From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
NFL team season
The 2001 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise’s 34th year in professional football and its 32nd with the National Football League . In the first full season with Dick LeBeau as head coach, the Bengals abandoned their plans for developing quarterback Akili Smith as their starter by acquiring Jon Kitna from the Seattle Seahawks . The Bengals would win their first two games with Kitna behind center, and sat at 4–3 through the first seven games of the season. However, the Bengals would struggle again, losing their next seven games as Kitna struggled with inconsistency, throwing 22 interceptions while throwing only 12 touchdown passes. The Bengals would win their final two games to close the season with a 6–10 record, their eleventh consecutive season without a winning record. Despite the team’s struggles, All-Pro running back Corey Dillon had another stellar year, rushing for 1,315 yards.[ 1]
2001 would turn out to be an important year for the team, as players such as Justin Smith , Chad Johnson , Rudi Johnson , and T. J. Houshmandzadeh were drafted, all those players would be important to Cincinnati in later years. One bright spot for the Bengals that year was they defeated the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the season opener.
[ 2]
2001 Cincinnati Bengals staff
Front office
President – Mike Brown
Executive vice president – Katie Blackburn
Vice president – John Sawyer
Senior vice president of player personnel – Pete Brown
Vice president of player personnel – Paul Brown
Directors of pro/college personnel – Jim Lippincott, Duke Tobin
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
Strength and conditioning – Kim Wood
Strength and conditioning assistant – Rodney Holman
2001 Cincinnati Bengals final roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
Reserve lists
Practice squad
Rookies in italics
53 active, 8 inactive, 4 practice squad
Week
Date
Opponent
Result
Record
Venue
Attendance
1
September 9
New England Patriots
W 23–17
1–0
Paul Brown Stadium
51,521
2
September 23
Baltimore Ravens
W 21–10
2–0
Paul Brown Stadium
51,121
3
September 30
at San Diego Chargers
L 14–28
2–1
Qualcomm Stadium
56,048
4
October 7
at Pittsburgh Steelers
L 7–16
2–2
Heinz Field
62,335
5
October 14
Cleveland Browns
W 24–14
3–2
Paul Brown Stadium
64,217
6
October 21
Chicago Bears
L 0–24
3–3
Paul Brown Stadium
63,408
7
October 28
at Detroit Lions
W 31–27
4–3
Pontiac Silverdome
69,343
8
Bye
9
November 11
at Jacksonville Jaguars
L 13–30
4–4
Alltel Stadium
57,161
10
November 18
Tennessee Titans
L 7–20
4–5
Paul Brown Stadium
63,865
11
November 25
at Cleveland Browns
L 0–18
4–6
Cleveland Browns Stadium
72,918
12
December 2
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
L 13–16 (OT)
4–7
Paul Brown Stadium
52,135
13
December 9
Jacksonville Jaguars
L 10–14
4–8
Paul Brown Stadium
44,920
14
December 16
at New York Jets
L 14–15
4–9
Giants Stadium
77,745
15
December 23
at Baltimore Ravens
L 0–16
4–10
PSINet Stadium
68,987
16
December 30
Pittsburgh Steelers
W 26–23
5–10
Paul Brown Stadium
63,751
17
January 6
at Tennessee Titans
W 23–21
6–10
Adelphia Coliseum
68,798
Week 1: vs. New England Patriots [ edit ]
Week 1: New England Patriots at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Patriots
0
10
0 7 17
Bengals
0
10
13 0 23
at Paul Brown Stadium , Cincinnati, Ohio
Date : September 9Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDT Game weather : Cloudy, 79 °F (26 °C)Game attendance : 51,521Referee : John SmithBox score
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
NE – Troy Brown 14-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Adam Vinatieri kick), 14:55. Patriots 7–0. Drive: 11 plays, 68 yards, 6:44.
CIN – Neil Rackers 36-yard field foal, 11:22. Patriots 7–3. Drive: 8 plays, 12 yards, 3:33.
NE – Adam Vinatieri 39-yard field goal, 6:04. Patriots 10–3. Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 5:18.
CIN – Corey Dillon 5-yard run (Neil Rackers kick), 2:16. Tied 10–10. Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 3:48.
Third quarter
CIN – Neil Rackers 47-yard field goal, 12:05. Bengals 13–10. Drive: 5 plays, 42 yards, 1:49.
