2005 Cincinnati Bengals season

2005 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Marvin Lewis
Owner	Mike Brown
Home field	Paul Brown Stadium
Results
Record	11–5
Division place	1st AFC North
Playoff finish	Lost Wild Card

The 2005 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 38th year in professional football and its 36th with the National Football League.

2005 was the team's first season with a winning record, playoff berth, and division title since 1990. In the fourteen years and 224 games in between (1991–2004), the Bengals' record was 71–153, a 0.317 winning percentage.^[1] It would be the Bengals' lone playoff appearance in a span of 18 years (1991–2008). QB Carson Palmer got off to a strong start on his way to a solid 3836 yard season with 32 Touchdown passes, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl. Receiving many of Palmer's passes was Chad Johnson, who followed teammate Palmer to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, racking up an impressive 1,432 yards in receiving with nine TDs, many of which were followed by unique celebrations that made him a regular star on the spots highlight shows.

Following a 42–29 win over the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals faced the Steelers again this time in Pittsburgh, where the Bengals offense continued to fly behind Carson Palmer who had three Touchdown passes and 227 yards passing in an impressive 38–31 win that gave the Bengals first place in the AFC North at 9–3. The Bengals would not relinquish first place winning the next two games to clinch the division with two weeks to go. On December 18, with a 41–17 win over the Detroit Lions, the Bengals clinched a playoff spot.^[2] After clinching the division the Bengals played cautiously and dropped their final two games to finish with an 11–5 record, beating out the eventual Super Bowl champion Steelers, who finished with an identical record, on a tiebreaker situation.^[3]

Offseason

NFL Draft

2005 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	17	David Pollack	Linebacker	Georgia
2	48	Odell Thurman	Linebacker	Georgia
3	83	Chris Henry	Wide receiver	West Virginia
4	119	Eric Ghiaciuc	Center	Central Michigan
5	153	Adam Kieft	Offensive tackle	Central Michigan
6	190	Tab Perry	Wide receiver	UCLA
7	233	Jonathan Fanene	Defensive end	Utah
Made roster

^[4]

Personnel

Staff

2005 Cincinnati Bengals staff
	Front office President – Mike Brown Head coaches Head Coach – Marvin Lewis Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line – Paul Alexander Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Bob Bratkowski Quarterbacks – Ken Zampese Running Backs – Jim Anderson Wide Receivers – Hue Jackson Tight Ends – Jonathan Hayes Assistant Offensive Line – Bob Surace			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Chuck Bresnahan Defensive Line – Jay Hayes Linebackers – Ricky Hunley Defensive Backs – Kevin Coyle Assistant Defensive Backs – Louie Cioffi Staff Assistant – Paul Guenther Special teams coaches Special Teams – Darrin Simmons Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Chip Morton Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Ray Oliver

Roster

2005 Cincinnati Bengals final roster
	Quarterbacks  3 Jon Kitna  6 Craig Krenzel  9 Carson Palmer Running backs 32 Rudi Johnson 31 Jeremi Johnson FB 30 Nick Luchey FB 23 Chris Perry Wide receivers 15 Chris Henry 84 T. J. Houshmandzadeh 85 Chad Johnson 88 Tab Perry KR 83 Kevin Walter 87 Kelley Washington Tight ends 82 Reggie Kelly 89 Matt Schobel 86 Tony Stewart		Offensive linemen 71 Willie Anderson T 79 Stacy Andrews T 74 Rich Braham C 53 Eric Ghiaciuc C 76 Levi Jones T 75 Scott Kooistra G 65 Eric Steinbach G 63 Bobbie Williams G Defensive linemen 96 Matthias Askew DT 92 Duane Clemons DE 68 Jonathan Fanene DE 91 Robert Geathers DE 72 Carl Powell DE 90 Justin Smith DE 66 Shaun Smith DT 97 John Thornton DT 98 Bryan Robinson DT		Linebackers 59 Landon Johnson OLB 58 Caleb Miller OLB 57 Hannibal Navies OLB 99 David Pollack OLB 56 Brian Simmons OLB 51 Odell Thurman MLB 52 Nate Webster MLB 55 Marcus Wilkins OLB Defensive backs 21 Rashad Bauman CB 41 Patrick Body CB 27 Greg Brooks CB 20 Tory James CB 34 Kevin Kaesviharn FS 42 Anthony Mitchell SS 24 Deltha O'Neal CB 26 Ifeanyi Ohalete SS 25 Keiwan Ratliff CB/PR Special teams 17 Shayne Graham K 19 Kyle Larson P 48 Brad St. Louis LS/TE		Reserve lists 22 Kim Herring S (IR) 70 Adam Kieft OT (IR) 50 Larry Moore G/C (IR) 33 Kenny Watson RB (IR) 64 Ben Wilkerson C (PUP) 40 Madieu Williams S (IR) Practice squad 13 Jamall Broussard WR 36 Tony Bua S 49 Ronnie Ghent FB 44 Herana-Daze Jones S 61 Pete Lougheed OT 73 Kyle Takavitz G 67 Ryan Hayslip G 35 Quincy Wilson RB Rookies in italics 53 Active, 6 Inactive, 8 Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Date	Opponent #	Result	Score	Attendance	Stadium
September 11	at Cleveland Browns	W	27–13	73,013	Cleveland Browns Stadium
September 18	Minnesota Vikings	W	37–8	65,763	Paul Brown Stadium
September 25	at Chicago Bears	W	24–7	62,045	Soldier Field
October 2	Houston Texans	W	16–10	65,714	Paul Brown Stadium
October 9	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L	20–23	66,137	Alltel Stadium
October 16	at Tennessee Titans	W	31–23	69,149	The Coliseum
October 23	Pittsburgh Steelers	L	13–27	66,104	Paul Brown Stadium
October 30	Green Bay Packers	W	21–14	65,940	Paul Brown Stadium
November 6	at Baltimore Ravens	W	21–9	70,540	M&T Bank Stadium
November 20	Indianapolis Colts	L	37–45	65,995	Paul Brown Stadium
November 27	Baltimore Ravens	W	42–29	65,680	Paul Brown Stadium
December 4	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W	38–31	63,044	Heinz Field
December 11	Cleveland Browns	W	23–20	65,788	Paul Brown Stadium
December 18	at Detroit Lions	W	41–17	61,749	Ford Field
December 24	Buffalo Bills	L	27–37	65,485	Paul Brown Stadium
January 1	at Kansas City Chiefs	L	3–37	77,211	Arrowhead Stadium

