WEEKLY NEWS RELEASE JAN. 7, 2015 DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS AGAIN, BUT BENGALS GOALS STILL UNMET

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1 CINCINNATI BENGALS One Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio (513) administrative offices (513) administrative fax (513) 621-TDTD (8383) ticket office WEEKLY NEWS RELEASE JAN. 7, 2015 DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS AGAIN, BUT BENGALS GOALS STILL UNMET The Bengals built on positive history in 2014 first Cincinnati club with a fourth straight winning record, first with four straight trips to the playoffs. But the playoff opportunity went unrealized again. Indianapolis downed Cincinnati in the Wild Card round last week, marking four straight years of Bengals firstround exits. So despite being one of only four NFL teams to have made the playoffs every year since 2011, the club faces a road to and through 2015 that will require determination, resolve and a measure of stubbornness. It cuts deep, it hurts deep, and there are no words to make it better, said Marvin Lewis, Bengals head coach since We have to realize that, get over it as best we can like true professionals, and start working to beat down the door again. We have to get better, and we can. We ve got young players, and veterans to lead them. We know there s disappointment out there, but that s no excuse to feel sorry for ourselves. We go back to work for this team, the organization, and our fans. The bar is set high, despite the postseason disappointment. The Bengals rank tied for sixth in the NFL since 2011 in wins (40), so the push to improve starts from an altitude most teams are only trying to reach. The playoffs aren t guaranteed to anyone, said QB Andy Dalton, who at age 27 is at author of a franchise-best.633 regular-season winning percentage for a starting QB. You work very hard to get to this point, when you re one of only 12 teams that have earned the right to keep playing, and you feel good about that. But you know it ll be a tough road to get back and then have another chance to get over the hump. I know I have to work even harder and be even better next year. I m ready to take the criticism, said SS George Iloka, who ll be 25 when the 2015 season begins. And then it s time for me to do everything I can to get back to this point and then move forward. LOT Andrew Whitworth, a team captain, is one of the Bengals with not quite so many years left. He ll be in his 10th season in 2015 and will turn 34 next December. From his veteran perspective, the team is justified looking back on 14 with some satisfaction. You don t get into the playoffs four straight years without doing something right, he said. You can t fail to be proud of that or fail to realize that whatever the disappointment, you re better off and better placed than most teams as we head into another year. Every year you form a new team with new elements and new chemistry, built on top of the core you have. This 2014 team, I think, battled more adversity than some of the past ones and still came out with 10 wins and a playoff spot. That s not all you want for yourself or for your fans, but you keep working hard and knowing that some years, you ll get a few breaks you maybe didn t get the year before. The Bengals best hope for a better offensive year in 2015 centers on a receiving corps that could be vastly better than 14. Flagship WR A.J. Green endured the toughest of his four pro seasons from an injury standpoint and was out for the Colts game. Talented third-year pro Marvin Jones will be back for 15 after missing all of this past season with an ankle injury. At tight end, another strong offensive threat, second-year pro Tyler Eifert, missed all but one game in 14 due to shoulder and elbow injuries. Then there s the rushing game, which ranked sixth in the NFL in 2014 at yards per game and has youth on its side in a big way for further improvement. HB Jeremy Hill emerged in 14 as one of the NFL s best, gaining 1124 yards with a 5.1 average, and the 235-pounder has a highly talented sidekick in Giovani Bernard, who will be in only his third season in Defensively, the Bengals will look in 2015 for the return of LB Vontaze Burfict, a Pro Bowl tackling machine in 13 who saw only scant 14 action due to END-OF-SEASON NOTES 1 injuries. DT Geno Atkins, an All-Pro selection in 2011 and 12, figures to be back at top form after spending 14 as not quite the same player he was previously, working his way back from a serious 13 knee injury. The defensive secondary could be in for something of a transition year, but young first-round draft choices Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard came on strong at the end of 14 and should be ready for more playing time if veteran front-liners need more assistance. I don t know any other way but to fight through the initial disappointment and get back to work, said Lewis. Nobody s feeling sorry for us and we sure as heck can t feel sorry for ourselves. We need to take some satisfaction in what we did accomplish but know that it isn t nearly good enough, and know that we re all getting paid to work even harder and do even better. We need to win in the playoffs, said Dalton, but our goal is not to just win one game. It s to go to the Super Bowl and win that game. Right now there s eight teams still playing, and we re with the 24 who are looking to next season. Even though we lost (at Indianapolis), I don t feel bad that 20 of those 24 teams didn t even have the opportunity to win a playoff game. And seven more teams are going to end the year short of where they wanted to be. The goal is to be the one team next year that finishes with a postseason win and there s no reason to believe we can t be that team. BENGALS FINAL 2014 NFL RANKINGS BENGALS SCORING (AVERAGE POINTS): Points scored... 15th (23.2) Points allowed... 12th (21.1) NET OFFENSE (AVERAGE YARDS Total... 15th (348.0) Rushing... 6th (134.2) Passing... 21st (213.8) NET (AVERAGE YARDS): Total... 22nd (359.3) Rushing... 20th (116.3) Passing... 20th (243.0) TURNOVERS: Differential... T-16th (even) Red-zone report: The Bengals were better than average both offensively and defensively in the red zone in 2014, 11th in offensive TD percentage and 10th on defense. The team s red-zone play in the Wild Card playoff loss at Indianapolis was also not so bad. The offense mustered only one drive with snaps taken inside the Colts 20, but a touchdown was the result of that chance. The defense allowed the Colts four chances but, Indianapolis netted only one TD and was three times held to field goals. BENGALS FINAL 2014 RED-ZONE REPORT OFFENSE Inside-20 possessions: 49 Inside-20 possessions: 55 Total scores: 45 (91.8%) Total scores: 44 (80.0%) TDs: 28 (57.1%) TDs: 27 (49.1%) FGs: 17 (34.7%) FGs: 17 (31.0%) TD% rank: 11th TD% rank: 10th No scores: 4 (8.2%) No scores: 11 (20.0%)

