Michael Hull

In the weeks leading up to training camp, we will take a look back at a few of the most pivotal seasons in Bengals history. Cincinnati made its second Super Bowl appearance behind an MVP season from QB Boom Esiason in 1988.

Season Summary

After a 4-11 season in 1987, head coach Sam Wyche and the Bengals entered the 1988 season clouded with uncertainty. Wyche even joked that he was on a seven-day renewable contract early in the season, unsure if he would last the year at the helm.

Cincinnati started off the 1988 campaign hot, rattling off six straight victories, the first four of which were all by one score. A defensive stand for the win in Week 1 against the Phoenix Cardinals was then followed by a game-winning touchdown drive by the offense in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"There were a lot of people that said coach (Wyche) was going to be fired, that I would be traded and this team would fall apart," Esiason said during the winning streak. "I thank all those people who didn't really give us a chance this year because that is what's really gotten us going."

Esiason led the top-ranked offense in the league, tossing 28 touchdowns on his way to winning Associated Press Most Valuable Player. WR Eddie Brown was his favorite target, hauling in 53 receptions for 1,273 yards and nine touchdowns and was a finalist for Associated Press Offensive Player of the Year.

However, the Cincinnati rushing attack stole the show, finishing as the league leader in rushing yards per game (169.4). Veteran RB James Brooks tallied over 900 yards on 5.1 yards per carry, while rookie FB Ickey Woods rumbled for 5.3 yards per carry, 1,066 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns.

Defensively, the Bengals were anchored by nose tackle and 2024 Ring of Honor inductee Tim Krumrie. Krumrie, who finished seventh in Defensive Player of the Year voting, led a unit that forced 46 turnovers (22 interceptions and 24 fumble recoveries) and tallied 41 sacks on the season. CB Eric Thomas led the way with seven interceptions, while S David Fulcher grabbed five.

The Bengals clinched the AFC Central with a 12-4 record, an eight-win increase from 1987. Unbeaten during the regular season at home, Cincinnati hosted the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Round of the 1988 playoffs at Riverfront Stadium.

The home team kept their record clean, beating the Seahawks 21-13. The ground game dominated the day, compiling a season-high 254 rushing yards. Woods carried the ball 23 times for 126 yards and a touchdown, Brooks had 72 yards on 13 carries and FB Stanley Wilson added two touchdown plunges of his own. On the flip side, Krumrie and the Bengals defense suffocated the Seattle rushing game, allowing just 22 yards on the ground. The MVP Esiason completed only seven passes in the victory.

The rushing attack proved itself again in the AFC Championship against the Bills, as Cincinnati ran for 175 yards on 50 carries in the 21-10 victory. Defensively, Cincinnati did not allow Buffalo to convert on third or fourth down the entire game, holding them to 0-11 in those spots. The Bills mustered just 53 yards on offense in the second half, and the Bengals were headed to Miami for Super Bowl XXIII.

Joe Montana and the San Francisco 49ers were waiting for the Bengals in South Beach. San Francisco went 10-6 in the regular season and rolled through the postseason with dominant wins over the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. RB Roger Craig finished third in MVP voting and won Offensive Player of the Year, compiling over 2,000 total yards of offense.

Cincinnati entered as underdogs in a game then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle would call the most exciting Super Bowl in history to that point. The Bengals lost a crucial piece in the first quarter, as Krumrie broke his leg and was out for the game. Despite losing their nose tackle, Cincinnati held San Francisco out of the end zone in the first half, and the score was knotted at 3-3 as the teams went into the locker room.

The teams traded field goals again in the third quarter to tie things up at six. Late in the period, Cincinnati's special teams made the biggest play of the day: HB Stanford Jennings housed a 93-yard kickoff return to give the Bengals a 13-6 lead. The 49ers responded quickly with a four-play drive that resulted in WR and game MVP Jerry Rice finding the end zone. Rice finished the night with 11 catches for 215 yards.

As the clock continued to wind down, Bengals K Jim Breech hit his third field goal of the day from 40 yards out, giving Cincinnati the lead with 3:20 remaining. San Francisco wasn't done, though. Montana orchestrated an 11-play, 92-yard drive, capped off by a 10-yard touchdown pass to WR John Taylor with 34 seconds remaining, and the 49ers won their third Super Bowl of the 1980s.

Notables

On top of Esiason's MVP, Wyche was named NFL Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association, in large part due tohis normalization of the no huddle offense. While teams had used versions of no huddle in two-minute situations, no one used it as their base offense until Wyche and the Bengals. In fact, ahead of the AFC Championship, the Bills attempted to get the offense banned. The NFL listened, not allowing Cincinnati to run its offense in the game. After the Bengals won, there were further discussions, and the NFL eventually overturned its decision and allowed Cincinnati to run the offense in the Super Bowl.

Woods's rookie season was memorable for his play, but his legacy has lasted due to his celebration. The "Ickey Shuffle" took the league by storm in 1988 and became iconic on a national level, lastingeven to today in popular culturethrough commercials and TV show references.

LB Reggie Williams became the first and only Bengal to serve on Cincinnati City Council, and received Sports Illustrated's "Sportsman of the Year" award in 1988, an honor presented to him by President Ronald Reagan at the White House.

A franchise-record nine Bengals made the Pro Bowl in 1988: Brooks, Brown, Esiason, Fulcher, Krumrie, Thomas, TE Rodney Holman, G Max Montoya and OT Anthony Munoz.