The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The club's home games are held in downtown Cincinnati at Paycor Stadium.
The Bengals won the AFC championship in 1981, 1988, and 2021. After the first two conference championships, they lost to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowls XVI and XXIII. The 1990s and the early 2000s were a period of great struggle. During that era they were occasionally referred to as "The Bungles," a term coined by Steelers broadcaster Myron Cope,[10] due to their struggles and poor performance.[11][12][13][14] Following the 1990 season, the team went 14 years without posting a winning record, nor qualifying to play in the NFL playoffs. The Bengals had several head coaches, and several of their top draft picks did not pan out. The team does not have an official general manager; however, owner Mike Brown handles the normal day-to-day operations a general manager would typically handle.[15] In a 2011 survey, Brown was rated as among the worst team owners in American professional sports.[16] The team's fortunes improved in the mid-2000s and they continued up until the mid-2010s, which saw them become more consistent postseason contenders, but they continued to struggle past the regular season.[17][18][19][20] The turning point for the Bengals was during the 2021 season, when they won their first playoff game in 31 years and advanced to Super Bowl LVI, their first appearance in the Super Bowl in 33 years, where they lost to the Los Angeles Rams.[21] In 2023 they clinched their division and finished with a record of 12-4 before playing the Baltimore Ravens and winning 24-17 advancing to play the Buffalo Bills. On January 22, they defeated the Bills 27-10 in Orchard Park, New York to return the AFC Championship for the second straight season
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