2 (End-of-season notes, continued) Fab four: The Bengals are one of only four NFL teams to make the playoffs in each of the last four seasons. The others to qualify every year since 2011 are Denver, Green Bay and New England. The Bengals also are one of five teams to qualify in at least five of the last six seasons. Green Bay and New England have qualified all six seasons since 2009, while the Bengals, Baltimore and Indianapolis have qualified five times. The head coach: Marvin Lewis has the most wins of any Bengals coach, and by a wide margin. He hit the 100 mark in 2014, good for a margin of 36 over Sam Wyche (64). Lewis record is in the regular season and including postseason. Lewis in 14 extended his tenure to 12 seasons, also a Bengals record. He has led the team to the postseason in five of the last six years, including four straight. The Bengals are one of only four NFL teams to be in the playoffs every year since 2011, and they are also one of only five clubs to qualify as many as five times in the last six years. In total, Lewis has coached six Bengals playoff teams, another franchise record. Paul Brown is second in the category, with three. Lewis has coached three division champions, one more than Paul Brown and Sam Wyche. The Bengals logged their third straight season of double-digit wins in 2014, finishing Cincinnati closed a half-game behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North Division and went to the playoffs as the first Wild Card, falling at AFC South champion Indianapolis. In 2013, Lewis led an 11-5 season, winning the AFC North by three games over both Baltimore and Pittsburgh. In a 2009 title season in which the Bengals swept all six division games and won the North title, Lewis was the consensus choice as NFL Coach of the Year. Lewis also led Cincinnati to an AFC North title in Lewis ranks second in the NFL in longest current tenure with one team, trailing only Bill Belichick, who is in his 15th straight season with New England. In the category of most seasons as an active NFL head coach with one or more teams, Lewis in 2014 ranks sixth behind Belichick (20th season in 14), Jeff Fisher (20), Tom Coughlin (19), the Andy Reid (16) and John Fox (13). Lewis was named the ninth head coach in Bengals history on Jan. 14, In 02, he directed the NFL s fifth-ranked defense with Washington, serving as assistant head coach in addition to his role as defensive coordinator. Prior to his year with the Redskins, he was a record-setting defensive coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. His six seasons with the Ravens ( ) included a Super Bowl victory following the 00 season. In the 00 season, Lewis Baltimore defense set the NFL record for fewest points allowed in a 16-game campaign (165), and the 00 Ravens are always included in discussions of the best singleseason NFL defenses of all time. Lewis entered the NFL as linebackers coach with Pittsburgh from , guiding the careers of Pro Bowl selections Kevin Greene, Chad Brown, Levon Kirkland and Greg Lloyd. Born Sept. 23, 1958, in McDonald, Pa., near Pittsburgh, Lewis played linebacker at Idaho State and earned All-Big Sky Conference honors in each of his three seasons ( 78-80). He began his coaching career as an assistant at Idaho State University in Jones and Whit get their due from AP: CB Adam Jones and OT Andrew Whitworth were not voted to this season s Pro Bowl game, an honor many in Bengals country felt they deserved. But the national panel of football writers voting for the prestigious Associated Press All-Pro team did their part to make up for it. Jones was voted as the first-team kick returner for the squad, which covers both the American and National Conferences. Whitworth ranked third at OT, good for a second-team berth. Jones was voted as the kick returner by 17 of the 50 voters, two ahead of Philadelphia s Darren Sproles (15) and one ahead of Atlanta s Devin Hester (14). Whitworth got 14 votes at OT, more than any players except Dallas Tyron Smith (35) and Cleveland s Joe Thomas (22). Philadelphia s Jason Peters (12 votes) joined Whitworth on the second team. Jones led the NFL in kickoff return average (31.3) and ranked fourth in punt returns (11.9). His KOR was a Bengals record. Whitworth started every Bengals game at LOT and was a key contributor to the team s 4.4-yard rushing average (tied for 10th in the NFL) and its total of only 23 sacks allowed (third-fewest in the league). Bengals tie best road win streak: The Bengals were 5-3 on the road in the 2014 regular season, including a four-game win streak that tied 2 the franchise record for consecutive road wins within a campaign (four). The four straight road wins were on Nov. 16 at New Orleans, on Nov. 23 at Houston, on Nov. 30 at Tampa Bay and 30-0 on Dec. 14 at Cleveland. The wins at New Orleans, Houston and Tampa Bay marked the only time in franchise history for Cincinnati to win three on the road in a span of three weeks. The Bengals have now won four straight on the road within a season six times. The Bengals record for consecutive road wins over more than one regular season is five, begun in the 2008 season finale and continued with the first four road games of opponents: The Bengals home and away opponents for 2015 are set. The full schedule, with dates and kickoff times, will be released this spring. In addition to their six games against fellow AFC North Division teams, the Bengals and the rest of the AFC North will play against all teams in the AFC West and NFC West divisions. Cincinnati s remaining two games at home against Houston and on the road against Buffalo were determined by the 2014 NFL standings. As secondplace finishers in the AFC North, the Bengals are matched against runners-up from the AFC South (Houston) and AFC East (Buffalo). The list of opponents for 2015: Home: Baltimore-Cleveland-Pittsburgh plus Houston Texans, Kansas City Chiefs, St. Louis Rams, San Diego Chargers, Seattle Seahawks. Away: Baltimore-Cleveland-Pittsburgh