2003 Cincinnati Bengals season

2003 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head coach	Marvin Lewis
Home field	Paul Brown Stadium
Results
Record	8–8
Division place	2nd AFC North
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

The 2003 Cincinnati Bengals season was the franchise's 34th season in the National Football League, the 36th overall, and the first under head coach Marvin Lewis, who replaced Dick LeBeau, who was fired following the 2002 season after the worst season in Bengals history. The Bengals had the first overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft with which they selected 2002 Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. After a slow start, the Bengals got hot winning at midseason, winning four straight games to stand at 7–5, entering a key Week 14 matchup with the Baltimore Ravens with a chance to win the division. However, in the key showdown for first place the Bengals showed they were not quite ready for primetime as they were beaten 31–13. The Bengals would rebound to win their next game against the San Francisco 49ers, but at 8–6 the Bengals could not get that ninth win, losing their last two games to spoil an effort to earn their first winning season in 13 years, finishing at 8–8.

Along with Willie Anderson, Chad Johnson, for the first time in his career, was named to the Pro Bowl at the end of the season.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 2003 NFL Draft

2003 Cincinnati Bengals draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	1	Carson Palmer *	Quarterback	USC
2	33	Eric Steinbach *	Guard	Iowa
3	65	Kelley Washington	Wide receiver	Tennessee
4	98	Dennis Weathersby	Cornerback	Oregon State
4	118	Jeremi Johnson	Fullback	Western Kentucky
5	136	Khalid Abdullah	Linebacker	Mars Hill
6	174	Langston Moore	Defensive tackle	South Carolina
7	215	Scott Kooistra	Offensive tackle	North Carolina State
7	259	Elton Patterson	Defensive end	UCF
Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

2003 Cincinnati Bengals staff
	Front office President – Mike Brown Head coaches Head Coach – Marvin Lewis Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line – Paul Alexander Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator – Bob Bratkowski Quarterbacks – Ken Zampese Running Backs – Jim Anderson Wide Receivers – Alex Wood Tight Ends – Jonathan Hayes Offensive Assistant – Bob Surace			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Leslie Frazier Defensive Line – Jay Hayes Linebackers – Ricky Hunley Defensive Backs – Kevin Coyle Assistant Defensive Backs – Louie Cioffi Special teams coaches Special Teams – Darrin Simmons Strength and conditioning Strength and Conditioning – Chip Morton Assistant Strength and Conditioning – Kurtis Shultz

Roster

2003 Cincinnati Bengals final roster
	Quarterbacks  3 Jon Kitna  6 Shane Matthews  9 Carson Palmer Running backs 36 Brandon Bennett KR 28 Corey Dillon 37 Jeremi Johnson FB 32 Rudi Johnson 33 Kenny Watson Wide receivers 84 T. J. Houshmandzadeh 85 Chad Johnson 83 Kevin Walter 80 Peter Warrick PR 87 Kelley Washington Tight ends 82 Reggie Kelly 89 Matt Schobel 86 Tony Stewart		Offensive linemen 71 Willie Anderson T 74 Rich Braham C 63 Mike Goff G 76 Levi Jones T 75 Scott Kooistra T 77 Victor Leyva G 79 Scott Rehberg G/T 65 Eric Steinbach G 62 Alex Sulfsted G 66 Thatcher Szalay C Defensive linemen 92 Duane Clemons DE 99 Oliver Gibson DT 60 Langston Moore DT 98 Elton Patterson DE 91 Carl Powell DE 90 Justin Smith DE 70 Glen Steele DT 97 John Thornton DT 94 Tony Williams DT		Linebackers 53 Khalid Abdullah OLB 59 Frank Chamberlin OLB 51 Kevin Hardy MLB 50 Riall Johnson OLB 56 Brian Simmons OLB Defensive backs 45 Rogers Beckett SS 21 Jeff Burris CB 27 Artrell Hawkins CB 26 Tory James CB 34 Kevin Kaesviharn FS 44 Marquand Manuel SS 37 Reggie Myles CB 30 Terrell Roberts CB 20 Mark Roman FS 23 Dennis Weathersby CB Special teams 17 Shayne Graham K 10 Kyle Richardson P 48 Brad St. Louis LS/TE		Reserve lists 52 Dwayne Levels LB (IR) 10px 72 Matt O'Dwyer G (IR) 10px 57 Adrian Ross LB (IR) 10px Practice squad 73 Belton Johnson OT 42 Ricot Joseph S 35 James Lynch FB 64 Mike Mabry C 93 Greg Scott DE Rookies in italics 53 Active, 3 Inactive, 5 Practice squad

