The 2003 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 34th 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), the 36th overall, and the first 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 ...

Marvin Lewis, who replaced

Dick LeBeau Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau ( ; born September 9, 1937) is a former American football cornerback and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was active with the NFL for 59 consecutive seasons, 14 as a player with the Detroit Lions and ...

, who was fired following the 2002 season which the worst season in Bengals history. The Bengals had the first overall pick in the

2003 NFL Draft The 2003 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League (NFL) teams selected amateur college football players. The draft is known officially as the "NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting" and has been conducted annually since 1936. T ...

with which they selected 2002 Heisman Trophy winner

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at ...

. After a slow start, the Bengals got hot winning at midseason, winning four straight games to stand at 7–5, entering a key Week 14 matchup with the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...

with a chance to win the division. However, in the key showdown for first place the Bengals showed they were not quite ready for primetime as they were beaten 31–13. The Bengals would rebound to win their next game against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

, but at 8–6 the Bengals could not get that ninth win, losing their last two games to spoil an effort to earn their first winning season since

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, finishing at 8–8. Along with Willie Anderson, Chad Johnson, for the first time in his career, was named to the Pro Bowl at the end of the season.

Offseason

The Bengals lost fullback

Lorenzo Neal Lorenzo LaVonne Neal (born December 27, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for sixteen seasons. Neal played college football for the Fresno State Bulldogs. He w ...

and linebacker

Takeo Spikes Takeo Gerard Spikes (; born December 17, 1976) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Auburn University. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals 13th overall in ...

in free agency, while signing cornerback Tory James, safety Rogers Beckett, linebacker Kevin Hardy, defensive tackle John Thornton, tight end

Reggie Kelly Reginald Kuta Kelly (born February 22, 1977) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft and played the majority of his career for the Cincinnati Bengals. He played ...

, quarterback

Shane Matthews Michael Shane Matthews (born June 1, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for all or part of fourteen seasons during the 1990s and 2000s. He played college footba ...

and defensive ends Duane Clemons and Carl Powell.

NFL Draft

Personnel

Roster

Regular season

Schedule

Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text

Standings

Team leaders

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Defensive

Kicking and punting

Special teams

Awards

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 ...

QB, NFL Comeback Player of the Year

Milestones

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 ...

2nd 1000 yard receiving season (1,355 yards) * Brandon Bennett 2nd 1000-yard return season (1,146 yards)

References

External links

*
2003 Cincinnati Bengals
at Pro-Football-Reference.com Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Bengals seasons Cincin {{Americanfootball-season-stub