^[5]

Standings

AFC North
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
^(3) Cincinnati Bengals	11	5	0	.688	5–1	7–5	421	350	L2
^(6) Pittsburgh Steelers	11	5	0	.688	4–2	7–5	389	258	W4
Baltimore Ravens	6	10	0	.375	2–4	4–8	265	299	L1
Cleveland Browns	6	10	0	.375	1–5	4–8	232	301	W1

Postseason

Game Stats- AFC Wild Card Playoff

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	14	14	3	31
Bengals	10	7	0	0	17

at Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

• Date: January 8, 2006
• Game time: 4:30 p.m. EST
• Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), partly cloudy
• Game attendance: 65,870
• Referee: Larry Nemmers
• TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz (play-by-play), Phil Simms (color commentator), Bonnie Bernstein (sideline reporter)

On January 8, 2006, the Cincinnati Bengals took on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the opening round of the playoffs making it the Bengals first playoff appearance of the decade. Disaster started early for the Bengals when Steelers lineman Kimo von Oelhoffen dove at Bengals quarterback (Carson Palmer)'s knee, resulting in a tear of his ACL (Anterior cruciate ligament). Backup quarterback Jon Kitna took over and did very well, giving Cincinnati leads of 10–0 and 17–7 at points of the game. All seemed well for the Bengals until the Steelers came back with 24 unanswered points and knocked the Cincinnati Bengals out of the playoffs with a final score of 31–17.^[6]

Team leaders

Passing

Player	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	INT	Rating
Carson Palmer	509	345	3836	32	12	101.1

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	YPC	Long	TD
Rudi Johnson	337	1458	4.3	33	12

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Chad Johnson	97	1432	14.8	70	9

Defensive

Player	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	FF	FR
Odell Thurman	148	1.5	5	4	0
Justin Smith	92	6.0	0	1	1
Deltha O'Neal	63	0.0	10	0	1

Kicking and punting

Player	FGA	FGM	FG%	XPA	XPM	XP%	Points
Shayne Graham	32	28	87.5%	47	47	100.0%	131

Player	Punts	Yards	Long	Blkd	Avg.
Kyle Larson	60	2591	75	1	43.2

Special teams

Player	KR	KRYards	KRAvg	KRLong	KRTD	PR	PRYards	PRAvg	PRLong	PRTD
Tab Perry	64	1562	24.4	94	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
Keiwan Ratliff	0	0	0.0	0	0	28	157	5.6	13	0

Awards and records

Pro Bowl Selections

• Carson Palmer QB, AFC Pro-Bowl Selection
• Rudi Johnson RB, AFC Pro-Bowl Selection
• Chad Johnson WR, AFC Pro-Bowl Selection
• Willie Anderson RT, AFC Pro-Bowl Selection
• Deltha O'Neal CB, AFC Pro-Bowl Selection

All-Pro Award

• Chad Johnson WR, 1st Team All-Pro
• Willie Anderson RT, 1st Team All-Pro
• Deltha O'Neal CB, 1st Team All-Pro

Milestones

• Carson Palmer's first six starts of the season, combined with his last three starts of 2004, made him only the second passer in NFL history to post nine straight games with a passer rating of 100 or more (Peyton Manning, 2004)
• Carson Palmer led the NFL in three major passing categories – TD passes (32), completion percentage (67.8) and TD-INT differential (32–12)^[7]
• Rudi Johnson, 2nd 1000 yard rushing season (1,458 yards)^[8]
• Chad Johnson 4th 1000 yard receiving season ^[9]
• Tab Perry, 1st 1000 yard return season (1,562 yards)^[10]

Records

• Cincinnati Bengals Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh set Bengals records for most receptions (175) and receiving yards (2,388) by a duo.
• The Bengals established a home season attendance record of 526,469 to break the mark of 524,248 set a season earlier.

References

1. Pro-Football-Reference.com: In multiple seasons, from 1991 to 2004, playing for the Cincinnati Bengals, in the regular season, sorted by descending Date.
2. Curnette, Mark (December 19, 2005). "Biggest splash of them all". Cincinnati Enquirer. Archived from the original on January 3, 2006.
3. Season summary and tatistics at Sports E Cyclopedia
4. "2005 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
5. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cin/2005.htm
6. Season summary and tatistics at Sports E Cyclopedia
7. http://www.nfl.com/player/chadjohnson/2504651/profile
8. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JohnRu00.htm
9. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/J/JohnCh01.htm
10. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/P/PerrTa00.htm

External links

• Official website
• 2005 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com