plus Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers. Bengals to draft in No. 21 spot: Barring possible trades, the Bengals will draft 21st in every round of the 2015 NFL Draft. The 21-through-24 spots go annually to the four teams eliminated in the Wild Card round of the postseason, and the Bengals get the No. 21 spot because the other three teams Arizona, Detroit and Pittsburgh all had records, a half-game better than Cincinnati s The Bengals have drafted at No. 21 in the first round three times previously, and all of the three selections would rate as good ones. The most recent 21 was TE Tyler Eifert (2013), who has shown great promise and is key in the team s 2015 plans despite missing nearly all of the 2014 season with injuries. In 2010, the Bengals selected TE Jermaine Gresham at No. 21, and Gresham has gone to two Pro Bowls while becoming the only Bengals TE to catch 50 or more passes in more than two seasons. Gresham has done it four times. The Bengals first-ever pick at No. 21 was WR Tim McGee in McGee played nine Bengals seasons and ranks eighth in club history in receiving yards (4703). Over nine weeks, Hill s best of best: Over the last nine weeks (Weeks 9-17) of the 2014 season, Bengals rookie Jeremy Hill was the NFL s leading rusher. Hill posted 929 of his 1124 season total during that span, and his 929 was best by over 100 yards. Seattle s Marshawn Lynch was second at 824. The remainder of the top five included Philadelphia s LeSean McCoy (814), Dallas DeMarco Murray (791) and Denver s C.J. Anderson (785). The Bengals played nine games over the final nine weeks, and some teams played only eight in that span, due to bye weeks. But of the five players mentioned above, only Murray of Dallas had only eight team games to work with during the span. But in rushing average per team game, Hill again comes out on top for Weeks 9-17, with an average of Murray ranked second in average per team game at Lynch was at 91.6, McCoy at 90.4 and Anderson at 87.2 Hill, who averaged only 7.1 rushes per game for the first seven games, fourth in the AFC and eighth in the NFL in total rushing yards for the season. Hill led all rookie rushers in the NFL, 359 yards ahead of second-place Tre Mason of St. Louis (765). Hill exits 2014 with a compliment that counts: Cris Collinsworth is Cincinnati sports royalty. He was a star Bengals WR in the 1980s a three-time Pro Bowler and an even bigger star as a glamorous fan and media favorite. He played in both Cincinnati Super Bowls, and he made Greater Cincinnati his home after his playing career, settling and raising a family in Northern Kentucky. And he has, of course, gone on to become one of television s elite pro football analysts. So when C.C. has a take, Cincinnati listens. And during the Bengals Dec. 28 NBC Sunday Night Football telecast from Pittsburgh, Collinsworth put an exclamation point on the monster rookie season produced by HB Jeremy Hill. I ve really enjoyed watching Jeremy Hill run the football, and it s evident he s going to be a superstar in this league, Collinsworth said from the booth. He s doing special things that sort of remind you of Ickey Woods in Hill was held to 47 yards on 13 carries in Cincinnati s Wild Card playoff loss

3 (Hill exits 2014 with a compliment that counts, continued) at Indianapolis, but when Collinsworth commented during the regular-season finale, Hill was in the process of logging his fifth 100-yard rushing game in the season s last nine contests. He went 23-for-100 against the Steelers and likely would have had more if the Bengals had not been trying to pass their way out of a deficit in the second half. He had 11 carries for 71 yards in the first half. Hill finished the season with 1124 rushing yards and a 5.1 average. He had gains of 85, 62 and 60 yards. His rushing average of 5.1 was the highest for any primary Bengals rusher since James Brooks in 1990, and one has to resort to an extra decimal point to separate their averages. Brooks averaged 5.15 yards on his 195 carries, and Hill was at 5.06 for his 222 carries this season. And all that from a 235-pounder with plenty of muscle for key short-yardage situations. Hill s rushing total fell five yards short of Corey Dillon s 1997 Bengals rookie record of 1129, and Hill had 11 fewer carries than Dillon. Hill had only 50 carries in the first seven games as he worked his way into a bell cow role. Hill s five 100-yard rushing games fell one short of Cedric Benson s 2009 club record for most in a season, and the first four of Hill s 100-yarders all went for more than 140. The total of four at 140-plus was most notable because: It made him only the third rookie in NFL annals to get four in a season. Others have been Eric Dickerson of the Rams in 1983 (five games) and Curtis Martin of the Patriots in 1995 (four games). It made him the only Bengal of any experience level to get four games of 140 in a season. Previously he had been tied with Rudi Johnson (2003) at three games. It made him one only two NFL players this season to get four of 140-plus. Dallas DeMarco Murray also had four. More on Jeremy: HB Jeremy Hill s rushing totals in 2014 were not only been large (see previous item), they came in significant and dramatic fashion. Bengals fans knew Hill had great speed for a 235-pounder, but he showed more of that than ever on his 85-yard TD run in the first quarter on Dec. 22 vs. Denver, the game in which the Bengals won to clinch a playoff berth. He displayed an extra gear about 40 yards down the field as he sprinted away from Broncos defenders who had appeared to be closing on him. The score came with 10:09 left in the first quarter, just 0:23 after Denver had deflated a Bengals capacity crowd with a 33-yard INT return by Aqib Talib for a 7-0 lead. That run gave our whole team a tremendous lift, said LOT Andrew Whitworth. You go into every game knowing there s going to be adversity you have to respond to, but we were in a hole early in front of our home crowd, and we were facing the skeptics who said we couldn t perform in prime time. That run set the tone. It gave us confidence we could respond to anything we faced in that game. Hill s performance of 148 rushing yards on 25 carries at Cleveland the week before was also time-crucial as well as productive. He rushed 16 times for 103 yards and two TDs in the first half, setting the tone for a dominant 30-0 win. A breakdown of his day includes: Intent on establishing rushing dominance early in