1979 Cincinnati Bengals (NFL) |
| 4th place • American Football Conference • Central Division • 4-12-0 .250 |
| Head Coach: Homer Rice |
| Howard Brinker | Linebackers |
| Boyd Dowler | Quarterbacks/Receivers |
| Frank Gansz | Special Teams |
| Mike McCormack | Offensive Line |
| Dick Modzelewski | Defensive Line |
| George Sefcik | Offensive Backs |
| Charley Winner | Defensive Backs |
| Kim Wood | Strength |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Result | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Sat | 8/4/1979 | A | Detroit Lions | 40-28 | W | Pontiac, MI | Pontiac Silverdome | 53238 | |
| Sat | 8/11/1979 | H | Green Bay Packers | 20-5 | W | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 44284 | |
| Sat | 8/18/1979 | A | Chicago Bears | 13-17 | L | Chicago, IL | Soldier Field | 53831 | |
| Sat | 8/25/1979 | H | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 13-24 | L | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 44120 | |
| Sun | 9/2/1979 | A | Denver Broncos | 0-10 | L | Denver, CO | Mile High Stadium | 74788 | |
| Sun | 9/9/1979 | A | Buffalo Bills | 24-51 | L | Orchard Park, NY | Rich Stadium | 43504 | |
| Sun | 9/16/1979 | H | New England Patriots | 14-20 | L | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 41805 | |
| Sun | 9/23/1979 | H | Houston Oilers | 27-30 | L | OT | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 45615 |
| Sun | 9/30/1979 | A | Dallas Cowboys | 13-38 | L | Irving, TX | Texas Stadium | 63179 | |
| Sun | 10/7/1979 | H | Kansas City Chiefs | 7-10 | L | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 40041 | |
| Sun | 10/14/1979 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 34-10 | W | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 52381 | |
| Sun | 10/21/1979 | A | Cleveland Browns | 27-28 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 75119 | |
| Sun | 10/28/1979 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 37-13 | W | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 42036 | |
| Sun | 11/4/1979 | A | Baltimore Colts | 28-38 | L | Baltimore, MD | Memorial Stadium | 37740 | |
| Sun | 11/11/1979 | H | San Diego Chargers | 24-26 | L | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 40782 | |
| Sun | 11/18/1979 | A | Houston Oilers | 21-42 | L | Houston, TX | Astrodome | 49829 | |
| Sun | 11/25/1979 | H | St. Louis Cardinals | 34-28 | W | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 25103 | |
| Sun | 12/2/1979 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 17-37 | L | Pittsburgh, PA | Three Rivers Stadium | 46521 | |
| Sun | 12/9/1979 | A | Washington Redskins | 14-28 | L | Washington, DC | RFK Stadium | 52882 | |
| Sun | 12/16/1979 | H | Cleveland Browns | 16-12 | W | Cincinnati, OH | Riverfront Stadium | 42183 | |
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Charles Alexander | 40 | FB | 6-1 | 225 | 22 | Louisiana State | 16 | 3 |
| Ken Anderson | 14 | QB | 6-3 | 212 | 30 | Augustana (Illinois) | 15 | 15 |
| Chris Bahr | 10 | K-P | 5-10 | 170 | 26 | Penn State | 16 | 0 |
| Don Bass | 84 | WR | 6-2 | 219 | 23 | Houston | 16 | 13 |
| Louis Breeden | 34 | LCB | 5-11 | 185 | 26 | North Carolina Central | 10 | 10 |
| Billy Brooks | 82 | WR | 6-3 | 202 | 26 | Oklahoma | 4 | 4 |
| Jim Browner | 21 | SS | 6-1 | 208 | 24 | Notre Dame | 16 | 6 |
| Ross Browner | 79 | RDE | 6-3 | 265 | 25 | Notre Dame | 16 | 16 |
| Glenn Bujnoch | 74 | LOG | 6-6 | 265 | 26 | Texas A&M | 15 | 15 |
| Scott Burk | 28 | S | 6-2 | 193 | 23 | Oklahoma State | 16 | 0 |
| Gary Burley | 67 | LDE-RDT | 6-3 | 282 | 27 | Wharton County JC; Pittsburgh | 16 | 16 |
| Blair Bush | 58 | C | 6-3 | 273 | 23 | Washington | 12 | 12 |
| Glenn Cameron | 50 | LLB-MLB | 6-2 | 228 | 26 | Florida | 15 | 4 |
| Marvin Cobb | 24 | SS-LCB | 6-0 | 188 | 26 | Southern California | 14 | 13 |
