2002 Cincinnati Bengals season

NFL team season December 2013 March 2026 Cincinnati Bengals 2002 2–14 4th AFC North Dick LeBeau Paul Brown Stadium Did not qualify FB Lorenzo Neal Bengals seasons The 2002 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League (NFL), the 35th overall, and the second and final full season under head coach Dick LeBeau. With a record of 2–14, however, they were the worst team in football in 2002. The team's struggles continued as they lost their first seven contests losing by an average of 19 points in each game. The Bengals would finally garner their first victory in Week 8 by soundly defeating the expansion Houston Texans on the road 38–3. The winning would not last long, however, as the Bengals lost their next six games to fall to 1–13, this lethargic result was later matched by the 2019 team, which also finished at 2–14. In their final game at home, the Bengals would stun the New Orleans Saints 20–13 to earn their second win on the season, but there would be no saving the Bengals from setting a new franchise record for losses as they finished the season with a 27–9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on the road to finish with a league-worst 2–14 record. This resulted in the Bengals owner Mike Brown firing head coach Dick LeBeau and replacing him with Washington's defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis. By being the worst team in 2002, they earned the first pick in the 2003 NFL draft, which they would use to draft Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer out of USC, and releasing embattled quarterback Akili Smith.http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/cincy/bengals.html Season statistics and summary at Sports E-Cyclopedia April 10, 2012 May 27, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080527121139/http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/cincy/bengals.html dead Offseason Additions SubtractionsQB Gus Frerotte (Broncos) TE Tony McGee (Cowboys)WR Michael Westbrook (Redskins) WR Darnay Scott (Cowboys)CB Jeff Burris (Colts) FS Chris Carter (Texans) NFL draft 2002 NFL draft 2002 Cincinnati Bengals 1 10 Levi Jones Offensive tackle Arizona State yes 2 41 Lamont Thompson Safety Washington State yes 3 67 Matt Schobel Tight end TCU yes 4 109 Travis Dorsch Punter Purdue yes 6 181 Marquand Manuel Safety Florida yes 7 219 Joey Evans Defensive end North Carolina no no https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/2002_draft.htm 2002 Cincinnati Bengals draftees Pro-Football-Reference.com October 16, 2014 Undrafted free agents + 2002 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeChris ArchieWide receiverEastern MichiganJustin BlandOffensive tackleMissouriJohn GrabowskiOffensive tackleEastern MichiganRobert GrantSafetyHawaiiGavin HoffmanQuarterbackPennHarold JacksonFullbackTempleStephon KellySafetyWinston-Salem StateDwayne LevelsLinebackerOklahoma StateKwazeon LeveretteWide receiverSyracuseDarcey LevyWide receiverPittsburghJason MurrayFullbackNotre DameReggie MylesDefensive backAlabamaJermaine PettyLinebackerArkansasPig PratherSafetyMississippi StateTito RodriguezLinebackerUCFTierre SamsCornerbackFresno StateTrent SansburyTight endFurmanMichael Slater Wide receiverMurray StateThatcher SzalayCenterMontana Personnel 2002 Cincinnati Bengals President – Mike Brown Head coach – Dick LeBeau Offensive coordinator – Bob Bratkowski Quarterbacks – Ken Anderson Running backs – Jim Anderson Wide receivers – Steve Mooshagian Tight ends – John Garrett Offensive line – Paul Alexander Offensive assistant – Bob Surace Defensive coordinator/linebackers – Mark Duffner Defensive line – Tim Krumrie Cornerbacks – Kevin Coyle Safeties – Darren Perry Defensive assistant – Louie Cioffi Special teams – Al Roberts Strength and conditioning – Kim Wood Strength and conditioning assistant – Rodney Holman Roster 2002 Cincinnati Bengals 53 11 3 12 Gus Frerotte  7 Joe Germaine  3 Jon Kitna 11 Akili Smith 36 Brandon Bennett KR 28 Corey Dillon 32 Rudi Johnson KR 30 Nick Luchey FB 41 Lorenzo Neal FB 81 Ron Dugans 83 Danny Farmer 84 T. J. Houshmandzadeh PR 85 Chad Johnson 80 Peter Warrick 87 Chris Edmonds 89 Matt Schobel y 86 Tony Stewart American football 71 Willie Anderson offensive tackle T 74 Rich Braham C 