1976 Cincinnati Bengals: 10 Wins & Nowhere To Go
It was a new era for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1976. The legendary Paul Brown had retired as head coach after taking the Bengals to the playoffs in his final campaign. Bill Johnson, promoted from offensive line coach, was the new man in charge. But while Cincinnati continued to be a good team and a contender, they had their hearts broken in the end by foes who were all too familiar.
A PASSING GAME MISSING ITS ARCHITECT
The offense underwent some transition on the coaching staff. In addition to Johnson’s promotion, there was also a departure—Bill Walsh, passed over for the head job, left to be the offensive coordinator in San Diego, and ultimately to revolutionize NFL passing games when he took over at San Francisco a few years later. Walsh’s absence showed up in the play of quarterback Ken Anderson.
A precision passer perfect for Walsh’s style, Anderson saw his production slip in 1976. His 53% completion rate, 7.0 yards-per-attempt and 19-14 TD/INT ratio were all barely above the middle of the league. Anderson would still have a fine career, but ’76 did see a noticeable dip. Isaac Curtis was the top receiver, a big-play threat who produced an 18.7 yard average on his 41 catches.
Cincinnati sought to upgrade the running game by drafting a local hero, Ohio State’s two-time Heisman Trophy-winning running back Archie Griffin to pair with Boobie Clark. The numbers both produced don’t jump off the page—600-plus rushing yards for both behind a pedestrian offensive line. But it’s worth noting that this was a better running attack than in ’75 and in this run-heavy era of the NFL, it explains why the Bengals still finished a solid sixth in the league for points scored.
A WELL-BALANCED DEFENSE
The defense had its own playmakers, and it started up front with 34-year-old defensive end Coy Bacon. Generating constant pressure, Bacon posted a dazzling 21 ½ sacks in what was then just a 14-game regular season schedule. He made the Pro Bowl, and he got help on the other end from Gary Burley who added 9 ½ sacks.
Middle linebacker Jim LeClair was another Pro Bowler, as was corner Lemar Parish. Ken Riley was a ballhawk at the opposite corner, intercepting nine passes. And Tommy Casanova was the best of them all at strong safety, being named 1st-team All-Pro. The Cincinnati defense finished seventh in the NFL for points allowed.
A PROMISING START
The season opened at home against a Denver Broncos team that would get into playoff contention. The game was scoreless for a half, and the Bengals still trailed 7-3 after three quarters. In the fourth quarter, Anderson found wide receiver Chip Meyers on a 27-yard TD pass to get the lead and then flipped a six-yard scoring pass to tight end Bruce Coslet to seal it. Cincinnati won 17-7.
Another contender awaited on a road trip to Baltimore to face the defending AFC East champion Colts (the Colts didn’t move to Indianapolis until 1984 and the South Division didn’t exist until 2002). The Bengals led 17-7 in the second quarter and Anderson played reasonably well, going 12/19 for 183 yards. But there was no protection to speak of, and he was also sacked seven times. Cincinnati couldn’t stop the passing of eventual league MVP Bert Jones. The Bengals dropped a 28-27 decision.
The pass defenders redeemed themselves a week later at home against a subpar Green Bay Packers team. Trailing 7-0 in the second quarter, Riley tied the game with a 53-yard Pick-6. With a 21-7 lead in the final period, Casanova sealed it with a 33-yard Pick-6. The Bengals allowed just five completions on the afternoon, intercepted three passes and won 28-7.
Cincinnati went on the road to Cleveland to play a Browns team that would get in the middle of the AFC Central race this season, a division that was defined by the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and included the Houston Oilers (today’s Tennessee Titans).
In a 7-7 tie, Bengal return man Willie Shelby brought a kickoff 97 yards to the house. Anderson opened up and went 19/27 for 265 yards and four touchdown passes. Before the second quarter was out, Cincinnati led 31-10 and they went on to win 45-24.
Tampa Bay was in their first year of existence and the Buccaneers came to old Riverfront Stadium. Anderson hit veteran tight end Bob Trumpy with an early touchdown pass and Clark added a 3-yard TD run for an early 14-0 lead. Even though the offense bogged down, the Cincy defense dominated a team that would go winless this season and Casanova brought a fumble back for a touchdown. The Bengals bagged a 21-0 shutout. They were 4-1 and were looking good.
STEEL CITY REALITY CHECK
A huge sports Sunday loomed for Cincinnati. The baseball team, the great Big Red Machine, was at home playing the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the World Series. That game would be in prime-time. In the afternoon, the Bengals were traveling to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers, who were missing starting quarterback Terry Bradshaw and off to a bad start at 1-4. It was a chance for a double celebration.
Only the Bengal offense couldn’t do anything against the legendary Steel Curtain defense. Even though the Cincy D shut down backup quarterback Mike Kruczek, they were outrushed 201-75, Anderson was sacked five times and generally had an erratic day. Cincinnati suffered a decisive 23-6 loss.
The Bengals were still in first place, but their shortcomings had been exposed. If nothing else, the Reds won that night and ultimately repeated as champs.