front of a hostile crowd charged up over rookie QB Johnny Manziel s starting debut, the Bengals took the opening kickoff and called Hill s number on the first four plays. With gains of three, seven, eight and six yards, he led the team to a quick pair of first downs. He then capped an 81-yard march with a two-yard TD. As the Bengals moved to a field goal and a two-score lead on their second possession, Hill rushed three times for 28 yards, including a 20-yarder. Hill gained all 36 of Cincinnati s yards as the Bengals drove for a 17-0 lead on their third possession. He rushed for five yards, then nine more to convert a third-down-and-four, and after a five-yard gain from the 21, he ran 16 yards off right tackle for for his second TD of the game. Previously, Hill had games of 154 rushing yards vs. Jacksonville (on Nov. 2) and 152 at New Orleans (on Nov. 16). Hill-and-Bernard are historic: Jeremy Hill s 85-yard TD run on Dec. 22 against Denver gave the Bengals two players on the season with TD rushes of 85-plus. Giovani Bernard had logged an 89-yarder on Oct. 12 vs. Carolina. And that is an NFL first. The previous record for two different players was TD runs of at least 83 yards, by the 1960 Oakland Raiders in the debut season of the American Football League. In that season for Oakland, Jack Larscheid had an 87-yard TD run and Tony Teresa scored from 83. Also: 3 Bernard s 89-yarder vs. Carolina stands as the second-longest rush in Bengals history, behind only a 96-yarder for a TD by HB Corey Dillon at Detroit in Hill (1339) and Bernard (1029) became the first Bengals RB duo to each hit 1000 scrimmage yards in a season since 1988, when Ickey Woods had 1265 and James Brooks had Don t forget the duo: Though rookie Jeremy Hill emerged down the stretch as the Bengals top operator at HB, second-year pro Giovani Bernard remains a threat in his own right, a shifty and explosive runner with excellent receiving ability. Though no one had a big day offensively in the Wild Card playoff loss at Indianapolis, Bernard was the team leader in yards from scrimmage (52). In the regular-season finale at Pittsburgh, while Hill was producing 110 scrimmage yards on 22 touches, Bernard added 11 touches for 64 yards, including sevenfor-56 receiving with a 17-yard TD. In Cincinnati s Dec. 22 win vs. Denver, Bernard complemented Hill s 147 scrimmage yards with 81 of his own. Bernard had a 23-yard rush on a Bengals field goal drive for a 20-7 lead in the second quarter vs. Denver, and in the third quarter, his 22-yard TD reception gave Cincinnati a lead. The week before, at Cleveland, Bernard had 103 scrimmage yards on 18 touches. He rushed 15-for-79 (5.3) and caught three passes for 24 yards. Bernard played a key role in Cincinnati s hot start against the Browns. With the Bengals in danger of having their opening drive stall, facing third-and-seven from the Cleveland 19, Bernard took a short Andy Dalton pass for a 14-yard gain to the Cleveland five. The Bengals got an additional three yards when the Browns were penalized for a horse-collar tackle on Bernard, and Hill scored on the next play, on a two-yard rush, for a 7-0 Cincinnati lead. Despite having missed three games (Games 8-10) with injuries, Bernard finished the season with 1029 yards from scrimmage 168-for-680 rushing (4.0) and 43-for-349 receiving (8.1). His TD total of seven (five rushing, two receiving) was second on the team behind Hill s nine. His scrimmage yards total was third behind Hill and WR A.J. Green. Hill had 1339 scrimmage yards, with 215 receiving added to his 1124 rushing total. Bernard and Hill are both second-round Cincinnati draft choices, Bernard taken out of North Carolina in 2013 and Hill out of Louisiana State for this season. But their similarity, much to the advantage of Bengals offensive gameplanners, essentially ends there. Bernard is short (5-9) but plenty strong at 208 pounds, and he s remarkably quick and shifty. He has shown the ability to create highlight-reel plays in the open field. Hill (6-1, 235) is the heaviest back on whom the Bengals have spent a high draft choice since 248-pound FB Pete Johnson in 1977, but in addition to raw power, Hill has exceptional speed for his size. Both backs are also smooth receivers, comfortable with taking footballs on the fly. Both these guys are tough, and they re both explosive, said LOT Andrew Whitworth. They give the defense two different kinds of threats to worry about, and they re fun to block for. You know that if you do your job, something great can always happen. The duo s biggest day was Sept. 14 vs. Atlanta, when they had 265 combined scrimmage yards (Bernard 169 and Hill 96). The 265 is the most by two Bengals backs in one game since Dec. 3, 2000, when Corey Dillon (216) and Brandon Bennett (70) combined for 286. Hill and Bernard had a combined 255-yard day on Dec. 14 at Cleveland. For the season Hill and Bernard averaged a combined scrimmage yards per game, and that figure includes only 13 games played for Bernard, due to his injuries. It is just so great to have both Gio and Jeremy in there, said WR A.J. Green. They are a pair that our opponents are going to have to deal with, hopefully for a long time. Obviously Jeremy s bigger than me, says Bernard, but I m faster. I ll take that. But he s a great back. We re not fighting for whatever. We want to help the team win. We both have that mindset, and that s good to have. It s not about one guy getting more carries than the other. It s about helping the team win. Nugent booms it: With 0:10 left in the second quarter of the Wild Card playoff at Indianapolis, Cincinnati s Mike Nugent converted a 57-yard field goal, second-longest in NFL postseason history. It trails only a 58-yarder by Pete Stoyanovich of Miami, against visiting Kansas City in the 1990 postseason. Nugent had plenty of distance on his boot inside Lucas Oil Stadium, and it glanced off the left upright but through. Kevin (holder Kevin Huber) was talking to it a little bit, and I was talking to it a little bit, Nugent said. We had to hang on, because it had a little bit of a draw to it. It started center and it just had that leftward draw on it. I saw it hit the