60 Reggie Coleman y no T 63 Mike Goff American football G 62 Brock Gutierrez C 76 Levi Jones y T 77 Victor Leyva G/T 72 Matt O'Dwyer G 79 Scott Rehberg G 66 Thatcher Szalay y G 96 Vaughn Booker DE 92 Eric Ogbogu DE 90 Justin Smith defensive end DE 68 Ron Smith defensive tackle y DT 70 Glen Steele DT 97 Bernard Whittington DE 94 Tony Williams American football DT 55 Reinard Wilson DE 98 Canute Curtis OLB 50 Riall Johnson OLB 52 Dwayne Levels y OLB 57 Adrian Ross American football OLB 56 Brian Simmons MLB 51 Takeo Spikes OLB 33 JoJuan Armour SS 21 Jeff Burris CB 42 Lavar Glover y CB 27 Artrell Hawkins CB 34 Kevin Kaesviharn CB 44 Marquand Manuel y SS 37 Reggie Myles y CB 31 Jason Perry safety FS 10 Travis Dorsch y K/P  8 Nick Harris punter P  5 Neil Rackers K 48 Brad St. Louis LS 88 Sean Brewer TE IR 95 Steve Foley linebacker LB IR 99 Oliver Gibson American football DT IR 26 Cory Hall S IR 25 Ligarius Jennings CB IR 45 Stephon Kelly no y S IR 20 Mark Roman S IR 59 Armegis Spearman LB IR 75 Jamain Stephens T IR 24 Lamont Thompson y S IR 73 Richmond Webb T IR 93 Mario Monds DT 46 Tito Rodriguez no y LB 43 Derek Smith tight end y TE 53 11 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 8 San Diego Chargers L 6–34 0–1 Paul Brown Stadium 53,705 2 September 15 at Cleveland Browns L 7–20 0–2 Cleveland Browns Stadium 73,358 3 September 22 at Atlanta Falcons L 3–30 0–3 Georgia Dome 68,129 4 September 29 Tampa Bay Buccaneers L 7–35 0–4 Paul Brown Stadium 57,234 5 October 6 at Indianapolis Colts L 21–28 0–5 RCA Dome 56,570 6 October 13 Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–34 0–6 Paul Brown Stadium 63,900 7 Bye 8 October 27 Tennessee Titans L 24–30 0–7 Paul Brown Stadium 52,822 9 November 3 at Houston Texans W 38–3 1–7 Reliant Stadium 69,827 10 November 10 at Baltimore Ravens L 27–38 1–8 Ravens Stadium 69,024 11 November 17 Cleveland Browns L 20–27 1–9 Paul Brown Stadium 64,060 12 November 24 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 21–29 1–10 Heinz Field 60,473 13 December 1 Baltimore Ravens L 23–27 1–11 Paul Brown Stadium 44,878 14 December 8 at Carolina Panthers L 31–52 1–12 Ericsson Stadium 66,799 15 December 15 Jacksonville Jaguars L 15–29 1–13 Paul Brown Stadium 42,092 16 December 22 New Orleans Saints W 20–13 2–13 Paul Brown Stadium 43,544 17 December 29 at Buffalo Bills L 9–27 2–14 Ralph Wilson Stadium 47,850 Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text Game summaries Week 1: vs. San Diego Chargers Cincinnati Bengals 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 1: San Diego Chargers (0–0) at Cincinnati Bengals (0–0) – Game summary September 9 1:00 p.m. EDT Chargers 10 10 7 7 Bengals 0 0 3 3 Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio 53,705 90 F C, relative humidity 60%, wind 7 mph Johnny Grier CBS Don Criqui and Solomon Wilcots Box score, Game Book First quarter SDG – Steve Christie 28-yard field goal, 8:48. Chargers 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 66 yards, 6:12. SDG – Josh Norman 1-yard pass from Drew Brees (Steve Christie kick), 1:18. Chargers 10–0. Drive: 6 plays, 14 yards, 3:13. Second quarter SDG – Steve Christie 27-yard field goal, 13:14. Chargers 13–0. Drive: 6 plays, 58 yards, 2:03. SDG – LaDainian Tomlinson 1-yard run (Steve Christie kick), 0:19. Chargers 20–0. Drive: 15 plays, 95 yards, 7:55. Third quarter CIN – Neil Rackers 21-yard field goal, 11:17. Chargers 20–3. Drive: 9 plays, 77 yards, 3:43. SDG – Curtis Conway 9-yard pass from Drew Brees (Steve Christie kick), 8:42. Chargers 27–3. Drive: 5 plays, 64 yards, 2:35. Fourth quarter SDG – Terrell Fletcher 1-yard run (Steve Christie kick), 9:14. Chargers 34–3. Drive: 12 plays, 78 yards, 8:31. CIN – Neil Rackers 54-yard field goal, 5:43. Chargers 34–6. Drive: 11 plays, 41 yards, 3:31. Top passers SDG – Drew Brees – 15/19, 160 yards, 2 TD CIN – Gus Frerotte – 18/31, 198 yards, INT Top rushers SDG – LaDainian Tomlinson – 21 rushes, 114 yards, TD CIN – Gus Frerotte – 2 rushes, 14 yards Top receivers SDG – LaDainian Tomlinson – 3 receptions, 45 yardsSDG – Tim Dwight – 3 receptions, 45 yards CIN – Danny Farmer – 2 receptions, 54 yards Week 3: at Atlanta Falcons Cincinnati Bengals 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 3: Cincinnati Bengals at Atlanta