| Jim Corbett | 81 | TE | 6-4 | 218 | 24 | Pittsburgh | 10 | 1 |
| Barney Cotton | 70 | OG | 6-6 | 261 | 23 | Nebraska | 13 | 0 |
| Isaac Curtis | 85 | WR | 6-0 | 192 | 29 | California; San Diego State | 16 | 14 |
| Tom Dinkel | 52 | LLB-MLB | 6-3 | 240 | 33 | Kansas | 16 | 3 |
| Mark Donahue | 66 | LOG-ROG | 6-3 | 251 | 23 | Michigan | 16 | 5 |
| Eddie Edwards | 73 | LDT | 6-5 | 257 | 25 | Arizona Western JC; Miami (Florida) | 14 | 14 |
| Archie Griffin | 45 | RB | 5-9 | 188 | 25 | Ohio State | 16 | 15 |
| Ray Griffin | 44 | RCB-LCB | 5-10 | 185 | 23 | Ohio State | 12 | 5 |
| Bo Harris | 53 | LLB-RLB | 6-3 | 235 | 26 | Louisiana State | 15 | 14 |
| Vern Holland | 76 | ROT | 6-5 | 267 | 31 | Tennessee State | 16 | 16 |
| Dick Jauron | 30 | FS | 6-0 | 190 | 29 | Yale | 16 | 13 |
| Bob Johnson | 54 | C | 6-5 | 258 | 33 | Tennessee | 5 | 0 |
| Pete Johnson | 46 | FB | 6-0 | 272 | 25 | Ohio State | 16 | 13 |
| Steve Kreider | 86 | WR | 6-3 | 192 | 21 | Lehigh | 15 | 0 |
| Howie Kurnick | 59 | LB | 6-2 | 219 | 22 | Cincinnati | 15 | 0 |
| Dave Lapham | 62 | ROG-C | 6-4 | 259 | 27 | Syracuse | 16 | 15 |
| Jim LeClair | 55 | MLB | 6-3 | 234 | 29 | Minnesota Tech JC; North Dakota | 16 | 15 |
| Mike Levenseller | 88 | WR | 6-1 | 180 | 23 | Washington State | 12 | 0 |
| Vaughn Lusby | 29 | CB | 5-10 | 188 | 23 | Arkansas | 16 | 0 |
| Pat McInally | 87 | P | 6-6 | 210 | 26 | Harvard | 16 | 0 |
| Mack Mitchell | 72 | LDE | 6-7 | 246 | 27 | Houston | 13 | 1 |
| Max Montoya | 65 | ROG-OT | 6-5 | 275 | 23 | UCLA | 11 | 1 |
| Scott Perry | 32 | FS-LCB | 6-0 | 180 | 25 | Williams | 14 | 4 |
| Nathan Poole | 35 | RB | 5-9 | 210 | 23 | Louisville | 16 | 0 |
| Ken Riley | 13 | RCB | 6-0 | 185 | 32 | Florida A&M | 13 | 13 |
| Dan Ross | 89 | TE | 6-4 | 234 | 22 | Northeastern | 16 | 16 |
| Tom Ruud | 51 | RLB | 6-2 | 230 | 26 | Nebraska | 16 | 1 |
| Jack Thompson | 12 | QB | 6-3 | 220 | 23 | Washington State | 9 | 1 |
| Deacon Turner | 22 | RB | 5-11 | 210 | 24 | Bakersfield CC; San Diego State | 16 | 1 |
| Rick Walker | 83 | TE | 6-4 | 235 | 24 | Santa Ana JC; UCLA | 10 | 0 |
| Mike White | 63 | LDT-RDT | 6-5 | 266 | 22 | Albany State | 16 | 4 |
| Wilson Whitley | 75 | RDT | 6-3 | 265 | 24 | Houston | 14 | 13 |
| Reggie Williams | 57 | RLB | 6-0 | 230 | 25 | Dartmouth | 12 | 11 |
| Mike Wilson | 77 | LOT | 6-5 | 280 | 24 | Georgia | 16 | 16 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 3 | Jack Thompson | QB | Washington State |
| 1 | 12 | Charles Alexander | RB | Louisiana State |
| 2 | 30 | Dan Ross | TE | Northeastern |
| 3 | 59 | Barney Cotton | G | Nebraska |
| 4 | 84 | Mike White | DT | Albany State |
| 4 | 91 | Vaughn Lusby | DB | Arkansas |
| 5 | 113 | Casey Merrill | DE | California-Davis |
| 6 | 139 | Steve Kreider | WR | Lehigh |
| 7 | 168 | Max Montoya | T | UCLA |
| 8 | 194 | Howie Kurnick | LB | Cincinnati |
| 9 | 223 | Scott Burk | DB | Oklahoma State |
| 10 | 250 | Nathan Poole | RB | Louisville |
| 11 | 278 | Ken Bungarda | DT | Missouri |
| 12 | 304 | Jim Browner | DB | Notre Dame |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 83 | 115 | 75 | 64 | 0 | 337 |
| Opponents Totals | 57 | 140 | 106 | 115 | 3 | 421 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 289 | 138 | 131 | 20 | 82/234 35.0% | / % | 88 | 744 | |
| Opponents Totals | 334 | 133 | 175 | 26 | 109/223 48.9% | / % | 101 | 871 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Johnson | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | ||
| Chris Bahr | 0 | 40 | 42 | 95.2 | 13 | 23 | 56.5 | 0 | 79 |
| Isaac Curtis | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | ||
| Jack Thompson | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | ||
