The 2001 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise’s 34th year in professional football and its 32nd with 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 ...

. 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 Jon Kelly Kitna (born September 21, 1972) is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at Central Washington ...

from the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

. 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 Corey James Dillon (born October 24, 1974) is a former American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals and New England Patriots. Dillon played college football at Washing ...

had another stellar year, rushing for 1,315 yards. 2001 would turn out to be an important year for the team, as players such as Justin Smith,

Chad Johnson Chad Ochocinco Johnson (born Chad Javon Johnson; January 9, 1978), known from 2008 to 2012 as Chad Ochocinco, is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football for Santa Monica College and Oregon State University, and pl ...

Rudi Johnson Burudi Ali Johnson (born October 1, 1979) is a former American football running back who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round of the 2001 NFL Draft. Johnson was ...

, and

T. J. Houshmandzadeh Touraj Houshmandzadeh Jr. ( ; born September 26, 1977) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh ...

were drafted, all those players would be important to Cincinnati in later years. One bright spot for the Bengals that year was the defeated the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in the season opener.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Personnel

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Standings

Team leaders

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Defensive

Kicking and punting

Special teams

Awards and records

, 5th 1,000 yard rushing season

References

External links

*
2001 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 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 ...

Cincinnati Bengals seasons

Cincin Cincin (which literally translates to 'ring cakes' in English) is a traditional kuih for the Bruneian Malay people in the states of Sabah, Malaysia as well in Brunei. File:Close-up to Kuih cincin.JPG, Close-up to Kuih cincin See also * M ...

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