Falcons Bengals 0 3 0 0 Falcons 13 7 7 3 Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia September 22, 2002 8:30 pm None (indoor stadium) ESPN Mike Patrick, Paul Maguire, Joe Theismann, and Suzy Kolber Terry McAulay (77) 68,129 Recap, Game Book First quarter ATL – Jay Feely 44-yard field goal, 10:01. Falcons 3–0. Drive: 7 plays, 46 yards, 4:69. ATL – Jay Feely 26-yard field goal, 7:19. Falcons 6–0. Drive: 4 plays, 7 yards, 1:48. ATL – Brian Finneran 20-yard pass from Michael Vick (Jay Feely kick), 1:57. Falcons 13–0. Drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, 3:28. Second quarter ATL – Brian Finneran 13-yard pass from Michael Vick (Jay Feely kick), 4:56. Falcons 20–0. Drive: 4 plays, 24 yards, 1:42. CIN – Neil Rackers 24-yard field goal, 0:03. Falcons 20–3. Drive: 14 plays, 53 yards, 4:53. Third quarter ATL – Warrick Dunn 4-yard run (Jay Feely kick), 5:07. Falcons 27–3. Drive: 11 plays, 74 yards, 7:00. Fourth quarter ATL – Jay Feely 34-yard field goal, 7:30. Falcons 30–3. Drive: 10 plays, 46 yards, 5:39. Top passers CIN – Jon Kitna – 18/35, 136 yards, INT ATL – Michael Vick – 16/26, 174 yards, 2 TD Top rushers CIN – Corey Dillon – 18 rushes, 66 yards ATL – TJ Duckett – 18 rushes, 67 yards Top receivers CIN – Peter Warrick – 4 receptions, 34 yards ATL – Brian Finneran – 6 receptions, 77 yards, 2 TD Week 17: at Buffalo Bills Cincinnati Bengals 2002 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 17: Cincinnati Bengals (2–13) at Buffalo Bills (7–8) – Game summary Bengals 0 3 0 6 Bills 6 14 7 0 Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York December 29, 2002 1:00 pm Cloudy, 35 F C CBS Don Criqui, Steve Tasker Mike Carey (94) 47,850 Recap, Game Book First quarter BUF – Mike Hollis 32-yard field goal, 8:36. Bills 3-0. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 5:15. BUF – Mike Hollis 25-yard field goal, 1:12. Bills 6-0. Drive: 4 plays, 4, yards, 1:32. Second quarter BUF – Drew Bledsoe 7-yard run (Mike Hollis kick), 10:25. Bills 13-0. Drive: 9 plays, 55 yards, 4:15. BUF – Eric Moulds 2-yard pass from Drew Bledsoe (Mike Hollis kick), 2:41. Bills 20-0. Drive: 10 plays, 54 yards, 5:12. CIN – Neil Rackers 19-yard field goal, 0:24. Bills 20-3. Drive: 11 plays, 78 yards, 2:17. Third quarter BUF – Larry Centers 4-yard run (Mike Hollis kick), 1:37. Bills 27-3. Drive: 9 plays, 58 yards, 4:11. Fourth quarter CIN – Jon Kitna 6-yard run (run failed), 8:05. Bills 27-9. Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 2:49. Top passers CIN – Jon Kitna – 19/35, 241 yards, 2 INT BUF – Drew Bledsoe – 23/31, 231 yards, TD Top rushers CIN – Corey Dillon – 13 rushes, 53 yards BUF – Travis Henry – 30 rushes, 80 yards Top receivers CIN – Chad Johnson – 6 receptions, 123 yards BUF – Eric Moulds – 9 receptions, 75 yards, TD With the loss, the Bengals ended their season at a franchise worst 2-14 record (eventually tied by the 2019 Bengals) while also going 1-7 on the road and finishing dead last in NFL. Thus, securing the #1 pick for the 2003 NFL Draft. Head coach Dick LeBeau would end up being fired after the game. Standings Division Conference Team leaders Passing Player Att Comp Yds TD INT Rating Jon Kitna 473 294 3178 16 16 79.1 Rushing Player Att Yds YPC Long TD Corey Dillon 314 1311 4.2 67 7 Receiving Player Rec Yds Avg Long TD Chad Johnson 69 1166 16.9 72 5 Peter Warrick 53 606 11.4 37 6 Defensive Player Tackles Sacks INTs FF FR Takeo Spikes 171 1.5 0 2 4 Justin Smith 67 6.5 0 1 0 Artrell Hawkins 92 2.0 2 1 2 Kevin Kaesviharn 62 0.0 2 1 0 Kicking and punting Player FGA FGM FG% XPA XPM XP% Points Neil Rackers 18 15 83.3% 32 30 93.8% 75 Player Punts Yards Long Blkd Avg. Nick Harris 65 2608 57 1 40.1 Special teams Player KR KRYards KRAvg KRLong KRTD PR PRYards PRAvg PRLong PRTD Brandon Bennett 49 1231 25.1 94 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 T. J. Houshmandzadeh 13 288 22.2 44 0 24 117 4.9 34 0 Awards and records Pro Bowl selections Lorenzo Neal FB, AFC Pro Bowl selection Milestones Corey Dillon, 6th 1,000 yard rushing (1,311 yards) seasonCorey Dilon, RB at NFL References External links http://www.bengals.com/team/history/bengalshistory2002.html 2002 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com Cincinnati Bengals Category:Cincinnati Bengals seasons Cincin