The 2004 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 37th year in professional football and its 35th with the National Football League (NFL). The Bengals began to focus on the future, trading All-Pro running back Corey Dillon to the New England Patriots. That cleared the way for Rudi Johnson to start at running back. Carson Palmer was given the starting quarterback job. Palmer and the young Bengals would struggle early, losing five of their first seven games. As the season wore on, the Bengals began to hit their stride, as they climbed back to .500, at 6–6, before a sprained knee sent Palmer to the sidelines during a 35–28 road loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
With wins in their final two games, the Bengals would finish 8–8 for the second year in a row. Rudi Johnson finished sixth in the NFL in rushing with 1,454 yards, giving Bengals fans hope for the future.[1]
This season would see the Bengals make their first appearance on Monday Night Football since 1992, a win at home against the Denver Broncos on October 25.
Offseason
NFL draft
[2]
Personnel
2004 Cincinnati Bengals staff
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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|
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Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
- Strength and conditioning – Chip Morton
- Assistant strength and conditioning – Ray Oliver
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Roster
Regular season
The 2004 season constituted the first time since 1991 that the Bengals played the Washington Redskins, and the match produced their first ever away win over that franchise.[3] The reason for this is that before the admission of the Texans in 2002, NFL scheduling formulas for games outside a team’s division were much more influenced by table position during the previous season.[4]
Schedule
Season summary
Week 2
Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Dolphins |
0 |
3 | 0 | 10 |
13 |
• Bengals |
0 |
0 | 13 | 3 |
16 |
Scoring summary |
Q2 | 12:39 | MIA | Mare 43 yard field goal | MIA 3–0 |
|
Q3 | 12:01 | CIN | Simmons 50 yard interception return (Graham kick) | CIN 7–3 |
|
Q3 | 5:11 | CIN | Graham 48 yard field goal | CIN 10–3 |
|
Q3 | 0:13 | CIN | Graham 36 yard field goal | CIN 13–3 |
|
Q4 | 3:39 | MIA | Chambers 4 yard pass from Feeley (Mare kick) | CIN 13–10 |
|
Q4 | 1:53 | MIA | Mare 47 yard field goal | Tie 13–13 |
|
Q4 | 0:02 | CIN | Graham 39 yard field goal | CIN 16–13 |
[5]
Standings
|
#
|
Team
|
Division
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
PCT
|
DIV
|
CONF
|
SOS
|
SOV
|
STK
|
Division leaders
|
1
|
Pittsburgh Steelers
|
North
|
15
|
1
|
0
|
.938
|
5–1
|
11–1
|
.484
|
.479
|
W14
|
2
|
New England Patriots
|
East
|
14
|
2
|
0
|
.875
|
5–1
|
10–2
|
.492
|
.478
|
W2
|
3[a]
|
Indianapolis Colts
|
South
|
12
|
4
|
0
|
.750
|
5–1
|
8–4
|
.500
|
.458
|
L1
|
4[a]
|
San Diego Chargers
|
West
|
12
|
4
|
0
|
.750
|
5–1
|
9–3
|
.477
|
.411
|
W1
|
Wild cards
|
5[b]
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New York Jets
|
East
|
10
|
6
|
0
|
.625
|
3–3
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7–5
|
.523
|
.406
|
L2
|
6[b]
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Denver Broncos
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West
|
10
|
6
|
0
|
.625
|
3–3
|
7–5
|
.484
|
.450
|
W2
|
Did not qualify for the postseason
|
7[c][d]
|
Jacksonville Jaguars
|
South
|
9
|
7
|
0
|
.563
|
2–4
|
6–6
|
.527
|
.479
|
W1
|
8[c][d]
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Baltimore Ravens
|
North
|
9
|
7
|
0
|
.563
|
3–3
|
6–6
|
.551
|
.472
|
W1
|
9[c]
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Buffalo Bills
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East
|
9
|
7
|
0
|
.563
|
3–3
|
5–7
|
.512
|
.382
|
L1
|
10
|
|
North
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.500
|
2–4
|
4–8
|
.543
|
.453
|
W2
|
11[e]
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Houston Texans
|
South
|
7
|
9
|
0
|
.438
|
4–2
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6–6
|
.504
|
.402
|
L1
|
12[e]
|
Kansas City Chiefs
|
West
|
7
|
9
|
0
|
.438
|
3–3
|
6–6
|
.551
|
.509
|
L1
|
13[f]
|
Oakland Raiders
|
West
|
5
|
11
|
0
|
.313
|
1–5
|
3–9
|
.570
|
.450
|
L2
|
14[f]
|
Tennessee Titans
|
South
|
5
|
11
|
0
|
.313
|
1–5
|
3–9
|
.512
|
.463
|
W1
|
15[g]
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Miami Dolphins
|
East
|
4
|
12
|
0
|
.250
|
1–5
|
2–10
|
.555
|
.438
|
L1
|
16[g]
|
Cleveland Browns
|
North
|
4
|
12
|
0
|
.250
|
1–5
|
3–9
|
.590
|
.469
|
W1
|
Tiebreakers[h]
|
- ^ a b Indianapolis clinched the AFC #3 seed instead of San Diego based upon head-to-head victory.
- ^ a b New York Jets clinched the AFC #5 seed instead of Denver based upon better record against common opponents (New York Jets were 5–0 to Denver’s 3–2 against San Diego, Cincinnati, Houston, and Miami).
- ^ a b c Jacksonville and Baltimore finished ahead of Buffalo because they each defeated Buffalo head-to-head.
- ^ a b Jacksonville finished ahead of Baltimore based upon better record against common opponents (Jacksonville were 3–2 against Baltimore’s 2–3 versus Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Buffalo and Kansas City).
- ^ a b Houston finished ahead of Kansas City based upon head-to-head victory.
- ^ a b Oakland finished ahead of Tennessee based upon head-to-head victory.
- ^ a b Miami finished ahead of Cleveland based upon head-to-head victory.
- ^ When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest-ranked remaining team from each division.
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Team leaders
Passing
Player
|
Att
|
Comp
|
Yds
|
TD
|
INT
|
Rating
|
Carson Palmer |
432 |
263 |
2897 |
18 |
18 |
77.3
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Rushing
Receiving
Defensive
Kicking and punting
Player
|
FGA
|
FGM
|
FG%
|
XPA
|
XPM
|
XP%
|
Points
|
Shayne Graham |
31 |
27 |
87.1% |
41 |
41 |
100.0% |
122
|
Player
|
Punts
|
Yards
|
Long
|
Blkd
|
Avg.
|
Kyle Larson |
83 |
3499 |
66 |
1 |
42.2
|
Special teams
Player
|
KR
|
KRYards
|
KRAvg
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KRLong
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KRTD
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PR
|
PRYards
|
PRAvg
|
PRLong
|
PRTD
|
Cliff Russell |
39 |
872 |
22.4 |
40 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0
|
Keiwan Ratliff |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
17 |
207 |
12.2 |
49 |
0
|
Awards and records
Pro Bowl Selections
All-Pro Award
Milestones
NFL Records
- 2nd Highest scoring regular season game in NFL history (58–48 win over the Cleveland Browns on November 28, 2004)
References
External links
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Franchise | |
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Stadiums | |
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Culture | |
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Lore | |
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Rivalries | |
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Division championships (11) | |
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Conference championships (3) | |
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Retired numbers | |
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Ring of Honor | |
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Media | |
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Current league affiliations | |
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Former league affiliation | |
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