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.
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
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
Roster
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
Week 3: at Atlanta Falcons
Week 17: at Buffalo Bills
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
2002 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com