
Week 4
1
2
3
4
Final
San Diego Chargers (3–0–0)
0
17
0
14
31
Cincinnati Bengals (2–2–0)
3
0
7
0
10
SDG
CIN
CIN Dale Livingston 21-yard field goal
0
3
SDG Gary Garrison 10-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick)
7
3
SDG Dennis Partee 21-yard field goal
10
3
SDG Gary Garrison 19-yard pass from John Hadl (Dennis Partee kick)
17
3
CIN Essex Johnson 6-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
17
10
SDG John Hadl 2-yard rush (Dennis Partee kick)
24
10
SDG John Hadl 1-yard rush (Dennis Partee kick)
31
10
SDG
CIN
First downs
18
14
Rush-yards-TDs
37–101–2
25–66–1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
11–24–215–2–1
17–29–153–0–2
Sacked-yards
1–14
3–24
Net pass yards
201
129
Total yards
302
195
Fumbles-lost
0–0
0–0
Turnovers
1
2
Penalties-yards
6–51
8–90
Week 5 [ ]
Sunday October 6
Week 5
1
2
3
4
Final
Cincinnati Bengals (2–3–0)
0
7
0
0
7
Denver Broncos (1–3–0)
0
0
3
7
10
CIN
DEN
CIN Bobby Hunt 5-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
7
0
DEN Bobby Howfield 34-yard field goal
7
3
DEN Mike Haffner 4-yard pass from Steve Tensi (Bobby Howfield kick)
7
10
CIN
DEN
First downs
15
11
Rush-yards-TDs
37–111–1
23–99–0
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
15–38–139–0–0
14–34–125–1–0
Sacked-yards
1–3
2–13
Net pass yards
136
112
Total yards
247
211
Fumbles-lost
3–1
1–0
Turnovers
1
0
Penalties-yards
5–49
3–28
Week 6 [ ]
Sunday October 13
Week 6
1
2
3
4
Final
Cincinnati Bengals (2–4–0)
0
0
3
0
3
Kansas City Chiefs (5–1–0)
0
3
3
7
13
CIN
KAN
KAN Jan Stenerud 52-yard field goal
0
3
CIN Dale Livingston 15-yard field goal
3
3
KAN Jan Stenerud 46-yard field goal
3
6
KAN Robert Holmes 1-yard rush (Jan Stenerud kick)
3
13
CIN
KAN
First downs
7
15
Rush-yards-TDs
28–99–0
40–136–1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
7–19–48–0–1
11–17–152–0–1
Sacked-yards
3–31
3–23
Net pass yards
17
129
Total yards
116
265
Fumbles-lost
1–0
2–1
Turnovers
1
2
Penalties-yards
3–25
5–42
Week 7 [ ]
Sunday October 20
Week 7
1
2
3
4
Final
Miami Dolphins (2–3–1)
10
0
0
14
24
Cincinnati Bengals (2–5–0)
0
2
14
6
22
MIA
CIN
MIA Jimmy Keyes 26-yard field goal
3
0
MIA Karl Noonan 2-yard pass from Bob Griese (Jimmy Keyes kick)
10
0
CIN Safety, Gunner tackled Griese in end zone
10
2
CIN Essex Johnson 41-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
10
9
CIN Paul Robinson 1-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
10
16
MIA Karl Noonan 20-yard pass from Bob Griese (Jimmy Keyes kick)
17
16
MIA Stan Mitchell 31-yard pass from Bob Griese (Jimmy Keyes kick)
24
16
CIN Bob Trumpy 45-yard pass from Dewey Warren (pass failed)
24
22
MIA
CIN
First downs
21
14
Rush-yards-TDs
38–139–0
30–143–2
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
16–29–186–3–0
14–21–184–1–1
Sacked-yards
4–29
0–0
Net pass yards
157
184
Total yards
296
327
Fumbles-lost
1–0
3–2
Turnovers
0
3
Penalties-yards
2–11
2–10
Week 8 [ ]
Sunday October 28
Week 8
1
2
3
4
Final
Cincinnati Bengals (2–6–0)
0
7
3
0
10
Oakland Raiders (5–2–0)
7
7
14
3
31
CIN
OAK
OAK Fred Biletnikoff 14-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)
0
7
OAK Roger Hagberg 7-yard rush (George Blanda kick)
0
14
CIN Paul Robinson 87-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
7
14
