NFL team season
2002 Cincinnati Bengals season Head coach Dick LeBeau Home field Paul Brown Stadium Record 2–14 Division place 4th AFC North Playoff finish Did not qualify Pro Bowlers FB Lorenzo Neal
The 2002 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League , the 35th overall, and the second and final full season under head coach Dick LeBeau . With a record of 2–14, however, they were the worst team in football in 2002. The team's struggles continued as they lost their first seven contests losing by an average of 19 points in each game. The Bengals would finally garner their first victory Week 8 by soundly defeating the expansion Houston Texans on the road 38–3. The winning would not last long, however, as the Bengals lost their next six games to fall to 1–13, this lethargic result was later matched by the 2019 team , which also finished at 2–14.
In their final game at home, the Bengals would stun the New Orleans Saints 20–13 to earn their second win on the season, but there would be no saving the Bengals from setting a new franchise record for losses as they finished the season with a 27–9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on the road to finish with a league-worst 2–14 record. This resulted in the Bengals owner Mike Brown firing head coach Dick LeBeau and replacing him with Washington's defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis .
By being the worst team in 2002, they earned the first pick in the 2003 NFL Draft , which they would use to draft Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer out of USC , and releasing embattled quarterback Akili Smith .[1]
Offseason [ ]
NFL Draft [ ]
[2]
Undrafted free agents [ ]
Personnel [ ]
2002 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Offensive Coordinator – Bob Bratkowski
Quarterbacks – Ken Anderson
Running Backs – Jim Anderson
Wide Receivers – Steve Mooshagian
Tight Ends – John Garrett
Offensive Line – Paul Alexander
Offensive Assistant – Bob Surace
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood
Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Rodney Holman
Roster [ ]
2002 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
, 3 practice squad
Regular season [ ]
Schedule [ ]
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Attendance
1
September 8, 2002
San Diego Chargers
L 6–34
0–1
53,705
2
September 15, 2002
at Cleveland Browns
L 7–20
0–2
73,358
3
September 22, 2002
at Atlanta Falcons
L 3–30
0–3
68,129
4
September 29, 2002
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
L 7–35
0–4
57,234
5
October 6, 2002
at Indianapolis Colts
L 21–28
0–5
56,570
6
October 13, 2002
Pittsburgh Steelers
L 7–34
0–6
63,900
7
Bye
8
October 27, 2002
Tennessee Titans
L 24–30
0–7
52,822
9
November 3, 2002
at Houston Texans
W 38–3
1–7
69,827
10
November 10, 2002
at Baltimore Ravens
L 27–38
1–8
69,024
11
November 17, 2002
Cleveland Browns
L 20–27
1–9
64,060
12
November 24, 2002
at Pittsburgh Steelers
L 21–29
1–10
60,473
13
December 1, 2002
Baltimore Ravens
L 23–27
1–11
44,878
14
December 8, 2002
at Carolina Panthers
L 31–52
1–12
66,799
15
December 15, 2002
Jacksonville Jaguars
L 15–29
1–13
42,092
16
December 22, 2002
New Orleans Saints
W 20–13
2–13
43,544
17
December 29, 2002
at Buffalo Bills
L 9–27
2–14
47,850
Game summaries [ ]
Week 3: at Atlanta Falcons [ ]
Week 3: Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons
1
2
3 4 Total
Bengals
0
3
0 0 3
Falcons
13
7
7 3 30
at Georgia Dome , Atlanta, Georgia
Date : September 22, 2002Game time : 8:30 pmGame weather : None (indoor stadium)Game attendance : 68,129Referee : Terry McAulay (77)TV announcers (ESPN ) : Mike Patrick , Paul Maguire , Joe Theismann , and Suzy Kolber Recap , Game Book
Game information
First quarter
ATL – Jay Feely 44-yard field goal, 10:01. Falcons 3–0. Drive: 7 plays, 46 yards, 4:69.
ATL – Jay Feely 26-yard field goal, 7:19. Falcons 6–0. Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 1:48.
ATL – Brian Finneran 20-yard pass from Michael Vick (Jay Feely kick), 1:57. Falcons 13–0. Drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, 3:28.
