The 1986 season was the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

' 17th season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL), their 19th overall, and their third under

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Sam Wyche Samuel David Wyche (; January 5, 1945 – January 2, 2020) was an American football quarterback and coach. He was a quarterback and head coach for the Cincinnati Bengals and a quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers. As head coach, he ...

. The Bengals were one of two teams with ten wins that failed to make the AFC playoffs in 1986. Third-year quarterback

Boomer Esiason Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason (; born April 17, 1961) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He was selected in th ...

, who had the best season of his career, passed for a team-record 3,959 yards, 24 touchdowns and 17 interceptions with a completion percentage of 58.2 and a passer rating of 87.7, while halfback James Brooks rushed for 1,087 yards as the Bengals went 10-6, narrowly missing a playoff berth. Linebacker Reggie Williams was selected NFL Man of the Year for his efforts to charity and the community. The Bengals amassed a club-record 621 yards net offense in a 52–21 victory over the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

on December 21. No NFL team has since matched that total in a regulation-time game since.

Offseason

NFL draft

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Team leaders

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Defensive

Kicking and punting

Special teams

Awards and records

, franchise record (since broken), most passing yards in one game, 425 yards (vs. New York Jets, on December 21, 1986) * Boomer Esiason, franchise record (since broken), most passing yards in one season, 3,959 yards NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, , p. 37 * Boomer Esiason, franchise record, most touchdown passes in one game, 5 passes (achieved on December 21, 1986)

Milestones

* James Brooks, 1000 yard rushing season (1,087) *

Cris Collinsworth Anthony Cris Collinsworth (born January 27, 1959) is an American sports broadcaster and former professional American football player. Collinsworth was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons (1981-1988), all with ...

, 1000 yard receiving season (1,024) ''NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book'', Workman Publishing Co, New York, , p. 441

References

External links

1986 Cincinnati Bengals
at

Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro-Football-Reference.com is a website providing a variety of statistics for American football. It is one of the few sites that provides information on both active and retired players. The site provides statistics for teams dating back to 1920. ...

Cincinnati Bengals seasons Cinc {{Americanfootball-season-stub