BACK ON TRACK IN THE AFC CENTRAL
A late afternoon road trip to Houston offered the chance to get back on track, with the Oilers going through a difficult season. The Cincinnati lines on both sides of the ball got themselves recalibrated, keying a 162-28 edge in rush yardage and generating six sacks defensively. The Bengals rolled to a 27-7 win.
Then they hosted Cleveland and got another key divisional win, behind 100 rush yards from Clark and Anderson’s 69-yard touchdown strike to Curtis. Sweeping the Browns and moving the record to 6-2 kept the Bengals in good position, even with the now 4-4 Steelers starting to gain some steam.
A big Monday Night home date with the Los Angeles Rams, who were bound for the NFC Championship Game, was up next. A slow first half saw the Bengals down 6-0 at intermission. But Cincinnati would win the turnover battle 4-2. Clark ran for a touchdown in the third quarter to get a 7-6 lead. Anderson then hit Trumpy with a 30-yard TD pass and connected with Clark from 17 yards. The 20-12 win was the most impressive victory of the season.
The defense let down a bit when Houston came north a week later, and Cincinnati found themselves in a 20-10 hole in the third quarter. The good news is that Anderson was making big plays—his 14/30 passing line still produced 253 yards, three touchdowns and no mistakes. He and Curtis hooked up on a 47-yard TD pass. The Bengals rallied to win 31-27.
A trip to Kansas City produced another scare against a bad team. It started off well enough. Griffin ripped off a 77-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and Clark followed up soon after with an 18-yard scoring jaunt. It was 14-0. But with the passing game struggling this week, the Bengals were down 24-20 in the fourth quarter. This time, the running attack bailed them out. Griffin finished with 139 yards, Clark added 91 and Cincy escaped Arrowhead Stadium with a 27-24 win.
IN CONTROL…BUT TROUBLE AHEAD
The Bengals were 9-2 and in firm control of the AFC Central with three weeks to go, as Pittsburgh and Cleveland were both chasing at 7-4. There was even a chance to catch the 10-1 Oakland Raiders for the top seed in the AFC. The possibility that the city of Cincinnati could double-dip on a Super Bowl and World Series crown in 1976 was very real.
But there were storm clouds that didn’t take a meteorological genius to spot. There was only one wild-card spot available in this more stringent NFL era, and the AFC East had two contenders, the Colts and New England Patriots in good shape there. The Bengals still had another game with the Steelers. While Cincy could afford to lose that one and still control their fate, it would cost them the tiebreaker with Pittsburgh, meaning any further slack was gone…and there was still a road trip to Oakland.
All of that is the long way of saying that if the Bengals didn’t find a way to beat either the Steelers or Raiders, they would lose control of their destiny to even make the playoffs.
A SLUGFEST IN THE SNOW & A LOST SHOWDOWN
The home date with Pittsburgh was on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, in the late afternoon slot for national television. Heavy snow pounded the Cincinnati era and the game turned into a slugfest. Which didn’t suit the Bengals well—or, at the very least, it suited the physical Steelers more. While Cincy led 3-0 at the half and Pittsburgh still had Kruczek playing QB for Bradshaw, the Bengals were outrushed 204-110 and lost 7-3.
Monday Night in Oakland was now a must-win. It wasn’t for the Raiders, who had secured the AFC West and could still clinch the #1 seed by winning next week’s finale. Which led to a lot of national speculation. Oakland had been knocked out of the playoffs by Pittsburgh each of the last two season. Would the Raiders basically stand back and let the Bengals win this one, thereby keeping the Steelers out of the postseason?
Based on the point spread, oddsmakers certainly considered the possibility. While Cincinnati had been a three-point underdog at home against a Pittsburgh team playing with a backup quarterback, they were only a (+1.5) underdog on the road against healthy Oakland squad that had lost just once all year.
But the Raiders had integrity. The Bengals scored first, going up 7-0. But while Anderson made big plays, throwing for 281 yards, his 16/37 passing line was erratic. And the defense couldn’t stop anything Oakland did. Cincinnati trailed 21-13 at the half—which, in this era before the two-point conversion, was a two-score deficit. They chased the rest of the way, losing 35-20.
The Bengals took care of their own business in the season finale. Facing the lowly New York Jets, Anderson went up top to Curtis for an 85-yard TD strike and later hit Trumpy on a 39-yard scoring play. They sacked Jet quarterbacks, including veteran great Joe Namath four times, and intercepted them six, three from Riley. Cincinnati coasted to a 42-3 win. But later that afternoon, Pittsburgh shut out Houston and the season was over.
A GOOD TEAM IN AN UNFORGIVING ERA
The Bengals’ 10-4 record would have made them the 5-seed by the standards of today. But by the standards of 1976, it was just a non-playoff year and a particularly bitter pill to swallow.
More of the same awaited in 1977. Both the Steelers and Bengals slipped a bit, but the division outcome was the same—Cincinnati losing a heartbreaking race in the final week and missing the playoffs entirely. In 1978, the Bengals collapsed, Johnson was fired and rebuilding began.
The Bengals of the mid-to-late 1970s were a pretty good team. They just weren’t the Steel Curtain or John Madden’s Raiders. And at a time when fewer teams made the playoffs, that was enough to keep them off the biggest stage.