'70 Bengals VS '78 Eagles

[74_75_78_79_]

Two notoriously weak just-above-500/one-and-done playoff sqauds. Paul Brown's first playoff outing with Cincy, Vermeil's first NFL post-season period.

Virgil Carter vs Jaws, 1-6-to-8-6 vs 'Miracle at the Meadowlands'! Bergey vs...Bergey.

Who wins?

[CSKreager]

Eagles.

They had better wins- beat a playoff team in Miami as well as Washington who at the time was 6-0. (And to an extent they beat Green Bay who was hot in the early fall). Did it in a tougher division. And came closer to winning a playoff game.

What was Cincy's best win by comparison?

[BD Sullivan]

Eagles.

They had better wins- beat a playoff team in Miami as well as Washington who at the time was 6-0. (And to an extent they beat Green Bay who was hot in the early fall). Did it in a tougher division. And came closer to winning a playoff game.

What was Cincy's best win by comparison?

I'd go with Philly as well. Cincy's opening week 31-21 win against the Raiders was probably their best game--which was then followed by six straight losses. Their seven consecutive wins came against teams that, at the time they played them, had a collective record of 22-44-4. The only team to have a .500 record among that group was the Browns in Week 9 at 4-4. In that game, the Bengals trailed 10-0 against rookie Mike Phipps before two touchdowns gave them the 14-10 win. In their last four games, that collective record was even worse: 11-31-4.

The following year, the 79 Eagles again made the playoffs, while the 71 Bengals flopped. Cincy won their opener that year, lost their next seven and then won three in a row. Despite a 4-7 record, they still had a chance to win the weak AFC Central, but lost at Cleveland and finished the year on a three-game losing streak. Though to be fair, the 71 Bengals lost six games by five points or less.

[JohnH19]

The '71 Bengals were probably the best 4 win team ever. They actually scored more points than they surrendered; 284-265.

[Gary Najman]

The only thing better of the 1970 Bengals over the 1978 Eagles was their kicker. Future Eagle Horst Muhlmann was way better than MIke Michel.