| Don Bass | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Ken Anderson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Archie Griffin | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Charles Alexander | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Billy Brooks | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Ray Griffin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Howie Kurnick | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Jim Leclair | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Dan Ross | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Deacon Turner | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Rick Walker | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| (Team) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 43 | 40 | 43 | 93.0 | 13 | 23 | 56.5 | 0 | 337 |
| Opponents Totals | 52 | 49 | 52 | 94.2 | 20 | 27 | 74.1 | 0 | 421 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Bahr | 13 | 23 | 56.5 | 0 | 55 | 0/0 | 4/6 | 3/7 | 4/8 | 2/2 |
| Team Totals | 13 | 23 | 56.5 | 0 | 55 | 0/0 | 4/6 | 3/7 | 4/8 | 2/2 |
| Opponents Totals | 20 | 27 | 74.1 | 1/ | 4/ | 7/ | 7/ | 1/ |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete Johnson | 243 | 865 | 3.6 | 35t | 14 |
| Archie Griffin | 140 | 688 | 4.9 | 63 | 0 |
| Charles Alexander | 88 | 286 | 3.3 | 17 | 1 |
| Ken Anderson | 28 | 235 | 8.4 | 21 | 2 |
| Jack Thompson | 21 | 116 | 5.5 | 21 | 5 |
| Deacon Turner | 28 | 86 | 3.1 | 10 | 1 |
| Don Bass | 4 | 35 | 8.8 | 14 | 0 |
| Pat McInally | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 18 | 0 |
| Tom Dinkel | 2 | 14 | 7.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Steve Kreider | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nathan Poole | 1 | -3 | -3.0 | -3 | 0 |
| Isaac Curtis | 2 | -11 | -5.5 | -4 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 560 | 2329 | 4.2 | 63 | 23 |
| Opponents Totals | 528 | 2219 | 4.2 | 36 | 22 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Anderson | 339 | 189 | 55.8 | 140 | 2340 | 6.9 | 12.4 | 73t | 16 | 4.7 | 10 | 2.9 | 46 | 324 | 2016 | 80.7 |
| Jack Thompson | 87 | 39 | 44.8 | 43 | 481 | 5.5 | 12.3 | 50 | 1 | 1.1 | 5 | 5.7 | 16 | 178 | 303 | 42.4 |
| Steve Kreider | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | -9 | |||||||
| Team Totals | 426 | 228 | 53.5 | 183 | 2821 | 6.6 | 12.4 | 73t | 17 | 4.0 | 15 | 3.5 | 63 | 511 | 2310 | 72.9 |
| Opponents Totals | 492 | 275 | 55.9 | 197 | 3908 | 7.9 | 14.2 | 59 | 27 | 5.5 | 20 | 4.1 | 32 | 216 | 3692 | 83.1 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Don Bass | 58 | 724 | 12.5 | 50 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Archie Griffin | 43 | 417 | 9.7 | 52t | 2 | ||||
| Dan Ross | 41 | 516 | 12.6 | 41 | 1 | 0 | |||
| Isaac Curtis | 32 | 605 | 18.9 | 67t | 8 | ||||
| Pete Johnson | 24 | 154 | 6.4 | 15t | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Charles Alexander | 11 | 91 | 8.3 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Billy Brooks | 8 | 214 | 26.8 | 73t | 1 | 0 | |||
| Jim Corbett | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steve Kreider | 3 | 20 | 6.7 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Deacon Turner | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Pat McInally | 1 | 24 | 24.0 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rick Walker | 1 | 14 | 14.0 | 14t | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nathan Poole | 1 | -10 | -10.0 | -10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 228 | 2821 | 12.4 | 73t | 17 | ||||
| Opponents Totals | 275 | 3908 | 14.2 | 59 | 27 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dick Jauron | 6 | 41 | 6.8 | 12 | 0 |
| Ray Griffin | 4 | 167 | 41.8 | 96t | 1 |
| Marvin Cobb | 3 | 19 | 6.3 | 14 | 0 |
| Reggie Williams | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 3 | 0 |
| Jim Browner | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 |
| Scott Perry | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 |
