Formed in 1968 by Clevland legend Paul
Brown, the Bengals have a history of losing that they are trying to turn around. After a few playoff berths in the 1970s, the team had some amazing runs in the 1980s. They made the Super Bowl in 1981 and in 1988. Both years they had league leading quarterbacks- Ken Anderson the first time around and later Boomer Esiason. Both years they faced San
Francisco for the title. And both years they lost in heartbreaking fashion. In 1990, the Bengals made the playoffs, and several months later, Paul
Brown died. His son, Mike, ruined the franchise for many years. During the 1990s, this hapless team was nicknamed the 'Bungles' for their poor play on the field. In recent years,
Brown appears to have gotten
sick of losing. In 2005, the Cincinnati Bengals finally
broke their steak of
14 straight years of missing the playoffs. Led by a young core, included quarterback carson Palmer, they made the playoffs, but were bounced in the first round by the champion Steelers.