Cincinnati Bengals Milestones

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Order these Cincinnati Bengals franchise moments by the year they happened. Drag or tap it onto the line

Cincinnati Bengals

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How the Cincinnati Bengals history timeline works

This deck tracks Bengals history through franchise moments, each with a brief description, ordered by the year they happened. You'll begin with one card on the line, year showing. Every new card needs a gap: before, after or between the others. Choose well and the year is revealed; choose badly and the card goes to its real place anyway, and you lose one of three lives.

A founder who was already a football legend shapes this deck, and his family's influence runs all the way through it. Along the way come near misses on the biggest stage, a long stretch of high draft picks that didn't work out, and a revival built around a young quarterback and receiver. The busted picks and quarterback cards are easy to misplace, so read the descriptions closely.

Want a longer game? On the deck tree you can tick this deck alongside any other one measured in release years and dates, and they shuffle into a single timeline together.

What's in the deck

Here are 28 of the 30 cards you might be dealt, with 2 more in the deck. Their values stay hidden until you place them.

Cincinnati awarded an AFL franchise Paul Brown's ownership group won approval to put a team in the Queen City
Played their first season Paul Brown returned to the sideline as the expansion team debuted at Nippert Stadium
Won the AFC Central in year three The franchise's first playoff berth came the same season Riverfront Stadium opened and the AFL-NFL merger took effect
Drafted Ken Anderson A third-round pick from tiny Augustana College became the franchise quarterback
Paul Brown retired from coaching The founder stepped down on New Year's Day after his final season, staying on to run the front office
Drafted Anthony Munoz The USC tackle went third overall despite knee concerns and became an all-time great
Ken Anderson won MVP in new tiger stripes The team debuted its striped uniforms and rolled to its best record yet
Won the Freezer Bowl In a minus-59 wind chill they beat San Diego for the AFC title, then lost Super Bowl XVI to the 49ers two weeks later
Drafted Boomer Esiason The left-handed Maryland quarterback lasted until the second round
Boomer's MVP season and the Ickey Shuffle A no-huddle offense and a shuffling rookie fullback powered a 12-4 run to the AFC crown
Lost Super Bowl XXIII in the final seconds Joe Montana's 92-yard drive ended with John Taylor's touchdown with 34 seconds left
Paul Brown died The 82-year-old founder passed away in August, and son Mike Brown took control of the team
Drafted Dan Wilkinson first overall 'Big Daddy' from Ohio State was the top pick of the entire draft
Drafted Ki-Jana Carter first overall The Penn State running back tore his ACL on his third preseason carry
Opened Paul Brown Stadium The team left Cinergy Field for a new riverfront home named for its founder
Hired Marvin Lewis and drafted Carson Palmer A new head coach and a Heisman-winning first overall pick arrived in the same offseason
Won the AFC North for the first time The franchise's first division title and winning season in a decade and a half
Carson Palmer's knee shredded on his first playoff pass A 66-yard completion against Pittsburgh was wiped out by a devastating low hit
Swept the AFC North The Bengals won all six division games on the way to the crown
Drafted A.J. Green and Andy Dalton A new receiver-quarterback pairing arrived in the first two rounds of one draft
Started the season 8-0 Andy Dalton's hot streak carried the team to a franchise-record unbeaten first half
Wild-card meltdown against Pittsburgh A late fumble and two 15-yard penalties handed the Steelers a chip-shot winning field goal
Hired Zac Taylor The 35-year-old Rams assistant took over from Marvin Lewis after 16 seasons
Drafted Joe Burrow first overall The LSU Heisman winner's rookie year ended with a torn ACL in November
Drafted Ja'Marr Chase The fifth overall pick reunited Joe Burrow with his LSU teammate, who won Offensive Rookie of the Year
Won the AFC Championship in Kansas City An overtime upset ended a 31-year playoff-win drought era, but Super Bowl LVI slipped away late to the Rams
Made Joe Burrow the NFL's highest-paid player A $275 million extension was signed days before a season derailed by a wrist injury
Ja'Marr Chase won the receiving triple crown He led the NFL in catches, yards, and touchdowns in the same season