Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

For more than 3/4 of the season, it looked as if Cincy - not San Fran; oops! I meant not Buffalo - would get the #1 draft pick in '79. In fact, in a battle of 0-4s early on in '78, the Forty NIners beat the Bengals - exit Bill Johnson, enter Homer Rice. What a difference a year made with Cincy the previous year, one year after Paul Brown being their HC, going from almost winning the division to starting 0-8 with Rice losing his first three games as well.

And then they win their first game in Wk#9 against playoff-bound Houston at home, 28-13! They lose their next four games but something to say about the final two of those. First, the 1-10 Bengals lose to 9-2 Pittsburgh (the 1978 Pittsburgh Steelers, mind you) by a score of...7-6 in what may very well be Bradshaw's worst game ever with a 12.1 rating!! Just looking at the stat-line, Cincy won on paper. Steel Curtain to the rescue, obviously. And then the next game they go into the Astrodome and almost complete the sweep vs Houston. And then, after that, they go 3-0 to close it out thus no #1 pick; almost like the '68 Eagles.

In that three-game finish, first they beat playoff-bound Atlanta, and then...on Monday Night, at the Coliseum, they beat...the RAMS! Then, in the finale, they waffle 8-7 Cleveland, 48-16! Yet, it didn't carry over into '79 for they started 0-6! But who did they beat (destroy) in Wk#7?? It's almost as if that barely 7-6 loss to the 'Burgh in '78 hinted at 34-10 in '79 with that very win itself, in turn, hinting at the sweep over the Steelers in 1980 (and '81).

Starting with that first win of the year over Houston in '78, and all the way through the following '79 campaign in which they beat Cleveland again in the finale, the Bengals won a total of eight games with five of those wins being against an eventual playoff team, one of those being against a team that didn’t make the playoffs but at least finished with a winning record ('79 finale), one that finished 8-8 because Cincy beat them ('78 finale), and just one losing team - the Cardinals (Wilkinson out, Pisarkiewicz IN the following week - to beat Bill Walsh).

I've already mentioned before just how tough Cincy's schedules were leading up to their surprise-Super Bowl campaign in '81 - viewtopic.php?p=37579#p37579

Well, 1978 wasn't too easy either for they played against ten winning teams with eight of those being playoff teams along with two 8-8s (Cleveland) and a 7-9 (New Orleans). And just look at the '78 Bengals STATS! #11 in offense and #10 in defense?? And then positives in both total yardage as well as Y/P?? Is this a team that actually started...1-12?? Now San Fran's '78 stat-line?? Yes! What you'd expect!

And back TO that San Fran win over Cincy in that battle of 0-4s in Wk#5...just look at the stat-line and see who was better there! Hmm, a theme that would reoccur in each of the very NEXT TWO times they'd play each other despite what the scoreboard (yes, all that matters) would read.

EDIT - My mistake. Numerous times have I forgotten that Paul Brown’s final year as HC was in ’75, not ’76.

It was probably a blessing in disguise that CIN didn't get the #1 overall pick.

If Tom Cousineau didn't want to play in Buffalo, I doubt he'd have had a preference for the Bengals

CSKreager wrote: ↑Tue May 20, 2025 4:33 pm It was probably a blessing in disguise that CIN didn't get the #1 overall pick.

If Tom Cousineau didn't want to play in Buffalo, I doubt he'd have had a preference for the Bengals

Actually, I think that the Bengals would have drafted Wazzu QB Jack Thompson #1 overall just like they did, anyway.

Looking at pro football reference...their expected won/loss record that year is actually about 7-9

They lost an absolutely wretched football game to Buffalo mid season by the unusual score of 5-0. The third and thus far most recent game in NFL history to end 5-0

sheajets wrote: ↑Thu May 22, 2025 12:29 pm Looking at pro football reference...their expected won/loss record that year is actually about 7-9

They lost an absolutely wretched football game to Buffalo mid season by the unusual score of 5-0. The third and thus far most recent game in NFL history to end 5-0

Bryant Gumbel on NBC NFL 78 had this hilarious line about that 5-0 game: "All the runs were unearned"

CSKreager wrote: ↑Thu May 22, 2025 6:28 pm

sheajets wrote: ↑Thu May 22, 2025 12:29 pm Looking at pro football reference...their expected won/loss record that year is actually about 7-9

They lost an absolutely wretched football game to Buffalo mid season by the unusual score of 5-0. The third and thus far most recent game in NFL history to end 5-0

Bryant Gumbel on NBC NFL 78 had this hilarious line about that 5-0 game: "All the runs were unearned"

LOL! Good one! Yeah, strange looking game. Likely one that I would not desire to watch.


Dick Jauron (RIP) played on those struggle-some Bengals teams, coming from mediocre Detroit. Nice article about him...

https://www.bengals.com/news/dick-jauro ... l-american

He wasn't a perennial Pro Bowler as a player, but apparently took over well for Tommy Casanova in '78. As the case with Matt Millen or Hacksaw Reynolds among so many others, he had a presence in the huddle as a "coach on the field". Leading his team through those tough three seasons in Cincy, when they suddenly no longer had the overall team they once had, its a shame he did suffer that injury at the end of '80 thus not getting that very chance to play in a Super Bowl. This considering that he only was ever on a 500-team as a player, a couple 7-7 seasons with Detroit, and only ever was in a single conference championship game as a coach at any level.

I, and I'm sure that most of you, think that San Fran finishes on top anyway in '81 (as well as also beating Cincy in that regular season game - https://profootballresearchers.com/foru ... 618#p26618), but for what its worth, an '81 Cincy squad with a healthy Jauron at safety would have been even better; better enough, maybe, to may have gotten them an extra win or so thus the general consensus to this day making them the best Bengal team ever; no debate between they and '88. Imagine rookie, Collinsworth, going against him in practice.

I didn't know that right after he stopped playing for Cincy, that Bullough and Lebeau asked him to hang around. Be an extra eye up in the box. Jauron was a better DC than he was a HC, but he was quite an assistant beforehand! Not many assistants, even solid reputable ones, remain with the organisation when a new HC takes over. With Green Bay, he was with Forrest Gregg, Lindy Infante, and then Mike Holmgren.

Back to LeBeau...though both played different positions in the secondary, he handed a baton to Jauron, or sorts, being his final year in Detroit was the year before Jauron's rookie year. It only makes sense they'd cross paths. Jauron's last game ever was in 2012. He was DC for the Browns. And GUESS who the opposing DC was??

Interesting thread as the Bengals went downhill, while the Browns and Oilers continued to climb upward. Injuries and down years affected the squad with Anderson having a three-year slump with injuries and lost confidence, that has cost him the HOF so far, though I feel recentism and strong voting on the senior committee gives him a shot again this year. I know injuries affected Anderson but drafting Jack Thompson didnt help his recovery efforts.

Archie Griffin and Isaac Curtis had a down year and the losses of Casanova and Parrish were still felt on the defense that had a weaker pass rush. The defense wasnt as bad as the offense that had a whopping 49 turnovers. Griffin and Curtis bounced back in 1979 and the Bengals also had a promising TE in Don Bass, who unfortunately got hurt in 1981 and missed out on teaming with Dan Ross for the team's great 1981 season.