OAK Fred Biletnikoff 12-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)
7
21
CIN Dale Livingston 37-yard field goal
10
21
OAK Roger Hagberg 7-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)
10
28
OAK George Blanda 48-yard field goal
10
31
CIN
OAK
First downs
8
26
Rush-yards-TDs
28–169–1
42–265–1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
11–19–95–0–1
17–34–205–3–1
Sacked-yards
7–36
4–31
Net pass yards
59
174
Total yards
228
439
Fumbles-lost
3–1
2–2
Turnovers
2
3
Penalties-yards
6–90
5–78
Week 9 [ ]
Sunday November 3
Week 9
1
2
3
4
Final
Houston Oilers (4–5–0)
10
7
7
3
27
Cincinnati Bengals (2–7–0)
0
3
7
7
17
HOU
CIN
HOU Wayne Walker 27-yard field goal
3
0
HOU Alvin Reed 5-yard pass from Don Trull (Wayne Walker kick)
10
0
CIN Dale Livingston 28-yard field goal
10
3
HOU Hoyle Granger 1-yard rush (Wayne Walker kick)
17
3
CIN Paul Robinson 4-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
17
10
HOU Mac Haik 10-yard pass from Don Trull (Wayne Walker kick)
24
10
HOU Wayne Walker 41-yard field goal
27
10
CIN Paul Robinson 68-yard pass from Sam Wyche (Dale Livingston kick)
27
17
HOU
CIN
First downs
21
21
Rush-yards-TDs
37–159–1
26–179–1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
14–23–212–2–0
20–25–228–1–0
Sacked-yards
1–10
5–33
Net pass yards
202
195
Total yards
361
374
Fumbles-lost
1–0
1–0
Turnovers
0
0
Penalties-yards
3–35
4–45
Week 10 [ ]
Sunday November 10
Week 10
1
2
3
4
Final
Kansas City Chiefs (8–2–0)
3
3
0
10
16
Cincinnati Bengals (2–8–0)
0
3
6
0
9
KAN
CIN
KAN Jan Stenerud 30-yard field goal
3
0
CIN Dale Livingston 29-yard field goal
3
3
KAN Jan Stenerud 11-yard field goal
6
3
CIN Dale Livingston 16-yard field goal
6
6
CIN Dale Livingston 23-yard field goal
6
9
KAN Jan Stenerud 17-yard field goal
9
9
KAN Robert Holmes 27-yard rush (Jan Stenerud kick)
16
9
KAN
CIN
First downs
16
15
Rush-yards-TDs
39–255–1
30–157–0
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
5–15–62–0–1
12–21–161–0–2
Sacked-yards
1–13
6–35
Net pass yards
49
126
Total yards
304
283
Fumbles-lost
0–0
0–0
Turnovers
1
2
Penalties-yards
4–45
3–44
Week 11 [ ]
Sunday, November 17
Week 11
1
2
3
4
Final
Cincinnati Bengals (3–8–0)
0
17
0
21
38
Miami Dolphins (3–6–1)
7
0
14
0
21
CIN
MIA
MIA Stan Mitchell 48-yard pass from Bob Griese (Jimmy Keyes kick)
0
7
CIN Bob Trumpy 80-yard pass from Sam Wyche (Dale Livingston kick)
7
7
CIN Dale Livingston 12-yard field goal
10
7
CIN Paul Robinson 54-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
17
7
MIA Karl Noonan 7-yard pass from Bob Griese (Jimmy Keyes kick)
17
14
MIA Stan Mitchell 38-yard pass from Bob Griese (Jimmy Keyes kick)
17
21
CIN Warren McVea 55-yard pass from John Stofa (Dale Livingston kick)
24
21
CIN Paul Robinson 15-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
31
21
CIN Paul Robinson 5-yard rush (Dale Livingston kick)
38
21
CIN
MIA
First downs
17
16
Rush-yards-TDs
38–179–3
23–122–0
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
9–17–243–2–0
16–31–253–3–1
Sacked-yards
0–0
6–49
Net pass yards
243
204
Total yards
422
326
Fumbles-lost
2–1
3–1
Turnovers
1
2
Penalties-yards
2–31
3–22
Week 12 [ ]
Sunday November 24
Week 12
1
2
3
4
Final
Oakland Raiders (9–2–0)
7
7
6
14
34
Cincinnati Bengals (3–9–0)
0
0
0
0
0
OAK
CIN
