Spikes entered the 1998 NFL Draft and was drafted in the first round by the Cincinnati Bengals.

In the 2011 NFL season, the Bengals improved to 9-7 and clinched a playoff spot.

The Cincinnati Bengals were unique in the NFL as they did not have uniform numbers on the players sleeves until the 1980 season.

Bengals quarterback Virgil Carter would be the first player to successfully implement Walsh's system, leading the NFL in pass completion percentage in 1971.

† Spent four of his nineteen NFL seasons with the Bengals.

In the first round of the NFL Playoffs, the Colts beat the Cincinnati Bengals 17 – 0 ; one week later in the AFC Championship, they beat the Oakland Raiders 27 – 17.

Chargers owner Eugene Klein tried to get the NFL and Bengals to postpone the game but he was turned down.

Super Bowl XVI was an American football game between the National Football Conference ( NFC ) champion San Francisco 49ers and the American Football Conference ( AFC ) champion Cincinnati Bengals to decide the National Football League ( NFL ) champion for the 1981 season.

Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson was the top rated passer in the league and won both the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award.

* NFL quarterback Jon Kitna — Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys.

* Barney Bussey-Former NFL player, played for the Cincinnati Bengals and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

* James Logan-1991 graduate of Opp High School who played football in the NFL for the Houston Oilers, Cincinnati Bengals, and Seattle Seahawks from 1995 – 2000, and played college football at Memphis State University.

* Lamar Rogers-Played football in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals from 1991-1992.

* Dre Kirkpatrick-First round draft pick of NFL Franchise, the Cincinnati Bengals.

* Antwan Odom-Professional football player, NFL, Cincinnati Bengals

* Glen Steele, professional football player, attended West Noble High School, University of Michigan, NFL Cincinnati Bengals

* Adam Kieft, lineman with the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL

* Boomer Esiason: Former NFL quarterback ( Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals )

* Boomer Esiason-Retired NFL Quarterback who played for the Bengals, Jets, and Cardinals was born in West Islip.

* Chinedum Ndukwe, NFL Football Player ( Cincinnati Bengals )

* Brian Pillman, professional football player with the NFL Cincinnati Bengals and WWE professional wrestler

Distinguished Massillon alumni include former Ohio State University, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals coach Paul Brown, and former Ohio State University player and former NFL All-Pro linebacker Chris Spielman.

* Jonathan Hayes, former NFL player with the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers, currently an assistant football coach with the Cincinnati Bengals

* Roddrick Muckelroy — NFL Cincinnati Bengals Linebacker 2010-present-Drafted 2010, University of Texas

* Forrest Gregg, SMU football, all Southwest Conference, All Pro-Green Bay Packers, Dallas Cowboys, NFL Coach-Cincinnati Bengals, NFL Hall of Famer.

With the completion of the merger in 1970, the Cleveland Browns were moved to the AFL-based American Football Conference and placed in the AFC Central, the same division as the Bengals.

In 1970 the Bengals moved to play at Riverfront Stadium, a home they shared with the Cincinnati Reds until the team moved to Paul Brown Stadium in 2000.

The Bengals have worn their black uniforms at home throughout their history, with some exceptions such as the 1970 season when the Bengals wore white at home for the entire season, and most of the 1971 season.

As 1970 approached, three NFL teams ( the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers ), agreed to join the ten AFL teams ( the Cincinnati Bengals and Miami Dolphins had joined the original Boston Patriots, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Houston Oilers, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Oakland Raiders, and San Diego Chargers ) to form the American Football Conference ( AFC ).

A career-ending injury to Cook before the 1970 season forced the Bengals to rely on Virgil Carter, an emergency backup who could make accurate short passes but could not heave the ball like Cook once could.

The Bengals lost their first meeting with the Browns 30 – 27 in 1970, and Brown was booed when he did not come on the field to shake Collier's hand after the game.

In his years as the Bengals ' head coach, Brown took the team to the playoffs three times, including in 1970.

Riverfront Stadium ( 1970 – 1995 ), later known as Cinergy Field ( 1996 – 2002 ), was the home of the Cincinnati Reds National League baseball team and the Cincinnati Bengals National Football League team.

After playing for two seasons at Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati campus, the Bengals built on the Reds ' success in the stadium's first year when they recorded their first winning season and first playoff appearance in 1970, just their third year of existence.

It was the home field of the National League's Cincinnati Reds from 1912 through June 24, 1970, and the original Cincinnati Bengals football team, members of the second ( 1937 ) and third American Football League ( 1940 – 41 ).

* Mike Kelly ( tight end ) ( born 1943 ), tight end in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints, 1970 – 1973

After losing franchise QB Greg Cook to an eventual career ending shoulder injury in 1970, Anderson was drafted 67th overall in the 1971 NFL Draft by the Bengals.

He is the first Bengals coach to win the award since team founder Paul Brown in 1970.

* Ken Anderson ( 1970 )-NFL Quarterback with the Cincinnati Bengals for 16 seasons.

From 1968 – 1970, Wyche played for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Carl McNally Pickens ( born March 23, 1970 ) is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL who played for the Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans.

*: Category: Cincinnati Bengals players ( 1970 –)

However, the Bengals were an AFL expansion team in 1968 AFL season ( the Steelers and Browns joined the AFC from the NFL in 1970 ), although the Bengals joining the AFL was contingent on the team joining the NFL after the AFL-NFL merger was finalized in 1970, as Paul Brown was not a supporter of the AFL.

Although the Bengals won the first AFC Central Division Championship in 1970, the Steelers dominated the division for most of the 1970s, a decade that also saw them win four Super Bowls.

The Bengals ( along with the Oilers ) moved to the AFC Central ( formerly the NFL Century, now the AFC North ) in 1970, instantly forming rivalries with the Cleveland Browns and the Pittsburgh Steelers.