1974 Cincinnati Bengals season

The 1974 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's fifth season in the National Football League, and the 7th overall. Cincinnati traded Bill Bergey to Philadelphia for two first-round draft choices and a third-round pick in 1977. Jim LeClair replaced Bergey at middle linebacker. Ken Anderson won the NFL passing championship and completed a club-record 64.9 percent of his attempts. Cornerback Lemar Parrish led the NFL in punt returns.

1974 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home stadium	Riverfront Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	3rd AFC Central
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1973 Bengals seasons 1975 →

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1974 NFL draft

1974 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	23	Bill Kollar	Defensive tackle	Montana State
2	48	Charlie Davis	Running back	Colorado
3	61	Dave Lapham	Guard	Syracuse
3	73	Evan Jolitz	Linebacker	Cincinnati
4	87	Mike Boryla *	Quarterback	Stanford
4	98	Darryl White	Guard	Nebraska
4	103	Richard Williams	Wide receiver	Abilene Christian
5	114	Haskel Stanback	Running back	Tennessee
5	127	Richard Bishop	Defensive tackle	Louisville
6	152	Robin Sinclair	Defensive back	Washington State
6	153	Bill Bryant	Defensive back	Grambling State
7	177	Ken Sawyer	Defensive back	Syracuse
8	202	John McDaniel	Wide receiver	Lincoln (MO)
9	231	Edward Johnson	Defensive end	SMU
10	256	Chuck Herd	Tight end	Penn State
11	281	Ed Kezirian	Offensive tackle	UCLA
12	306	Rudy McClinon	Defensive back	Xavier
13	335	Ted Jornou	Linebacker	Iowa State
14	360	Mike Phillips	Offensive tackle	Cornell
15	385	Isaac Jackson	Running back	Kansas State
16	410	Darryl Bishop	Defensive back	Kentucky
17	439	Jim Smith	Running back	North Carolina Central
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[1]

Personnel

Staff

1974 Cincinnati Bengals staff

Front office Team Owner - Paul Brown President – John Sawyer Director of player personnel – Pete Brown Head coaches Head coach/General Manager – Paul Brown Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Receivers – Bill Walsh Offensive backfield – Jack Donaldson Offensive line – Bill Johnson

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/defensive backfield – Chuck Weber Defensive line – Chuck Studley Linebackers – Howard Brinker

Roster

1974 Cincinnati Bengals roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Ken Anderson 11 Wayne Clark 12 Greg Cook Running backs (RB) 42 Boobie Clark 26 Charlie Davis 44 Doug Dressler 36 Lenvil Elliott 43 Ed Williams Wide receivers (WR) 85 Isaac Curtis 18 Charlie Joiner 86 John McDaniel 25 Chip Myers Tight ends (TE) 81 Al Chandler 88 Bruce Coslet 84 Bob Trumpy

Offensive linemen (OL) 72 Howard Fest G 54 Bob Johnson C 62 Dave Lapham T/G 73 Pat Matson G 71 Rufus Mayes T 64 John Shinners G 75 Stan Walters T Defensive linemen (DL) 82 Royce Berry DE 70 Ron Carpenter DT 68 Bill Kollar DT 74 Mike Reid DT 77 Bob Maddox DE 80 Ken Johnson DE 83 Sherman White DE

Linebackers (LB) 52 Doug Adams MLB 51 Ken Avery MLB 58 Al Beauchamp OLB 57 Evan Jolitz OLB 56 Tim Kearney OLB 50 Vic Koegel OLB 55 Jim LeClair MLB 60 Ron Pritchard OLB Defensive backs (DB) 29 Lyle Blackwood SS 37 Tommy Casanova FS 23 Bernard Jackson SS 32 Bob Jones CB/S 20 Lemar Parrish CB 13 Ken Riley CB 22 Ken Sawyer FS Special teams (ST) 41 Dave Green P 16 Horst Mühlmann K

Reserve 76 Vernon Holland T (IR) 19 Essex Johnson RB (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 15	Cleveland Browns	W 33–7	1–0	Riverfront Stadium	53,113	Recap
2	September 22	San Diego Chargers	L 17–20	1–1	Riverfront Stadium	51,178	Recap
3	September 29	at San Francisco 49ers	W 21–3	2–1	Candlestick Park	49,895	Recap
4	October 6	Washington Redskins	W 28–17	3–1	Riverfront Stadium	56,175	Recap
5	October 13	at Cleveland Browns	W 34–24	4–1	Cleveland Stadium	70,897	Recap
6	October 20	at Oakland Raiders	L 27–30	4–2	Oakland Coliseum	51,821	Recap
7	October 27	Houston Oilers	L 21–34	4–3	Riverfront Stadium	55,434	Recap
8	November 3	at Baltimore Colts	W 24–14	5–3	Memorial Stadium	36,110	Recap
9	November 10	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 17–10	6–3	Riverfront Stadium	57,532	Recap
10	November 17	at Houston Oilers	L 3–20	6–4	Astrodome	44,054	Recap
11	November 24	Kansas City Chiefs	W 33–6	7–4	Riverfront Stadium	49,777	Recap
12	December 2	at Miami Dolphins	L 3–24	7–5	Miami Orange Bowl	71,962	Recap
13	December 8	Detroit Lions	L 19–23	7–6	Riverfront Stadium	45,159	Recap
14	December 14	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 3–27	7–7	Three Rivers Stadium	42,878	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC Central
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Pittsburgh Steelers	10	3	1	.750	4–2	7–3–1	305	189	W2
Houston Oilers	7	7	0	.500	4–2	7–4	236	282	W1
Cincinnati Bengals	7	7	0	.500	3–3	5–6	283	259	L3
Cleveland Browns	4	10	0	.286	1–5	3–8	251	344	L2

Team stats

1974 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATS	Bengals	Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS
Rushing
Passing
Penalty
TOTAL NET YARDS
Avg Per Game
Total Plays
Avg. Per Play
NET YARDS RUSHING
Avg. Per Game
Total Rushes
NET YARDS PASSING
Avg. Per Game
Sacked Yards Lost
Gross Yards
Att. Completions
Completion Pct.
Intercepted
PUNTS-AVERAGE
PENALTIES-YARDS
FUMBLES-BALL LOST
TOUCHDOWNS
Rushing
Passing
Returns

Score by Periods	1	2	3	4	Tot
Bengals
Opponents

Team leaders

• Passing: Ken Anderson (328 Att, 213 Comp, 2667 Yds, 64.9 Pct, 18 TD, 10 Int, 95.7 Rating)
• Rushing: Charlie Davis (72 Att, 375 Yds, 5.2 Avg, 29 Long, 0 TD)
• Receiving: Isaac Curtis (30 Rec, 633 Yds, 21.1 Avg, 77 Long, 10 TD)
• Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 65 points (11 FG; 32 PAT)

Awards and records

Pro Bowl Selection