4 (Nugent booms it, continued) upright. It seemed like it still went forward, but I was looking at the refs to make sure. The three-pointer was the longest in Bengals postseason history by 10 yards. The previous long was 47 by Josh Brown, in the 2012 postseason at the Houston Texans. The 57-yarder tops by two yards the Bengals regular-season record of 55, which is shared by Nugent (2012 vs. Oakland) and Chris Bahr (1979 vs. Houston Oilers). A.J. was great again, when able: A difficult 2014 ended in warmup gear for A.J. Green in the Wild Card playoff at Indianapolis. Green was inactive, not medically cleared due a concussion he suffered in the regularseason finale at Pittsburgh. Green sustained the concussion late in the fourth quarter, after posting team highs of eight receptions and 82 receiving yards. Green has been voted to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time in his four-year career. He led the Bengals for the season in catches (69), receiving yards (1041) and receiving TDs (six). But Green s fourth season was by far his most challenging one physically. He was able to come back and play the Pittsburgh game after suffering a painful upper arm bruise early in the Dec. 22 win over Denver. He battled through 25 snaps of the Denver game but was basically available only as a decoy and had no receptions. He also missed almost all of Game 2 and all of Games 5-7, due to turf toe, and played only sparingly in Game 8 as he returned from the injury. Around his missed time, Green was as good or better than ever. He produced five 100-yard games, including a career-best 224 on Dec. 7 vs. Pittsburgh, second-most for a game in Bengals history. He set a career high for catches (12) on Nov. 23 at Houston. Green s four Pro Bowl selections ranks tied second among Bengals WRs to Chad Johnson, who had six. Green joins Isaac Curtis as the only Bengals to make the Pro Bowl in each of their first four seasons. A.J. s 100-yarders: WR A.J. Green s 224-yard game on Dec. 7 vs. Pittsburgh was his fifth of the season and the 20th of his four-year Bengals career. Green now is tied with Isaac Curtis (played 12 seasons) for second place in the category. The franchise leader, at this point still by a wide margin, is Chad Johnson at 31. But Johnson played 10 seasons, more than twice as many as Green to date. Last season, Green became the first Bengal to log six 100-yard games in a season, and he became the first Bengal to get 100 in five consecutive games. Green has played 60 career games, and with 20 games of 100 or more yards, he has averaged triple figures once in every 3.0 games. Yardage rankings don t tell full defensive story: The Bengals ranked only 22nd in the NFL in total defense in the regular season, including 20th against the run and 20th against the pass. But the Bengals ranked much higher in scoring defense 12th at 21.5 per game and the defense earned the lion s share of the bows in Cincinnati s last two wins. In the Dec. 22 Monday Night Football win over Denver, though allowing 385 yards, the Bengals defense also: Intercepted four Peyton Manning passes. Returned one of those four INTs for a touchdown, a 30-yarder by CB Dre Kirkpatrick that sealed the victory in the fourth quarter. Set up a TD for a 17-7 lead with an INT by S Reggie Nelson that carried to the Denver 22 in the second quarter. Sacked Manning twice. The Broncos had entered allowing just 1.0 sack per game, leading the NFL. Held Manning to a 61.8 passer rating, improving the defense s season rating by opponents to 75.3, ranked third in the NFL. And in Cincinnati s 30-0 shutout win at Cleveland on Dec. 14, the defense: Allowed only five first downs including two via penalties a Bengals franchise record, topping a previous best of six. Allowed only 107 net yards, the lowest opponent total since 1976 and the third-lowest in Bengals history. Held the Browns to 38 offensive snaps, the fewest by a team in an NFL game this season. Logged three sacks. Run defense improves as regular season ends: The Bengals rush defense slipped in the Wild Card playoff at Indianapolis, the Colts averaging 4.6 yards per carry while totaling 25-for-114. But over the last seven games of the regular season, the Cincinnati defense yielded an average of only 82.0 yards (155-for-574, 3.7 per carry). 4 Before the Nov. 16 New Orleans game, the Bengals ranked 31st in the NFL in rushing defense, allowing yards per game. But as MLB Rey Maualuga prepared at that point to return to the lineup, after four games missed with a hamstring injury, he proclaimed: Despite what we re ranked and what we ve done, we re a damn good defense. Somebody said that we were 31st in the league against the run, and I promise, at the end of the year, we won t be 31st. Call Maualuga a latter-day Joe Namath in the guarantee department. The Bengals season rush average allowed ended the regular season at 116.3, down nearly 27 yards from the previous Cincinnati s ranking in rush defense improved 11 spots to finish at No. 20. Pass defense among the best: In three crucial pass defense areas, the Bengals fared well during the 2014 season: Cincinnati ranked third in lowest aggregate passer rating by opponents. Cincinnati s foes combined for a 75.8 rating. Only Cleveland (74.1) and Buffalo (74.5) were better. Bengals opponents completed 365 passes in 608 attempts (60.0 percent) for 4013 gross yards (250.8 per game), with 18 TDs and 20 INTs. Cincinnati ranked second in the NFL in differential between interceptions and TD passes allowed. The Bengals finished at plus-two, with 20 INTs and 18 TD passes allowed. The only team better was Buffalo at plus-three (19-16), and the Bengals and Bills were the only teams that finished in the plus column. The Bengals ranked ninth in the NFL in lowest opponent completion percentage (60.0). The Bengals ranked last in the NFL in sacks (20), but their 20 INTs ranked tied for third. And statistics crews credited the Bengals with 95 total passes defensed, an average of 5.9 per game and a sign of tight coverage. Head coach Marvin Lewis gives much of the credit to a veteran secondary. The Bengals top five secondary players averaged 7.8 years experience. The depth of our secondary, and their experience and maturity and their knowledge of the game of football was very important to us, Lewis said. It made a huge difference in the things that we were able to do. But we could have had even more interceptions. There were way too many balls that we got our hands on but let go to the ground. 