OAK Charlie H. Smith 7-yard rush (George Blanda kick)
7
0
OAK Hewritt Dixon 5-yard pass from Daryle Lamonica (George Blanda kick)
14
0
OAK George Blanda 43-yard field goal
17
0
OAK George Blanda 27-yard field goal
20
0
OAK Charlie H. Smith 9-yard rush (George Blanda kick)
27
0
OAK Billy Cannon 12-yard pass from George Blanda (George Blanda kick)
34
0
OAK
CIN
First downs
33
7
Rush-yards-TDs
46–208–2
25–116–0
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
26–34–396–2–0
7–14–44–0–1
Sacked-yards
0–0
2–12
Net pass yards
396
32
Total yards
604
148
Fumbles-lost
2–1
2–2
Turnovers
1
3
Penalties-yards
9–92
5–52
Week 13 [ ]
Sunday December 1
Week 13
1
2
3
4
Final
Cincinnati Bengals (3–10–0)
0
0
7
7
14
Boston Patriots (4–8–0)
2
24
0
7
33
CIN
BOS
BOS Safety, Satcher tackled Robinson in end zone
0
2
BOS Gino Cappelletti 27-yard field goal
0
5
BOS Jim Whalen 11-yard pass from Tom Sherman (Gino Cappelletti kick)
0
12
BOS Gino Cappelletti 18-yard pass from Tom Sherman (Gino Cappelletti kick)
0
19
BOS Jim Nance 5-yard rush (Gino Cappelletti kick)
0
26
CIN Estes Banks 5-yard pass from John Stofa (Rod Sherman kick)
7
26
BOS Jim Whalen 21-yard pass from Tom Sherman (Gino Cappelletti kick)
7
33
CIN Rod Sherman 27-yard pass from John Stofa (Rod Sherman kick)
14
33
CIN
BOS
First downs
14
20
Rush-yards-TDs
30–106–0
37–129–1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
18–37–126–2–1
12–25–142–3–1
Sacked-yards
2–20
0–0
Net pass yards
106
142
Total yards
212
271
Fumbles-lost
2–0
1–1
Turnovers
1
2
Penalties-yards
3–35
2–19
Week 14 [ ]
Sunday December 8
Week 14
1
2
3
4
Final
Cincinnati Bengals (3–11–0)
0
7
0
7
14
New York Jets (10–3–0)
14
3
3
7
27
CIN
NYJ
NYJ George Sauer 10-yard pass from Joe Namath (Jim Turner kick)
0
7
NYJ Don Maynard 12-yard pass from Joe Namath (Jim Turner kick)
0
14
CIN Paul Robinson 14-yard rush (Rod Sherman kick)
7
14
NYJ Jim Turner 35-yard field goal
7
17
NYJ Jim Turner 22-yard field goal
7
20
CIN Jim Griffin 0-yard fumble return (Rod Sherman kick)
14
20
NYJ Bake Turner 34-yard pass from Babe Parilli (Jim Turner kick)
14
27
CIN
NYJ
First downs
6
19
Rush-yards-TDs
38–107–1
29–85–0
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT
3–7–58–0–0
21–39–299–3–1
Sacked-yards
1–7
1–13
Net pass yards
51
286
Total yards
158
371
Fumbles-lost
3–1
1–1
Turnovers
1
2
Penalties-yards
1–5
3–29
Personnel [ ]
Staff/Coaches [ ]
1968 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Front Office
Owner/CEO & President - Paul Brown
Coaching Staff
Offensive Coaches
Defensive Coaches
Defensive Line -
Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs – Tom Bass
Linebackers –
[5]
Final roster [ ]
1968 Cincinnati Bengals final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
56 active, 0 inactive, 0 practice squad
Awards and records [ ]
AFL Rookie of the Year [ ]
AFL Pro Bowl Selections [ ]
Highlights [ ]
Paul Robinson led the AFL in rushing with 1023 yards and was named Rookie of the Year.
References [ ]
Founded in 1968
Based and headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio
Franchise Stadiums Culture and lore Rivalries Division championships (9) Conference championships (2) Retired numbers Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation
Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance