The 1989 Cincinnati Bengals season was their 20th in the National Football League (NFL) and 22nd overall. The Bengals' 404 points scored were the fourth-most in the NFL in 1989. Four of their eight losses on the season were by a touchdown or less.
The 1989 Bengals are the most recent NFL team to score 55 points or more twice in a single season:[1] Week 8 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (56) and Week 15 against the arch-rival Houston Oilers (61), both at home. Despite this, the Bengals finished the season 4th in their division and failed to earn a playoff berth, making them the only team in the AFC Central to do so.
Offseason
NFL draft
[2]
Undrafted free agents
1989 undrafted free agents of note
| Player
|
Position
|
College
|
| Rich Gicewicz
|
Tight End
|
Michigan State
|
| Brett Grimshaw
|
Running Back
|
Western Illinois
|
| Tom Gruno
|
Linebacker
|
Toledo
|
| John Guerrero
|
Tackle
|
USC
|
| Todd Philcox
|
Quarterback
|
Syracuse
|
| Mark Rothwell
|
Wide receiver
|
Wisconsin–Stout
|
Personnel
Staff
1989 Cincinnati Bengals staff
|
|
Front office
- President – John Sawyer
- General Manager – Paul Brown
- Assistant General Manager – Mike Brown
- Director of Player Personnel – Pete Brown
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
- Offensive Coordinator – Bruce Coslet
- Running Backs – Jim Anderson
- Tight Ends – Bill Johnson
- Offensive Line – Jim McNally
|
|
|
Defensive coaches
- Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs – Dick LeBeau
- Defensive Line – Chuck Studley
- Linebackers – Dick Selcer
Special teams coaches
- Special Teams – Mike Stock
Strength and conditioning
|
Roster
1989 Cincinnati Bengals roster
| Quarterbacks (QB)
Running backs (RB)
- 42 Eric Ball
- 21 James Brooks
- 40 John Holifield
- 36 Stanford Jennings
- 20 Craig Taylor
Wide receivers (WR)
Tight ends (TE)
- 82 Rodney Holman
- 84 Eric Kattus
- 87 Jim Riggs
|
|
Offensive linemen (OL)
- 74 Brian Blados T
- 77 Scott Jones T
- 64 Bruce Kozerski C
- 65 Max Montoya G
- 73 Ken Moyer T
- 78 Anthony Muñoz T
- 75 Bruce Reimers G
- 63 Joe Walter T
Defensive linemen (DL)
- 99 Jason Buck DE
- 98 David Grant NT
- 71 Mike Hammerstein DE
- 69 Tim Krumrie NT
- 72 Skip McClendon DE
- 70 Jim Skow DE
- 96 Natu Tuatagaloa DE
|
|
Linebackers (LB)
- 53 Leo Barker OLB
- 58 Joe Kelly ILB
- 59 Kevin Walker ILB
- 51 Leon White OLB
- 57 Reggie Williams OLB
- 91 Carl Zander ILB
Defensive backs (DB)
- 24 Lewis Billups CB
- 27 Barney Bussey SS
- 34 Richard Carey CB
- 29 Rickey Dixon FS
- 33 David Fulcher SS
- 22 Eric Thomas CB
- 41 Solomon Wilcots CB
Special teams (ST)
- 55 Ed Brady LS
- 3 Jim Breech K
- 11 Lee Johnson P
|
|
Practice squad
- 10 Todd Philcox QB
- 79 Dana Wells NT
47 active, 6 inactive, 2 practice squad
Reserve
- 35 Chris Barber S
(IR)
- 37 Robert Jackson S
(IR)
- 68 Paul Jetton C
(IR)
- 15 Turk Schonert QB
(IR)
- 30 Ickey Woods FB
(IR)
- 60 Rob Woods T
(IR)
Rookies in italics
|
Regular season
Schedule
Season summary
Week 1 at Bears
| Game information
|
- First quarter
- CIN – James Brooks 4-yard pass from Boomer Esiason (Jim Breech kick), 9:52. Bengals 7–0.
- Second quarter
- Third quarter
- CIN – Ickey Woods 5-yard run (Jim Breech kick), 8:28. Bengals 14–7.
- CHI – Kevin Butler 29-yard field goal, 11:40. Bengals 14–10.
- Fourth quarter
- CHI – James Thornton 20-yard pass from Mike Tomczak (Kevin Butler kick), 10:06. Bears 17–14.
|
- Top passers
- Top rushers
- CIN – James Brooks – 13 rushes, 88 yards
- CHI – Neal Anderson – 21 rushes, 146 yards
- Top receivers
- CIN – James Brooks – 5 receptions, 46 yards, TD
- CHI – James Thornton – 4 receptions, 86 yards, TD
|
|
Week 2 vs. Steelers
Week 3 vs. Browns
Week 14 vs. Seahawks
You don't live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati.
| Scoring summary
|
| Quarter
|
Time
|
Drive
|
Team
|
Scoring information
|
Score
|
| Plays
|
Yards
|
TOP
|
SEA
|
CIN
|
| 1
|
5:18
|
3
|
44
|
0:48
|
Bengals
|
Tim McGee 21-yard touchdown reception from Boomer Esiason, Jim Breech kick good
|
0
|
7
|
| 2
|
10:37
|
13
|
71
|
5:51
|
Bengals
|
24-yard field goal by Jim Breech
|
0
|
10
|
| 2
|
0:42
|
12
|
78
|
2:25
|
Seahawks
|
Steve Largent 10-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good
|
7
|
10
|
| 3
|
12:58
|
5
|
37
|
1:51
|
Seahawks
|
48-yard field goal by Norm Johnson
|
10
|
10
|
| 3
|
10:14
|
1
|
60
|
0:12
|
Seahawks
|
Brian Blades 60-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good
|
17
|
10
|
| 4
|
9:39
|
|
|
|
Bengals
|
Interception returned 18 yards for touchdown by Eric Thomas, Jim Breech kick good
|
17
|
17
|
| 4
|
3:51
|
10
|
80
|
5:42
|
Seahawks
|
Curt Warner 1-yard touchdown reception from Dave Krieg, Norm Johnson kick good
|
24
|
17
|
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.
|
24
|
17
|
|
Standings
| AFC Central
|
|
|
W
|
L
|
T
|
PCT
|
DIV
|
CONF
|
PF
|
PA
|
STK
|
| Cleveland Browns(2)
|
9
|
6
|
1
|
.594
|
3–3
|
6–5–1
|
334
|
254
|
W2
|
| Houston Oilers(4)
|
9
|
7
|
0
|
.563
|
3–3
|
6–6
|
365
|
412
|
L2
|
| Pittsburgh Steelers(5)
|
9
|
7
|
0
|
.563
|
1–5
|
6–6
|
265
|
326
|
W3
|
| Cincinnati Bengals
|
8
|
8
|
0
|
.500
|
5–1
|
6–6
|
404
|
285
|
L1
|
Team leaders
Passing
| Player |
Att |
Comp |
Yds |
TD |
INT |
Rating
|
| Boomer Esiason |
455 |
258 |
3525 |
28 |
11 |
92.1
|
Rushing
| Player |
Att |
Yds |
YPC |
Long |
TD
|
| James Brooks |
221 |
1239 |
5.6 |
65 |
7
|
Receiving
| Player |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
Long |
TD
|
| Tim McGee |
65 |
1211 |
18.6 |
74 |
8
|
| Rodney Holman |
50 |
736 |
14.7 |
73 |
9
|
Defensive
Kicking and punting
| Player |
FGA |
FGM |
FG% |
XPA |
XPM |
XP% |
Points
|
| Jim Breech |
14 |
12 |
85.7% |
38 |
37 |
97.4% |
73
|
| Player |
Punts |
Yards |
Long |
Blkd |
Avg.
|
| Lee Johnson |
61 |
2446 |
62 |
2 |
40.1
|
Special teams
| Player |
KR |
KRYards |
KRAvg |
KRLong |
KRTD |
PR |
PRYards |
PRAvg |
PRLong |
PRTD
|
| Stanford Jennings |
26 |
525 |
20.2 |
33 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0
|
| Mike Martin |
0 |
0 |
0.0 |
0 |
0 |
15 |
107 |
7.1 |
17 |
0
|
Awards and records
Pro Bowl selections
Milestones
References
External links
|
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| Franchise |
- Franchise
- History
- Seasons
- Coaches
- All-time roster
- First-round draft picks
- Draft history
- Starting quarterbacks
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| Stadiums | |
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| Culture | |
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| Lore | |
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| Rivalries |
- Baltimore Ravens
- Cleveland Browns
- Pittsburgh Steelers
|
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| Division championships (11) | |
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| Conference championships (3) | |
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| Retired numbers | |
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| Ring of Honor | |
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| Media | |
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| Current league affiliations | |
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| Former league affiliation | |
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Cincinnati Bengals seasons |
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