30 equals.859: The Bengals win Dec. 22 vs. Denver marked the 85th time that Cincinnati has had 30 or more rushing attempts in a regulationtime game under head coach Marvin Lewis, and Cincinnati stands in those contests, for a winning percentage of.859. The Bengals have had two other games with 30-plus rushes under Lewis, but both of those were ties, with a full extra quarter of play. The Bengals gained 207 rushing yards vs. Denver, getting two straight games over 200 yards for the first time since 2003, when the team had three. Cincinnati was 7-0 this season in regulation with 30 or more rushes. It s not always the rushing yardage total that s most important, says Lewis. When you re running the ball a lot, it s a sign that even though the yardage will vary, you re controlling the ball, controlling the clock, and keeping your defense off the field. As it shows for us that is very likely going to be a winning combination. The Bengals are 37-2 (.949) under Lewis when an individual rusher records 25 or more carries. Hill has done that twice this season, with 25 at Cleveland and 27 in a Nov. 16 win at New Orleans. But this season and last season, Cincinnati has operated primarily with a rushing tandem rather than one bell cow back. Giovani Bernard split time with BenJarvus Green-Ellis in 2013, and this year Bernard has shared the load with rookie Jeremy Hill. The only time this season or last season for the Bengals to have a 25-rush individual in regulation time was the two by Hill this season. The Bengals are (.827) under Lewis with an individual 100-yard rusher. Jeremy Hill had exactly 100 last week at Pittsburgh, but Cincinnati lost that one. We love seeing a guy get 100 yards, Lewis says, but sometimes a guy can break one big gain and then get to 100 even though you may not be running as consistently well and controlling the game like you do when you get those those high-carry numbers. Pro Bowler Huber re-sets his team marks: Bengals P Kevin Huber earned his first Pro Bowl berth in 2014, posting averages of 46.8 gross and 42.1 net. Huber re-set franchise records he already held. He set the previous marks in 2012 with a 46.6 gross and a 42.0 net. Huber also is the club s career leader in both gross and net average, with marks of 44.6 and 39.6, respectively. Huber finished fourth in the NFL in 2014 in gross average and fifth in net. Washington s Tress Way led the league in gross average (47.5), while

5 (Pro Bowler Huber re-sets his team marks, continued) Baltimore s Sam Koch led in net average (43.3). Huber closed with a good postseason effort at Indianapolis, averaging 47.5 yards gross and 43.1 net, with three inside-20s and no touchbacks. We ask Kevin to do special things with the ball, and he has delivered, said head coach Marvin Lewis. Every time you see the returner catch a ball on the boundary and step out of bounds, Kevin s done his job again. That s what we want all the time. We want that ball pinned to the boundary as much as we can. He doesn t get the opportunity like some guys just to stand back there and boom the football. We want that ball put in certain spots all the time. A fifth-round Bengals 2009 draft choice, Huber was the first kicking specialist selected that year, after a University of Cincinnati career in which he won one national gross punting title and twice led the nation twice in net punting. With the offense sputtering on Oct. 19 at Indianapolis, Huber had a busy day. He tied the franchise record for punts in a game (11), set three times previously, and his 558 total punting yards blew away the former mark of 483, set in 1971 by Dave Lewis. Huber also has been a reliable holder for place kicks throughout his career. Huber tied for 11th in punt differential: For the regular season, Bengals P Kevin Huber had 27 inside-20s against six touchbacks. In differential between the two categories, his plus-21 mark ranked tied for 11th in the NFL, eight behind the leader, Drew Butler of Arizona, at plus-29. Huber holds the Bengals career record for best ratio of inside-20 punts to touchbacks, at 3.81-to-1 (160-42). The second-best ratio belongs to Kyle Larson, another Marvin Lewis player, who had a 3.41-to-1 ratio (109-32) from The marks for Huber and Larson are from regular-season play, and additionally, Huber has had seven inside-20s against just one touchback in four Bengals playoff game appearances. Sanu has his best season: Bengals WR Mohamed Sanu was limited to seven receptions for 71 yards over the last five games of the regular season, and he caught a modest three-for-31 in the Wild Card playoff loss at Indianapolis. But he still had a strong overall campaign, helping the team gain a fourth straight berth in the playoffs. He finished second on the team in receiving yards (790) and third in receptions (56). He tied for fourth in touchdowns with five. His opportunities as a receiver were not as frequent down the stretch as they were earlier in the season, when flagship WR A.J. Green was either out or limited by a toe injury. Sanu was three-for-three as a passer for the season, for 79 yards and a TD. A true triple threat, Sanu also was seven-for-51 (7.3) as a rusher for the season. He finished with 841 yards from scrimmage. Sanu also had a two-point conversion catch, which doesn t count toward his statistics. He beat tight coverage in the season opener at Baltimore and claimed a contested ball for the two-pointer. Bottom line, the third-year pro from Rutgers was overall a crucial contributor as the offense weathered injury limitations to Green and a full season missed by injury to talented WR Marvin Jones. Mo not only has good numbers, he s made really good catches, said QB Andy Dalton. Important catches, third-down catches. Sanu led the team in receiving yards for each of the four weeks covering Games 5-8, averaging 98.5 yards over the span. He had a career-best 125 yards (on five catches) on Oct. 26 vs. Baltimore, just two weeks after catching a career-high 10 for a then-career-high 120 yards vs. Carolina. In key division action on Oct. 26 vs. Baltimore, Sanu s 53-yard catch on a third-and-10 play was the biggest gain of the game-winning TD drive. And that wasn t his best catch of the day. That one came in the first quarter, when he made a one-handed snag that almost defies description, turning an overthrown ball into a 48-yard gain for the key play of a TD drive. He needs a tattoo: Bengals WR Mohamed Sanu just won t come off the career score that is the best possible for an NFL passer rating. He threw his fifth career pass on Nov. 30 at Tampa Bay, taking a lateral from QB Andy Dalton and rifling an 11-yard bullet to A.J. Green on the Bengals first TD drive. It lifted