The 2013 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 44th 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 ...

, the 46th overall, and the 11th 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 Marvin Ronald Lewis (born September 23, 1958) is an American football coach who is the special advisor to the head coach at Arizona State. Previously, Lewis was the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League (NFL) for 1 ...

. The Bengals improved on their 10–6 regular season record from

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

and clinched the

AFC North The American Football Conference – Northern Division or AFC North is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The division was adopted after the restructuring of the 2002 NFL s ...

division title. However, the Bengals lost 27–10 to the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

in the

playoffs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

– the third consecutive season that the Bengals had lost in the Wild Card round. Their training camp was featured on the HBO show Hard Knocks.

2013 draft class

Notes : The Bengals acquired this second-round selection as part of a trade that sent

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

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 ...

to the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...

. : The Bengals acquired this sixth-round selection as part of a 2011 trade that sent wide receiver

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 ...

to the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

. : The Bengals traded their original seventh-round selection (No. 227 overall) to 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 ...

in exchange for

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

Taylor Mays Taylor Mays (born February 7, 1988) is a former American football safety. He won Washington state titles in track in both the 100-meter dash and 200-meter dash as a high school sophomore, before leaving track and field to dedicate himself to foo ...

. :

Compensatory selection The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

Staff

Final roster

Schedule

Preseason

Regular season

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

Game summaries

Regular season

Week 1: at Chicago Bears

The Bengals would build a 21-10 lead, but it would vanish as the Bears would rally to win. With the loss, the Bengals started 0-1 for the second straight season.

Week 2: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

With their second straight victory over the Steelers, the Bengals went to 1-1, and beat the Steelers at home for the first time since 2009.

Week 3: vs. Green Bay Packers

The Bengals defeated the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

34–30, and also became the first team in NFL history to lead by 14 points, then trail by 16 and eventually win.

Week 4: at Cleveland Browns

With the loss, the Bengals fell to 2–2.

Week 5: vs. New England Patriots

The Bengals improved to 3-2. They also defeated

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with which ...

for the first time ever.

Week 6: at Buffalo Bills

Mike Nugent Michael Nugent (born March 2, 1982) is a former American football placekicker. He played college football for Ohio State University, and was twice recognized as a consensus All-American. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the second round o ...

would kick the game-winning field goal in overtime to seal the game for the Bengals. With the win, the Bengals went to 4-2 and picked up their first win in Buffalo since 1985, snapping their 6-game road losing streak against the Bills.

Week 7: at Detroit Lions

Mike Nugent would come through with the clutch as the Bengals won 27-24 for the second week in a row. With their 5th straight win in Detroit, the Bengals went to 5-2.

Week 8: vs. New York Jets

With the easy win, the Bengals improved to 6-2. This win also remains the largest in the Marvin Lewis era, as of 2016. The 49 points were also the most scored by the Bengals since 2009 against the Bears.

Week 9: at Miami Dolphins

Andy Dalton Andrew Gregory Dalton (born October 29, 1987) is an American football quarterback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). Nicknamed "Red Rifle", Dalton previously played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, and ...

would have a rough night, as he was intercepted 3 times. The game would end with him getting sacked in the end zone by

Cameron Wake Derek Cameron Wake (born January 30, 1982) is a former American football defensive end and outside linebacker. He played college football for Penn State University, and was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2005. Wake ...

. This was also the first overtime game to end on a safety since 2004.

Week 10: at Baltimore Ravens

Despite out gaining Baltimore in total yardage, 364-189, and a hail mary at the end of regulation to force overtime, Andy Dalton threw 3 interceptions in the loss. With the loss, the Bengals fell to 6-4.

Week 11: vs. Cleveland Browns

The Bengals set a franchise record for most points scored in 1 quarter with 31 in this game. With the win, the Bengals improved to 7-4.

