2002 Cincinnati Bengals season
The 2002 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 33rd season in the National Football League, 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 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.
| 2002 Cincinnati Bengals season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Dick LeBeau |
| Home field | Paul Brown Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–14 |
| Division place | 4th AFC North |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
| Pro Bowlers | FB Lorenzo Neal |
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.[1]
Offseason
| Additions | Subtractions |
|---|---|
| QB 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
| 2002 Cincinnati Bengals draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | Levi Jones | Offensive tackle | Arizona State | |
| 2 | 41 | Lamont Thompson | Safety | Washington State | |
| 3 | 67 | Matt Schobel | Tight end | TCU | |
| 4 | 109 | Travis Dorsch | Punter | Purdue | |
| 6 | 181 | Marquand Manuel | Safety | Florida | |
| 7 | 219 | Joey Evans | Defensive end | North Carolina | |
| Made roster | |||||
Undrafted free agents
| Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|
| Dwayne Levels | Linebacker | Oklahoma State |
| Reggie Myles | Defensive back | Alabama |
| Thatcher Szalay | Center | Montana |
Personnel
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
Special teams coaches
Strength and conditioning
| |||||
Roster
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8, 2002 | San Diego Chargers | L 34–6 | 0–1 | 53,705 |
| 2 | September 15, 2002 | at Cleveland Browns | L 20–7 | 0–2 | 73,358 |
| 3 | September 22, 2002 | at Atlanta Falcons | L 30–3 | 0–3 | 68,129 |
| 4 | September 29, 2002 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | L 35–7 | 0–4 | 57,234 |
| 5 | October 6, 2002 | at Indianapolis Colts | L 28–21 | 0–5 | 56,570 |
| 6 | October 13, 2002 | Pittsburgh Steelers | L 34–7 | 0–6 | 63,900 |
| 7 | Bye | ||||
| 8 | October 27, 2002 | Tennessee Titans | L 30–24 | 0–7 | 52,822 |
| 9 | November 3, 2002 | at Houston Texans | W 38–3 | 1–7 | 69,827 |
| 10 | November 10, 2002 | at Baltimore Ravens | L 38–27 | 1–8 | 69,024 |
| 11 | November 17, 2002 | Cleveland Browns | L 27–20 | 1–9 | 64,060 |
| 12 | November 24, 2002 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 29–21 | 1–10 | 60,473 |
| 13 | December 1, 2002 | Baltimore Ravens | L 27–23 | 1–11 | 44,878 |
| 14 | December 8, 2002 | at Carolina Panthers | L 52–31 | 1–12 | 66,799 |
| 15 | December 15, 2002 | Jacksonville Jaguars | L 29–15 | 1–13 | 42,092 |
| 16 | December 22, 2002 | New Orleans Saints | W 20–13 | 2–13 | 43,544 |
| 17 | December 29, 2002 | at Buffalo Bills | L 27–9 | 2–14 | 47,850 |
Game summaries
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengals | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| Bills | 6 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 27 |
at Ralph Wilson Stadium, Orchard Park, New York
- Date: December 29, 2002
- Game time: 1:00 pm
- Game weather: Cloudy, 35 °F (2 °C)
- Game attendance: 47,850
- Referee: Mike Carey (94)
- TV: CBS
- Recap, Game Book
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
Standings
| AFC North | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| (3) Pittsburgh Steelers | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 6–0 | 8–4 | 390 | 345 | W3 |
| (6) Cleveland Browns | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 344 | 320 | W5 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 3–3 | 7–5 | 316 | 354 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 0–6 | 1–11 | 279 | 456 | L1 |
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) season[3]
References
- Season statistics and summary at Sports E-Cyclopedia
- "2002 Cincinnati Bengals draftees". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
- Corey Dilon, RB at NFL