his career numbers to five-for-five for 177 yards, with two TDs and no INTs, and that computes to the magic Sanu has never been below Here s the list of his prior completions, all of which left him with a perfect score: As a rookie, on Sept. 23, 2012 at Washington, he took a direct shotgun snap on Cincinnati s first scrimmage play and threw a tight spiral 50 yards in the air for a 73-yard TD to WR A.J. Green at Washington. Last season, on Nov. 17 vs. Cleveland, Sanu hit a 25-yarder to HB Giovani Bernard after a pitch from Dalton. This season, prior to his completion against Tampa Bay, Sanu passed 50 yards to WR Brandon Tate on Sept. 14 vs. Atlanta and 18 yards for a TD to Dalton on Sept. 21 vs. Tennessee. Both completions came after he got the ball from Dalton. Against Tennessee, Dalton became the first Bengals QB to catch a TD pass. Beyond the yards gained and points scored, Sanu s passes have impressed onlookers with their arc, perfect spirals and accuracy. It is no exaggeration to say he literally can throw it like a top quarterback. When Dalton was asked if he has ever advised Sanu on throwing mechanics or release point, Dalton said: Absolutely not. He doesn t even warm up. You just get him the ball and let him throw. The NFL s only one: Bengals WR Mohamed Sanu is the only player in NFL history with two or more TD passes, 150 or more passing yards and zero incompletions. His career passing totals are now five-for-five for 177 yards, with two TDs and no INTs. He is the only Bengals WR ever to throw a TD pass. Bengals among pass protection leaders: The Bengals ranked third in the NFL in fewest sacks allowed for the regular season (23). Denver led at 17, and Baltimore was second at 19. Cincinnati also ranked third in least sack yardage allowed. Houston led at 108, followed by Denver at 118 and the Bengals at 130. The 23 sacks allowed by the Bengals represent the third-best total in franchise history, behind 17 in 2007 and 21 in The offense allowed three sacks in the Wild Card playoff loss at Indianapolis. The offensive line adjusted well during the regular season despite some injuries. ROT Andre Smith was lost for the rest of the season when he suffered a triceps tear Nov. 23 at Houston. Veteran Marshall Newhouse was the primary replacement for Smith on Nov. 30 at Tampa Bay, and for the following two games after that, the lineup had regular starting LG Clint Boling moving to ROT and veteran Mike Pollak starting at LG. In the final two games, Boling returned to his original LG spot and OT Eric Winston started at ROT (in his third and fourth games as a Bengal). The line also weathered the loss of starting RG Kevin Zeitler to a calf injury for most of Game 2, a portion of Game 7 and all of Games 3-5 and 8. Pollak, a seventh-year pro, took Zeitler s spot. Smith also missed Games 9 and 10 due to an ankle injury, and Newhouse filled in in those contests. Rookie Russell Bodine started all 16 games at C, and ninth-year vet Andrew Whitworth went all the way as the starting LOT. Tacklin Tez looks to 2015: LB Vontaze Burfict, the Bengals tackling leader for 2012 and 13, and a 13 season Pro Bowl selection, missed the last nine games of the regular season and the Wild Card playoff game. He was placed Dec. 9 on the Reserve/Injured list due to continued needed rehab from a knee injury suffered Oct. 26 vs. Baltimore. Burfict underwent arthroscopic surgery on Oct. 29 and remained on the roster through Dec. 7 vs. Pittsburgh. Burfict often played every defensive snap in 2013, but in 14 he was unable to do so even once, coming close only in Games 5 and 7. But prior to the knee injury, he was sidelined with a concussion in the second quarter of Game 1, and though he was cleared to return to action for Game 2, he left that contest in the third quarter with another concussion. He was held out Games 3 and 4. After returning for most of Game 5, he departed Game 6 early due to a cervical strain. Bypassed by NFL teams in the 2012 NFL Draft, Burfict has established himself as one of the most productive college free agent signees by any NFL team in recent years. He led the Bengals in tackles by wide margins in each of his first two seasons, and he led the NFL in tackles in 2013 according to leaguewide press box statistics. He was credited by the Bengals coaching staff last season with 204 tackles, 94 more than the second-place player, and he was voted to the Pro Bowl and to a second-team spot on the Associated Press All- Pro team. Dalton joins Flacco: With the Bengals in the playoffs again in 2014, QB Andy Dalton became only the second starting QB in the Super Bowl era to lead a team to the playoffs in his first four seasons. The only previous QB to achieve it has been Baltimore s Joe Flacco, who put together five seasons ( ) before missing the playoffs in Dalton could tie Flacco s record of five in 2015 and surpass it in He is signed by the Bengals through Dalton has not missed a start as a Bengal, and the team s record in his 64 regular-season games is That s good for a.633 winning percentage, the best career winning percentage of any Bengals QB with more than 10 starts. 5

6 (End-of-season notes, continued) A parallel for Dalton? Bengals QB Andy Dalton hasn t yet won a playoff game, but he has led the team to four berths in four seasons, and that s a far better start than most including one Peyton Manning, Denver s Hall-of- Fame lock of a QB. After five seasons with Indianapolis ( ), Manning had only three playoff berths and an 0-3 playoff record. Manning led his first playoff wins (two) in 2003, his sixth season as a Colt. Dalton s playoff passer rating is not a point of pride at 57.8, but head coach Marvin Lewis points out that Cincinnati s defenses have allowed opposing QBs to post an aggregate 98.3 rating in Dalton s four postseason contests. So obviously it s not all on Andy, Lewis says. We all know the way it works, how the pressure falls on the quarterback, but that doesn t mean it s always valid. The pressure is on us as an entire team to improve. Dalton the scorer: QB Andy Dalton scored five TDs this season, tying the Bengals record for a QB, previously done only in 1979, by Jack Thompson. Dalton had four rushing TDs, and on Sept. 21 vs. Tennessee, he became the only Bengals QB to catch a TD pass, scoring from 18 yards out on a gadget play that saw WR Mohamed Sanu on the throwing end. Thompson s five TDs in 79 were all rushing. Dalton tied for second in the NFL this season