The 2014 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 45th season in the National Football League, the 47th overall and the twelfth under head coachMarvin Lewis. The Bengals qualified for the playoffs for the 4th consecutive season, but lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the first round, extending their playoff losing streak to 7 games, 3rd longest losing streak (in terms of games played) in NFL history behind the Detroit Lions and Kansas City Chiefs who both have 8.[1]
The Bengals traded their original fourth- and sixth-round selections (Nos. 123 and 199 overall, respectively) to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for the Seahawks' fourth-round selection (No. 111 overall).
Andy Dalton would throw a 77 yard touchdown pass to AJ Green with 4:58 remaining to give the Bengals the win. With the win, the Bengals started 1-0. They also won at Baltimore for the first time since 2009.
Week 2: vs. Atlanta Falcons
Week Two: Atlanta Falcons at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
The Bengals defense would have themselves a day, intercepting Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan 3 times in the win. With the win, the Bengals started 2-0 for the first time since 2006.
Week 3: vs. Tennessee Titans
Week Three: Tennessee Titans at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Andy Dalton would post a quarterback rating (QBR) of 2.0 in this game, as the Bengals went down easily to the Browns 24-3. With the loss, the Bengals fell to 5-3-1.
Week 11: at New Orleans Saints
Week Eleven: Cincinnati Bengals at New Orleans Saints – Game summary
With the win, the Bengals went to 8-3-1. They also won 3 consecutive road games for the first time in franchise history. They also defeated the Bucs for the first time since 1989.
Week 14: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Week Fourteen: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Johnny Manziel made his first career NFL start in this game. With the shutout win, the Bengals went to 9-4-1. They also posted their first shutout win since 2008 (also against the Browns).
Week 16: vs. Denver Broncos
Week Sixteen: Denver Broncos at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
The Bengals defense would intercept Peyton Manning 4 times in the game, including 2 by Dre Kirkpatrick in the 4th quarter. With the win, the Bengals improved to 10-4-1. They also defeated Peyton Manning for the first time.
Week 17: at Pittsburgh Steelers
Week Seventeen: Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
With the loss, the Bengals ended their season at 10-5-1. They would also finish in 2nd place by virtue of not only the Steelers sweep, but also being 1 game behind.
^ abNew England defeated Denver head-to-head (Week 9, 43–21).
^ abPittsburgh defeated Indianapolis head-to-head (Week 8, 51–34).
^ abcdKansas City finished ahead of San Diego in the AFC West based on head-to-head sweep (Week 7, 23–20; Week 17, 19–7). Houston finished ahead of Kansas City and Buffalo based on conference record. Kansas City finished ahead of Buffalo based on head-to-head victory (Week 10, 17–13). San Diego finished ahead of Buffalo based on head-to-head victory (Week 3, 22–10).
^ abJacksonville finished ahead of Oakland based on record vs. common opponents (1–4 to 0–5).
^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.