| Wilson Whitley | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 |
| Jim LeClair | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Riley | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 20 | 260 | 13.0 | 96t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 15 | 305 | 20.3 | 68 | 2 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pat McInally | 89 | 3678 | 41.3 | 61 | 2 | 12 | 19 | 325 | 3113 | 34.2 |
| Team Totals | 91 | 3678 | 40.4 | 61 | 2 | 12 | 19 | 325 | 3113 | 34.2 |
| Opponents Totals | 71 | 2812 | 39.6 | 56 | 18 | 316 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vaughn Lusby | 32 | 4 | 260 | 8.1 | 40 | 0 |
| Mike Levenseller | 8 | 2 | 46 | 5.8 | 21 | 0 |
| Dick Jauron | 1 | 2 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Scott Burk | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 42 | 9 | 316 | 7.5 | 40 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 48 | 9 | 325 | 6.8 | 17 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deacon Turner | 55 | 1149 | 20.9 | 36 | 0 | |
| Nathan Poole | 7 | 128 | 18.3 | 24 | 0 | |
| Vaughn Lusby | 6 | 92 | 15.3 | 28 | 0 | |
| Jim Browner | 6 | 87 | 14.5 | 26 | 0 | |
| Howie Kurnick | 4 | 60 | 15.0 | 20 | 0 | |
| Ross Browner | 2 | 29 | 14.5 | 15 | 0 | |
| Ray Griffin | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 81 | 1560 | 19.3 | 36 | 0 | |
| Opponents Totals | 63 | 1258 | 20.0 | 63 | 0 |
| SACKS | NO | YDS |
|---|---|---|
| Ross Browner | 6.0 | |
| Gary Burley | 5.0 | |
| Eddie Edwards | 4.5 | |
| Bo Harris | 4.0 | |
| Wilson Whitley | 3.5 | |
| Reggie Williams | 3.0 | |
| Mack Mitchell | 3.0 | |
| Mike White | 2.0 | |
| Tom Dinkel | 1.0 | |
| Team Totals | 32.0 | 216.0 |
| Opponents Totals | 63.0 | 511.0 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Jim Browner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Ross Browner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Scott Burk | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Isaac Curtis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mark Donahue | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Eddie Edwards | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Archie Griffin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ray Griffin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dick Jauron | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Johnson | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Steve Kreider | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Howie Kurnick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 38 | 1 |
| Dave Lapham | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim LeClair | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 1 |
| Mike Levenseller | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vaughn Lusby | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Nathan Poole | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ken Riley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 31 | 0 |
| Dan Ross | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 |
| Tom Ruud | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jack Thompson | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Deacon Turner | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Wilson Whitley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Reggie Williams | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 24 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 32 | 100 | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 39 | 24 | 12 | 14 | 26 | 0 |
| Player Deaths |
| NFL Boxscores |
| NFL Game Officials |
| NFL Training Camps |
| NFL Roster Limits |
| Pro Football Hall of Fame |
| Super Bowl Scores |
| Privacy Policy |
| ©2006-2025 Pro Football Archives. All Rights Reserved. |
| Last Updated: October 12, 2025 |