2002 Cincinnati Bengals season

2002 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Dick LeBeau
Home field	Paul Brown Stadium
Results
Record	2–14
Division place	4th AFC North
Playoff finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season      Next season < 2001      2003 >

The 2002 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 35th year in professional football and its 33rd with the National Football League. With a record of 2–14, however, they were the worst team in football in 2002. The Bengals struggles continued as they lost their first seven contests losing by 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.

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 coachDick LeBeau and replacing him with offensive assistant 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.

Personnel

Staff

2002 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Head Coaches Head Coach – Dick LeBeau 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 Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers – Mark Duffner Defensive Line – Tim Krumrie Cornerbacks – Kevin Coyle Safeties – Darren Perry Defensive Assistant – Louie Cioffi Special Teams Coaches Special Teams – Al Roberts Strength and Conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Kim Wood Strength and Conditioning Assistant – Rodney Holman

Roster

2002 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks Running Backs Wide Receivers Tight Ends		Offensive Linemen Defensive Linemen		Linebackers Defensive Backs Special Teams		Practice Squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Kickoff Time	Attendance
1	September 8, 2002	San Diego Chargers	L 34–6	CBS 1:00pm	53,705
2	September 15, 2002	at Cleveland Browns	L 20–7	CBS 1:00pm	73,358
3	September 22, 2002	at Atlanta Falcons	L 30–3	ESPN 8:30pm	68,129
4	September 29, 2002	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	L 35–7	FOX 1:00pm	57,234
5	October 6, 2002	at Indianapolis Colts	L 28–21	CBS 1:00pm	56,570
6	October 13, 2002	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 34–7	CBS 1:00pm	63,900
7	Bye
8	October 27, 2002	Tennessee Titans	L 30–24	CBS 1:00pm	52,822
9	November 3, 2002	at Houston Texans	W 38–3	CBS 1:00pm	69,827
10	November 10, 2002	at Baltimore Ravens	L 38–27	CBS 1:00pm	69,024
11	November 17, 2002	Cleveland Browns	L 27–20	CBS 1:00pm	64,060
12	November 24, 2002	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 29–21	CBS 1:00pm	60,473
13	December 1, 2002	Baltimore Ravens	L 27–23	CBS 1:00pm	44,878
14	December 8, 2002	at Carolina Panthers	L 52–31	CBS 1:00pm	66,799
15	December 15, 2002	Jacksonville Jaguars	L 29–15	CBS 1:00pm	42,092
16	December 22, 2002	New Orleans Saints	W 20–13	FOX 1:00pm	43,544
17	December 29, 2002	at Buffalo Bills	L 27–9	CBS 1:00pm	47,850

Standings

AFC North
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
z (3) Pittsburgh Steelers	10	5	1	.656	6–0	8–4	390	345	W3
y (6) Cleveland Browns	9	7	0	.563	3–3	7–5	344	320	W2
Baltimore Ravens	7	9	0	.438	3–3	7–5	316	354	L2
Cincinnati Bengals	2	14	0	.125	0–6	1–11	279	456	L1

References

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