for most TDs by a QB. Seattle s Russell Wilson had six, all on rushing plays, and Carolina s Cam Newton also had five, all on rushing plays. Dalton rushed for a 20-yard TD on Dec. 7 vs. Pittsburgh. It was the longest TD run ever by a Bengals QB, topping a 19-yarder by Ken Anderson at Cleveland in In Cincinnati s playoff-clinching win Dec. 22 vs. Denver, on a 22-yard TD drive for a 17-7 Bengals lead, Dalton rushed for 19 yards on two carries before passing two yards to TE Jermaine Gresham for the score. Andy by the numbers: A roundup of reasons why QB Andy Dalton draws such high praise from his bosses and teammates: CAREER: His regular-season record as a starter gives him a.633 winning percentage, best in Bengals history for a QB with 10 or more starts. He and Baltimore s Joe Flacco are the only starting QBs in the NFL s Super Bowl era to lead a team to the playoffs in each of their first four seasons. His career passer rating is 85.2, second in franchise history to Carson Palmer s He was on the throwing end for 256 of A.J. Green s 260 catches from , most catches in NFL history for a player in his first three seasons. 2013: He broke Bengals season records set by Carson Palmer for touchdown passes (33) and passing yards (4293). He finished the season with a passer rating of 88.8, improving that mark for the third straight season. He ranked fifth in the AFC. He joined S David Fulcher as the only Bengals to win three of the NFL s weekly or monthly AFC player awards in a season. He became the first Bengals passer to throw for 300 or more yards in four consecutive games. 2014: In Games 1-2, he became the first Bengals QB to throw completions of 75-plus yards in consecutive games. In Game 3 vs. Tennessee, he became the first Bengals QB to catch a touchdown pass, beating tight coverage to convert an 18-yard score on an aerial from WR Mohamed Sanu. In an Oct. 26 showdown win vs. Baltimore, he led the team back from a fourth-quarter deficit with an 80-yard drive that included a clutch 53-yard pass to Sanu and his own rushing TD on fourth-and-goal from the one. He posted a career-high passer rating of at New Orleans Nov. 16, passing for three or more TDs with no INTs for the seventh time in his career. He scored five TDs, tying Jack Thompson s 1979 mark for a Bengals QB. Radar in the red zone: Bengals QB Andy Dalton ranks third among active NFL passers in ratio of red-zone TDs to INTs (minimum of 25 redzone TDs). He has thrown for 68 TDs and just three INTs on snaps inside the opponent 20-yard line, a ratio of 22.7-to-1. The leader in the category is Aaron Rodgers of Green Bay, and Russell Wilson of Seattle is second. Trailing Dalton in the top five are Tom Brady of New England and Alex Smith of Kansas City. Andy s performance in this area is the type of thing we ve come to expect from him, said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. He s not only a fine talent, but a smart player who is going to avoid the big mistake. We ve got a lot of 6 confidence in Andy when we get the ball into scoring range. Here are the active NFL leaders in the category of TD-INT ratio on red-zone plays (minimum 25 TDs): PLAYER, CURRENT TEAM TD INT RATIO Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay to-1 Russell Wilson, Seattle to-1 Andy Dalton, Cincinnati to-1 Tom Brady, New England to-1 Alex Smith, Kansas City to-1 Dalton rules against NFC: In a Nov. 30 win at Tampa Bay, Bengals QB Andy Dalton improved his record as the starter against NFC teams to (that s a winning percentage of.781), including on the road. His three losses have come by a total of 12 points, and his 12 wins have come by an average margin of The Tampa Bay game was Cincinnati s last of this season against the NFC. The Bengals went in their four games, also defeating Atlanta and New Orleans and tying Carolina. Here s a roundup of Dalton s history against NFC opposition: DATE OPP. RESULT COMP-ATT-YDS-TD-INT RATING S.F. 49ers, Bengals, Bengals, ARIZ. Bengals, Bengals, NYG Bengals, DALL. Cowboys, Bengals, Bears, G.B. Bengals, Bengals, MINN. Bengals, ATL. Bengals, CAR. Tie, Bengals, *143.9 Bengals, * Dalton s career-best rating. Jones claims franchise s first KOR crown: Bengals CB Adam Jones is the first Bengal to win an NFL kickoff return title, having copped the crown for 2014 with a 31.3-yard average. Baltimore s Jacoby Jones finished second at Adam Jones 31.3 average also re-sets the Bengals franchise record, and by a wide margin. The previous record for a season was 27.1 by Tremain Mack, in Mack led the AFC that year, but not the NFL. Jones now has 66 career punt returns for the Bengals, enough to qualify for the all-time leaders, and he is in the lead with an 11.4 average. Adam Jones also had a good year in punt returns. His 11.9 average was good for third-best in Bengals history, behind 18.8 by Lemar Parrish in 1974 and 15.7 by Mike Martin in Jones flirted with the NFL punt return lead for parts of the season, but in the end he finished fourth. He was bidding to become the first player in 22 years since Detroit s Mel Gray in 1991 to lead the league in both KOR and PR for a season. Finishing first on kickoffs and fourth on punts, Jones was the only NFL player in 2014 to rank even in the NFL top eight in both categories. Baltimore s Jacoby Jones ranked tied for ninth in punt returns as well as second on kickoffs. Jones KOR average was fueled by a 97-yarder on Oct. 12 vs. Carolina. The return set up a Bengals TD, but when Jones was stopped at the three-yard line, he was denied his first NFL kickoff return for a score. The 97-yarder stands as the longest play in team history that did not go for a TD. Jones also had an 80- yarder, helping the Bengals defeat Denver to clinch a playoff berth on Dec. 22. Jones long punt return for the season was 47 yards, on Oct. 5 at New England, and he also had a 45-yarder on Sept. 7 at Baltimore. For his entire NFL career, dating back to a 2005 rookie year with Tennessee, Jones has averaged 10.4 yards on 150 punt returns, with five TDs. His TD total, which includes one for Cincinnati, is tied for second in the NFL among active players, behind only Atlanta s Hester. Jones was used situationally on kick returns by the coaching staff. He also saw considerable time on defense at CB, including two starts as an injury replacement. WR Brandon Tate handled 18 punt returns, with a 9.7 average, and Tate also had 18 kickoff returns (22.1). Tate had the team s longest punt return