CIN – Neil Rackers 33-yard field goal, 6:01. Bengals 16–10. Drive: 9 plays, 44 yards, 4:23.
CIN – Tony McGee 25-yard pass from Jon Kitna (Neil Rackers kick), 0:06. Bengals 23–10. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 3:18.
Fourth quarter
NE – Jermaine Wiggins 8-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Adam Vinatieri kick), 5:29. Bengals 23–17. Drive: 11 plays, 94 yards, 3:48.
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 2: vs. Baltimore Ravens [ edit ]
Week 2: Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Ravens
3
0
0 7 10
Bengals
0
0
14 7 21
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Date : September 23Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : Partly cloudy, 73 °F (23 °C)Game attendance : 51,121Referee : Ed Hochuli Box score
Game information
First quarter
BAL – Matt Stover 38-yard field goal, 4:22. Ravens 3–0. Drive: 8 plays, 37 yards, 2:58.
Second quarter
Third quarter
CIN – Corey Dillon 1-yard pass from Jon Kitna (Neil Rackers kick), 11:38. Bengals 7–3. Drive: 6 plays, 18 yards, 3:09.
CIN – Jon Kitna 2-yard run (Neil Rackers kick), 8:10. Bengals 14–3. Drive: 6 plays, 33 yards, 2:58.
Fourth quarter
BAL – Patrick Johnson 2-yard pass from Elvis Grbac (Matt Stover kick), 13:40. Bengals 14–10. Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards, 1:28.
CIN – Takeo Spikes 66-yard interception return (Neil Rackers kick), 6:04. Bengals 21–10.
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 3: at San Diego Chargers [ edit ]
Week 4: at Pittsburgh Steelers [ edit ]
Week 4: Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Bengals
0
0
0 7 7
Steelers
0
10
0 6 16
at Heinz Field , Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date : October 7Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : Party cloudy, 46 °F (8 °C)Game attendance : 62,335Referee : Larry Nemmers TV announcers (CBS) : Bill Macatee and Trevor MatichBox score
Week 5: vs. Cleveland Browns [ edit ]
Week 5: Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Browns
7
0
0 7 14
Bengals
3
0
10 11 24
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Date : October 14Game time : 1:00 p.m. EDTGame weather : Cloudy, 57 °F (14 °C)Game attendance : 64,217Referee : Mike Carey Box score
Week 6: vs. Chicago Bears [ edit ]
Week 6: Chicago Bears at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Bears
3
7
7 7 24
Bengals
0
0
0 0 0
at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio
Game information
First quarter
CHI – Paul Edinger 48-yard field goal, 4:29. Bears 3–0. Drive: 4 plays, 2 yards, 0:53.
Second quarter
CHI – Fred Baxter 1-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick), 12:51. Bears 10–0. Drive: 3 plays, 51 yards, 1:28.
Third quarter
CHI – Marty Booker 13-yard pass from Jim Miller (Paul Edinger kick), 3:25. Bears 17–0. Drive: 6 plays, 67 yards, 3:22.
Fourth quarter
CHI – Anthony Thomas 23-yard run (Paul Edinger kick), 9:05. Bears 24–0. Drive: 9 plays, 71 yards, 5:09.
Top passers
Top rushers
Top receivers
Week 7: at Detroit Lions [ edit ]
Week 7: Cincinnati Bengals at Detroit Lions – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Bengals
7
14
3 7 31
Lions
3
10
14 0 27
at Pontiac Silverdome , Detroit, Michigan
Date : October 28Game time : 1:00 p.m. ESTGame weather : None (played indoors)Game attendance : 69,343Referee : Johnny Grier Box score
Player
Att
Comp
Yds
TD
INT
Rating
Jon Kitna
581
313
3216
12
22
61.1
Kicking and punting [ edit ]
Player
FGA
FGM
FG%
XPA
XPM
XP%
Points
Neil Rackers
28
17
60.7%
24
23
95.8%
74
Player
Punts
Yards
Long
Blkd
Avg.
Nick Harris
84
3372
57
1
40.1
Franchise Stadiums Culture Lore Rivalries Division championships (11) Conference championships (3) Retired numbers Ring of Honor Media Current league affiliations Former league affiliation