Week 13: at San Diego Chargers

The Chargers opened the game by driving 45 yards to the Bengals 31, but on 3rd-and-10,

Philip Rivers Philip Michael Rivers (born December 8, 1981) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons, primarily with the Chargers franchise. He played college football at NC State and was sele ...

completed a 13-yard pass to

Antonio Gates Antonio Ethan Gates Sr. (born June 18, 1980) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end for the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers during his entire career in the National Football League (NFL). He was named to the Pro ...

who was stripped by

Reggie Nelson Reggie Lee Nelson (born September 21, 1983) is a former American football safety. He played college football for the University of Florida, where he was a member of a national championship team and earned consensus All-American honors. He wa ...

with George Iloka recovering for Cincinnati. After both teams swapped punts, the Bengals marched 67 yards in 10 plays with

BenJarvus Green-Ellis BenJarvus Jeremy Green-Ellis (born July 2, 1985) is a former American football running back who played for the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals. Green-Ellis was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played co ...

rushing for a 4-yard touchdown on the first play of the 2nd quarter. The Bengals responded on their very next drive, driving 78 yards in only 8 plays with Rivers bombing a 30-yard touchdown pass to

Ladarius Green Ladarius Green (born May 29, 1990) is a former American football tight end. He played college football at Louisiana–Lafayette and was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft. Early life Green was born in Be ...

. After both teams swapped punts again,

was intercepted by

Eric Weddle Eric Steven Weddle (born January 4, 1985) is an American former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football at Utah, where he was a consensus All-American, and was selected by t ...

who returned it 21 yards to the Chargers 45. The game was a 7-7 deadlock at halftime. However, on the Chargers opening drive of the second half Rivers was intercepted by

Dre Kirkpatrick D'Andre Lawan "Dre" Kirkpatrick (born October 26, 1989) is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at the University of Alabama and was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the 2012 NF ...

at the Bengals 25. The Bengals responded by driving 59 yards on a 10-play drive with Dalton connecting with superstar receiver

A. J. Green Adriel Jeremiah Green (born July 31, 1988) is an American football wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Bulldogs football, Georgia and was drafted by the Cincinnati ...

on a 21-yard touchdown pass for a 14-7 lead. The Chargers drove to the Bengals 31, but were forced to punt. But the Bengals drove 61 yards before

booted a 47-yard field goal, extending the lead to 17-7. On their next drive, Rivers hit

Keenan Allen Keenan Alexander Allen (born April 27, 1992) is an American football wide receiver for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at California before leaving after his junior year. He was drafted ...

for 14 yards, but Iloka forced Allen to fumble and

Vincent Rey Vincent Rey (born September 6, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the Cincinnati Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2010. He played college football at Duke. He attended Mercersburg Academy and graduated in 200 ...

recovered for the Bengals. The Bengals took over at the Chargers 34. Two plays later Dalton threw a short pass to for 5 yards, but was stripped by

Marcus Gilchrist Marcus Tyler Gilchrist (born December 8, 1988) is a former American football Safety (gridiron football position), safety. He played college football at Clemson Tigers football, Clemson. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second roun ...

with Weddle recovering and returning the ball 27 yards to the Bengals 43. The Chargers reached the Bengals 30 and

Nick Novak Nicholas Ryan Novak (born August 21, 1981) is a former American football placekicker. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football at Maryland. Novak has played for the Washington Redskins, A ...

made it a 7-point game at 17-10 with his 48-yard field goal. The Bengals ended the game with a Green-Ellis 5-yard run to the Chargers 3-yard line with less than two minutes remaining. With the win the Bengals improved to 8-4.

Week 14: vs. Indianapolis Colts

With the win, the Bengals improved to 9-4.

Week 15: at Pittsburgh Steelers

With the loss, the Bengals fell to 9–5 and enabled their division rival Ravens to be in the running for the AFC North title.

Week 16: vs. Minnesota Vikings

With the win, the Bengals improved to 10–5, and with the Ravens' loss to the Patriots later in the evening, they clinched the AFC North title.

Week 17: vs. Baltimore Ravens

With the win, the Bengals surpassed their win total from 2012.

Postseason

AFC Wild Card Playoffs: vs. (6) San Diego Chargers

The Bengals lost the AFC Wild Card playoff game against the Chargers, 27–10, thus eliminating them. This loss also gives the team their 6th straight playoff loss dating back to the 1990 playoffs.

Standings

Division

Conference

Statistics

Team

Updated December 31, 2013

Individual

Passing

Updated December 31, 2013

Rushing

Updated January 3, 2014

Receiving

Updated January 3, 2014

Field Goals

Updated January 10, 2014

Punting

Updated January 10, 2014

Punt Returns

Updated January 14, 2014

Kick Returns

Updated January 14, 2014

Defense

Updated December 7, 2013

References

External links

* {{2013 NFL season by team

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Cincinnati Bengals seasons AFC North championship 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 ...