1979 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1979 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 10th season in the National Football League, and the 12th overall. Fullback Pete Johnson powered his way to 15 touchdowns, but the Bengals struggled to their second straight 4–12 record. After the season, former Cleveland coach Forrest Gregg was named to replace Homer Rice as Bengals head coach. 1979 marked the end of an era, as the last remaining original Bengal, longtime center Bob Johnson, retired after 12 seasons, 2 in the AFL, and 10 in the NFL, all with the Bengals.

1979 Cincinnati Bengals season
General managerPaul Brown
Head coachHomer Rice
Home fieldRiverfront Stadium
Results
Record4–12
Division place4th AFC Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Offseason

NFL draft
Main article: 1979 NFL draft
1979 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 3 Jack Thompson  Quarterback Washington State
1 12 Charles Alexander  Running back LSU
2 30 Dan Ross *  Tight end Northeastern
3 59 Barney Cotton  Guard Nebraska
4 84 Mike White  Defensive tackle Albany State
4 91 Vaughn Lusby  Defensive back Arkansas
5 113 Casey Merrill  Defensive end UC Davis
6 139 Steve Kreider  Wide receiver Lehigh
7 168 Max Montoya *  Guard UCLA
8 194 Howie Kurnick  Linebacker Cincinnati
9 223 Scott Burk  Defensive back Oklahoma State
10 250 Nathan Poole  Running back Louisville
11 278 Ken Bungarda  Offensive tackle Missouri
12 304 Jim Browner  Defensive back Notre Dame
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[1]

Personnel

Staff
1979 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Front office
  • President – John Sawyer
  • General Manager – Paul Brown
  • Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

Strength and conditioning

  • Strength – Kim Wood

Roster
1979 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists
  • 34 Louis Breeden CB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 82 Billy Brooks WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

[2]

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 2 at Denver Broncos L 0–10 0–1 Mile High Stadium 74,788
2 September 9 at Buffalo Bills L 24–51 0–2 Rich Stadium 43,504
3 September 16 New England Patriots L 14–20 0–3 Riverfront Stadium 41,805
4 September 23 Houston Oilers L 27–30 0–4 Riverfront Stadium 45,615
5 September 30 at Dallas Cowboys L 13–38 0–5 Texas Stadium 63,179
6 October 7 Kansas City Chiefs L 7–10 0–6 Riverfront Stadium 40,041
7 October 14 Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–10 1–6 Riverfront Stadium 52,381
8 October 21 at Cleveland Browns L 27–28 1–7 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 75,119
9 October 28 Philadelphia Eagles W 37–13 2–7 Riverfront Stadium 42,036
10 November 4 at Baltimore Colts L 28–38 2–8 Municipal Stadium 37,740
11 November 11 San Diego Chargers L 24–26 2–9 Riverfront Stadium 40,782
12 November 18 at Houston Oilers L 21–42 2–10 Astrodome 49,829
13 November 25 St. Louis Cardinals W 34–28 3–10 Riverfront Stadium 25,103
14 December 2 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 17–37 3–11 Three Rivers Stadium 46,521
15 December 9 at Washington Redskins L 14–28 3–12 RFK Stadium 52,882
16 December 16 Cleveland Browns W 16–12 4–12 Riverfront Stadium 42,183
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings
AFC Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Pittsburgh Steelers(2) 12 4 0 .750 4–2 9–3 416 262 W1
Houston Oilers(4) 11 5 0 .688 4–2 9–3 362 331 L1
Cleveland Browns 9 7 0 .563 2–4 6–6 359 352 L2
Cincinnati Bengals 4 12 0 .250 2–4 2–10 337 421 W1

References
  1. "1979 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  2. "1979 Cincinnati Bengals starters and roster". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
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