Second quarter
ATL – Brian Finneran 13-yard pass from Michael Vick (Jay Feely kick), 4:56. Falcons 20–0. Drive: 4 plays, 24 yards, 1:42.
CIN – Neil Rackers 24-yard field goal, 0:03. Falcons 20–3. Drive: 14 plays, 53 yards, 4:53.
Third quarter
ATL – Warrick Dunn 4-yard run (Jay Feely kick), 5:07. Falcons 27–3. Drive: 11 plays, 74 yards, 7:00.
Fourth quarter
ATL – Jay Feely 34-yard field goal, 7:30. Falcons 30–3. Drive: 10 plays, 46 yards, 5:39.
Top passers
CIN – Jon Kitna – 18/35, 136 yards, INT
ATL – Michael Vick – 16/26, 174 yards, 2 TD
Top rushers
CIN – Corey Dillon – 18 rushes, 66 yards
ATL – TJ Duckett – 18 rushes, 67 yards
Top receivers
CIN – Peter Warrick – 4 receptions, 34 yards
ATL – Brian Finneran – 6 receptions, 77 yards, 2 TD
Week 17: at Buffalo Bills [ ]
Week 17: Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
1
2
3 4 Total
Bengals
0
3
0 6 9
Bills
6
14
7 0 27
at Ralph Wilson Stadium , Orchard Park, New York
Date : December 29, 2002Game time : 1:00 pmGame weather : Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)Game attendance : 47,850Referee : Mike Carey (94)TV : CBS Recap , Game Book
Game information
First quarter
BUF – Mike Hollis 32-yard field goal, 8:36. Bills 3-0. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:15.
BUF – Mike Hollis 25-yard field goal, 1:12. Bills 6-0. Drive: 4 plays, 4, yards, 1:32.
Second quarter
BUF – Drew Bledsoe 7-yard run (Mike Hollis kick), 10:25. Bills 13-0. Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 4:15.
BUF – Eric Moulds 2-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Mike Hollis kick), 2:41. Bills 20-0. Drive: 10 plays, 54 yards, 5:12.
CIN – Neil Rackers 19-yard field goal, 0:24. Bills 20-3. Drive: 11 plays, 78 yards, 2:17.
Third quarter
BUF – Larry Centers 4-yard run (Mike Hollis kick), 1:37. Bills 27-3. Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards, 4:11.
Fourth quarter
CIN – Jon Kitna 6-yard run (run failed), 8:05. Bills 27-9. Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 2:49.
Top passers
CIN – Jon Kitna – 19/35, 241 yards, 2 INT
BUF – Drew Bledsoe – 23/31, 231 yards, TD
Top rushers
CIN – Corey Dillon – 13 rushes, 53 yards
BUF – Travis Henry – 30 rushes, 80 yards
Top receivers
CIN – Chad Johnson – 6 receptions, 123 yards
BUF – Eric Moulds – 9 receptions, 75 yards, TD
Standings [ ]
Team leaders [ ]
Passing [ ]
Player
Att
Comp
Yds
TD
INT
Rating
Jon Kitna
473
294
3178
16
16
79.1
Rushing [ ]
Player
Att
Yds
YPC
Long
TD
Corey Dillon
314
1311
4.2
67
7
Receiving [ ]
Player
Rec
Yds
Avg
Long
TD
Chad Johnson
69
1166
16.9
72
5
Peter Warrick
53
606
11.4
37
6
Defensive [ ]
Kicking and punting [ ]
Player
FGA
FGM
FG%
XPA
XPM
XP%
Points
Neil Rackers
18
15
83.3%
32
30
93.8%
75
Player
Punts
Yards
Long
Blkd
Avg.
Nick Harris
65
2608
57
1
40.1
Special teams [ ]
Awards and records [ ]
Pro Bowl Selections [ ]
Milestones [ ]
Corey Dillon , 6th 1,000 yard rushing (1,311 yards) season[3]
References [ ]
External links [ ]
Cincinnati Bengals
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
League: American Football League (1968–1969)
Italics indicates Super Bowl appearance