Cincinnati Bengals 1975 Record:  11 wins and 3 losses

The Bengals opened their season with six straight wins a first in Bengals history.   Quarterback Ken Anderson made a statement with his performance on the year by passing for 3,169 yards, throwing for 21 touchdowns, and having a 93.9 passing rating.  The Bengals finally lost their first game in week 7 against the Super Bowl defending Pittsburgh Steelers at Riverfront Stadium.  With 58, 418 fans on hand for the game it was the largest crowd the entire season.  The Bengals ended up losing 30-24, and the loss allowed the Steelers to jump back into 1st Place.

On November 17th, the Bengals played one of the greatest games in Monday Night Football History.  It was Ken Anderson vs. OJ Simpson and the Buffalo Bills.  OJ Simpson ran for 197 yards, but Ken Anderson threw for 447 yards and the Bengals eat the bills before a hometown Cincinnati crowd of 56,666.  The final score was 33-24.  The Bengals only lost two more games the entire year. 

They finished the season with an 11-3 record, which was the best record in Bengals franchise history and good enough for the 1975 AFC Wild Card. In the Divisional Playoffs the Bengals faced a very tough Oakland Raider team in Oakland.  The Raiders had a comfortable lead going into halftime.  The Bengals only score in the first half was a 1 yard run by Running Back Stan Fritts. Lenvil Elliot's 6-yard touchdown cut the lead down to 24-14.  In the fourth quarter Ken Anderson threw 2 touchdown passes a 26 yard score to Charlie Joyner and a 14 yard toss to Isaac Curtis to pull within 3 points of the Raiders.  The Bengals recovered a Raider fumble deep in Oakland Raiders territory but the Raiders stopped the Cincinnati offense on fourth down and ran out the clock to win the game   31-28. 

Ken Anderson won the NFL passing championship.  Paul Brown would retire from coaching, to concentrate solely on his duties as owner, and GM. Mike Reid the Bengals All Pro Defensive Linemen left pro football after undergoing knee surgery to pursue his musical career.  He was only 26 year old.  Ken Anderson, Lamar Parish, and Isaac Curtis were all named to the Pro Bowl Team.

Scored 335 points (23.9/g), 6th of 28 in the NFL.
Allowed 210 points (15.0/g), 7th.
Differential of 125 points (8.9/g), 6th.