1976 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1976 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 7th season in the National Football League, and the 9th overall.

1976 Cincinnati Bengals season
Owner	Paul Brown
Head coach	Bill Johnson
Home field	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	2nd AFC Central
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	QB Ken Anderson DE Coy Bacon S Tommy Casanova WR Isaac Curtis LB Jim LeClair CB Lemar Parrish

Paul Brown had announced his retirement after 41 seasons of coaching and named Bill Johnson, his longtime assistant, as the successor over future San Francisco Head coach Bill Walsh. Brown continued to serve as the club's general manager and vice president. The Bengals acquired defensive end Coy Bacon in a trade with San Diego and drafted halfback Archie Griffin, the two-time Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State. The Bengals won nine of their first 11 games and finished 10–4, but did not make the playoffs.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1976 NFL Draft

1976 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	11	Billy Brooks	Wide receiver	Oklahoma
1	24	Archie Griffin	Running back	Ohio State
2	38	Glenn Bujnoch	Guard	Texas A&M
2	51	Chris Bahr	Placekicker	Penn State
3	69	Danny Reece	Defensive back	USC
3	82	Reggie Williams	Linebacker	Dartmouth
4	106	Tony Davis	Running back	Nebraska
4	116	Greg Fairchild	Guard	Tulsa
5	138	Willie Shelby	Running back	Alabama
5	147	Scott Perry	Defensive back	Williams
6	176	Orlando Nelson	Tight end	Utah State
7	187	Bob Bateman	Quarterback	Brown
7	192	Carmen Rome	Defensive back	Miami (OH)
7	205	Ken Kuhn	Linebacker	Ohio State
8	232	Ron Hunt	Offensive tackle	Oregon
9	259	Lonnie Allgood	Wide receiver	Syracuse
10	287	Tom Klaban	Placekicker	Ohio State
11	314	Melvin Morgan	Defensive back	Mississippi Valley State
12	341	Joe Dale Harris	Wide receiver	Alabama
13	371	Randy Walker	Running back	Miami (OH)
14	398	Greg Coleman	Punter	Florida A&M
15	425	Lynn Hieber	Quarterback	Indiana (PA)
16	455	George Demopoulis	Center	Miami (FL)
17	482	Scott Dannelley	Guard	Ohio State
Made roster

Personnel

Staff

1976 Cincinnati Bengals staff

	Front office President – John Sawyer General manager – Paul Brown Director of player personnel – Pete Brown Head coaches Head coach – Bill Johnson Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Receivers – Boyd Dowler Offensive backfield – Jack Donaldson Offensive line – Mike McCormack			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Howard Brinker Defensive line – Chuck Studley Defensive backfield – Charley Winner Strength and conditioning Strength – Kim Wood

Roster

1976 Cincinnati Bengals roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 11 John Reaves 14 Ken Anderson Running backs (RB) 42 Boobie Clark 35 Tony Davis 36 Lenvil Elliott 33 Stan Fritts 45 Archie Griffin 30 Willie Shelby Wide receivers (WR) 82 Billy Brooks 85 Isaac Curtis 25 Chip Myers 86 John McDaniel Tight ends (TE) 88 Bruce Coslet 84 Bob Trumpy

Offensive linemen (OL) 74 Glenn Bujnoch G 63 Greg Fairchild G 72 Ron Hunt T 76 Vernon Holland T 54 Bob Johnson C 62 Dave Lapham G 71 Rufus Mayes T 64 John Shinners G Defensive linemen (DL) 79 Coy Bacon DE 78 Bob Brown DT 67 Gary Burley DE 70 Ron Carpenter DT 80 Ken Johnson DE 68 Bill Kollar DT

Linebackers (LB) 50 Glenn Cameron 51 Chris Devlin 53 Bo Harris 55 Jim LeClair 60 Ron Pritchard 57 Reggie Williams Defensive backs (DB) 37 Tommy Casanova S 24 Marvin Cobb S 21 Melvin Morgan CB 23 Bernard Jackson S 20 Lemar Parrish CB 32 Scott Perry CB 13 Ken Riley CB Special teams 10 Chris Bahr K 87 Pat McInally P

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
1	September 12	Denver Broncos	W 17–7	1–0	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
2	September 19	at Baltimore Colts	L 27–28	1–1	Memorial Stadium	Recap
3	September 26	Green Bay Packers	W 28–7	2–1	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
4	October 3	at Cleveland Browns	W 45–24	3–1	Cleveland Stadium	Recap
5	October 10	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	W 21–0	4–1	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
6	October 17	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 6–23	4–2	Three Rivers Stadium	Recap
7	October 24	at Houston Oilers	W 27–7	5–2	Astrodome	Recap
8	October 31	Cleveland Browns	W 21–6	6–2	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
9	November 8	Los Angeles Rams	W 20–12	7–2	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
10	November 14	Houston Oilers	W 31–27	8–2	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
11	November 21	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–24	9–2	Arrowhead Stadium	Recap
12	November 28	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 3–7	9–3	Riverfront Stadium	Recap
13	December 6	at Oakland Raiders	L 20–35	9–4	Oakland Coliseum	Recap
14	December 12	at New York Jets	W 42–3	10–4	Shea Stadium	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(3)	10	4	0	.714	5–1	9–3	342	138	W9
Cincinnati Bengals	10	4	0	.714	4–2	8–4	335	210	W1
Cleveland Browns	9	5	0	.643	3–3	7–5	267	287	L1
Houston Oilers	5	9	0	.357	0–6	3–9	222	273	L2

Team stats

1976 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATS	Bengals	Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS
Rushing
Passing
Penalty
TOTAL NET YARDS
Avg Per Game
Total Plays
Avg. Per Play
NET YARDS RUSHING
Avg. Per Game
Total Rushes
NET YARDS PASSING
Avg. Per Game
Sacked Yards Lost
Gross Yards
Att. Completions
Completion Pct.
Intercepted
PUNTS-AVERAGE
PENALTIES-YARDS
FUMBLES-BALL LOST
TOUCHDOWNS
Rushing
Passing
Returns

Score by Periods	1	2	3	4	Tot
Bengals
Opponents

Team leaders

• Passing: Ken Anderson (338 Att, 179 Comp, 2367 Yds, 53.0 Pct, 19 TD, 14 Int, 76.9 Rating)
• Rushing: Boobie Clark (151 Att, 671 Yds, 4.4 Avg, 24 Long, 7 TD)
• Receiving: Isaac Curtis (41 Rec, 766 Yds, 18.7 Avg, 85 Long, 6 TD)
• Scoring: Chris Bahr, 81 points (14 FG; 39 PAT)

Awards and records

• Ken Riley, Franchise Record, Most Interceptions in One Season, (9)

Pro Bowl Selections

• QB Ken Anderson
• DE Coy Bacon
• S Tommy Casanova
• WR Isaac Curtis
• LB Jim LeClair
• CB Lemar Parrish

References

• Bengals on Pro Football Reference
• Bengals Schedule on jt-sw.com
• Bengals History on Official Site