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Kickoff Time	Attendance
1	September 7, 2003	Denver Broncos	L 30–10	CBS 1:00pm	63,820
2	September 14, 2003	at Oakland Raiders	L 23–20	CBS 4:15pm	50,135
3	September 21, 2003	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 17–10	CBS 1:00pm	64,596
4	September 28, 2003	at Cleveland Browns	W 21–14	CBS 1:00pm	73,428
5	October 5, 2003	at Buffalo Bills	L 22–16	CBS 1:00pm	72,615
6	Bye
7	October 19, 2003	Baltimore Ravens	W 34–26	CBS 1:00pm	53,553
8	October 26, 2003	Seattle Seahawks	W 27–24	FOX 1:00pm	52,131
9	November 2, 2003	at Arizona Cardinals	L 17–14	CBS 4:05pm	23,531
10	November 9, 2003	Houston Texans	W 34–27	CBS 1:00pm	50,437
11	November 16, 2003	Kansas City Chiefs	W 24–19	CBS 1:00pm	64,923
12	November 23, 2003	at San Diego Chargers	W 34–27	CBS 4:15pm	52,069
13	November 30, 2003	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 24–20	CBS 1:00pm	58,797
14	December 7, 2003	at Baltimore Ravens	L 31–13	CBS 1:00pm	69,468
15	December 14, 2003	San Francisco 49ers	W 41–38	FOX 1:00pm	64,666
16	December 21, 2003	at St. Louis Rams	L 27–10	CBS 1:00pm	66,061
17	December 28, 2003	Cleveland Browns	L 22–14	CBS 1:00pm	65,362

Standings

AFC North
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
(4) Baltimore Ravens	10	6	0	.625	4–2	7–5	391	281	W2
Cincinnati Bengals	8	8	0	.500	3–3	6–6	346	384	L2
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	10	0	.375	3–3	5–7	300	327	L1
Cleveland Browns	5	11	0	.313	2–4	3–9	254	322	W1

Team leaders

Passing

Player	Att	Comp	Yds	TD	INT	Rating
Jon Kitna	324	520	3591	26	15	87.4

Rushing

Player	Att	Yds	YPC	Long	TD
Rudi Johnson	215	957	4.5	54	9

Receiving

Player	Rec	Yds	Avg	Long	TD
Chad Johnson	90	1355	15.1	82	10

Defensive

Player	Tackles	Sacks	INTs	FF	FR
Kevin Hardy	124	1.5	0	1	1
Duane Clemons	63	6.0	0	1	1
John Thornton	60	6.0	0	1	2
Tory James	68	1.0	4	0	0

Kicking and punting

Player	FGA	FGM	FG%	XPA	XPM	XP%	Points
Shayne Graham	25	22	88.0%	40	40	100.0%	106

Player	Punts	Yards	Long	Blkd	Avg.
Kyle Richardson	49	1961	58	0	40.0

Special teams

Player	KR	KRYards	KRAvg	KRLong	KRTD	PR	PRYards	PRAvg	PRLong	PRTD
Brandon Bennett	53	1146	21.6	46	0	0	0	0.0	0	0
Peter Warrick	0	0	0.0	0	0	25	273	10.9	68	1

Awards and records

Pro Bowl Selections

• Chad Johnson WR, AFC Pro-Bowl Selection
• Willie Anderson RT, AFC Pro-Bowl Selection
• Jon Kitna QB, NFL Comeback Player of the Year

Milestones

• Chad Johnson 2nd 1000 yard receiving season (1,355 yards)
• Brandon Bennett 2nd 1000-yard return season (1,146 yards)

External links

• Official website
• 2003 Cincinnati Bengals at Pro-Football-Reference.com