2021 Cincinnati Bengals
The 2021 Cincinnati Bengals went 10–7, finishing 1st in the AFC North, and lost the Super Bowl. They scored 460 points and allowed 376.
- Record
- 10–7
- Home
- 5–4
- Road & neutral
- 5–3
- Points
- 460–376
- AFC North
- Place 1 of 4
- Postseason
- Lost Super Bowl
Where the season ranked
They scored 460 points, tied for the seventh-most among the 32 teams, and allowed 376, the 16th-most. Their point differential was +84.
How the season unfolded
The Bengals started 3–1 and were 5–3 after eight games. They went 3–1 over the final four weeks to finish 10–7.
Their longest winning streak was three games, from Week 15 to Week 17.
Best and worst games
Their biggest win was 41–10 over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12 (November 28, 2021).
Their heaviest loss was 41–16 to the Cleveland Browns in Week 9 (November 7, 2021).
They scored a season-high 41 points against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 7 (October 24, 2021), winning 41–17.
In games decided by eight points or fewer, they went 4–5.
They played four games that went to overtime and went 2–2 in them.
Division and playoff opponents
They went 4–2 against the AFC North, sweeping the Steelers and the Ravens and getting swept by the Browns.
Against teams that reached the playoffs, they went 4–2 in the regular season.
Postseason
In the Wild Card round, they beat the Las Vegas Raiders 26–19 at home.
In the Divisional round, they beat the Tennessee Titans 19–16 on the road.
In the AFC Championship Game, they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27–24 on the road.
They lost Super Bowl LVI to the Los Angeles Rams, 23–20.
Before and after
That was a six-win improvement on 2020, when they went 4–11–1.
It was the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2015.
In 2022, they went 12–4 and returned to the playoffs.
2021 schedule and results
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Sep 12, 2021 | vs Minnesota Vikings | W 27–24 (OT) |
| Week 2 | Sep 19, 2021 | at Chicago Bears | L 17–20 |
| Week 3 | Sep 26, 2021 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 24–10 |
| Week 4 | Sep 30, 2021 | vs Jacksonville Jaguars | W 24–21 |
| Week 5 | Oct 10, 2021 | vs Green Bay Packers | L 22–25 (OT) |
| Week 6 | Oct 17, 2021 | at Detroit Lions | W 34–11 |
| Week 7 | Oct 24, 2021 | at Baltimore Ravens | W 41–17 |
| Week 8 | Oct 31, 2021 | at New York Jets | L 31–34 |
| Week 9 | Nov 7, 2021 | vs Cleveland Browns | L 16–41 |
| Week 11 | Nov 21, 2021 | at Las Vegas Raiders | W 32–13 |
| Week 12 | Nov 28, 2021 | vs Pittsburgh Steelers | W 41–10 |
| Week 13 | Dec 5, 2021 | vs Los Angeles Chargers | L 22–41 |
| Week 14 | Dec 12, 2021 | vs San Francisco 49ers | L 23–26 (OT) |
| Week 15 | Dec 19, 2021 | at Denver Broncos | W 15–10 |
| Week 16 | Dec 26, 2021 | vs Baltimore Ravens | W 41–21 |
| Week 17 | Jan 2, 2022 | vs Kansas City Chiefs | W 34–31 |
| Week 18 | Jan 9, 2022 | at Cleveland Browns | L 16–21 |
| Wild Card | Jan 15, 2022 | vs Las Vegas Raiders | W 26–19 |
| Divisional | Jan 22, 2022 | at Tennessee Titans | W 19–16 |
| Conference championship | Jan 30, 2022 | at Kansas City Chiefs | W 27–24 (OT) |
| Super Bowl | Feb 13, 2022 | vs Los Angeles Rams | L 20–23 |
Counted by WHYNFL from the final score of every 2021 game. Division place uses win percentage, then point differential; the NFL's full tiebreaker procedure is not applied.