When was the last time the Bengals won a playoff game? It's been 31 years
The Cincinnati Bengals are heading back to the playoffs this year after winning the AFC North. It's the first playoff trip since 2015, but the six-year drought is nowhere near the longest in franchise history.
That would be the 15-year period from 1991 to 2006. And the drought started with, of course, a loss (because the Bengals have never won a Super Bowl) to the Los Angeles Raiders, 20-10, in California. (Maybe the Bengals are cursed?)
If you're wondering how long that's been, the Raiders have moved twice since that game, first back to Oakland and now to Las Vegas.
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But the last time the Bengals won a playoff game was also in 1991, when on Jan. 6, 1991 (31 year ago) the Bengals beat the Houston Oilers 41-14.
Again, how long ago was that? The Oilers moved to Tennessee and called themselves "The Tennessee Oilers" for two seasons until becoming the Tennessee Titans and a new team arrived in Houston called the Texans, who beat the Bengals in the 2012 AFC playoffs.
But enough about Bengals playoff loses. What happened in that 41-14 win in 1991?
Cincinnati beats the Houston Oilers in 1991 AFC playoffs
The Bengals (9-7) led 10-0 after a quarter in Riverfront Stadium and took a 20-0 halftime lead against the Cody Carlson-led Oilers (9-7).
The rout was on.
The Bengals led 34-7 after three quarters before playing Houston even, 7-7, in the fourth.
The Bengals piled on 24 first downs and had the ball nearly 40 minutes during the game.
Boomer Esiason and Ickey Woods score touchdowns
Boomer Esiason, the only Bengals quarterback with a winning record in the playoffs, threw two touchdowns and ran another in. Esiason actually had 57 yards rushing in the game, including the 10-yard score. He threw for just 150 yards on 14-of-20 passing with two touchdowns
Ickey Woods also factored into the outcome. He gave the Bengals a 7-0 lead with a 1-yard touchdown run. He finished with 11 yards on six carries. It was Harold Green with 11 carries for 55 yards who paced the Bengals on the ground.
Rodney Holman had two catches for 51 yards and it was Eric Kattus and Green who caught the two touchdown passes.
Oilers franchise quarterback Warren Moon missed the game
Warren Moon, a future Hall of Famer, started 15 games for the Oilers and threw 33 touchdown passes and 4,689 yards. He was a Pro Bowler that year. Moon dislocated his thumb on Dec. 23, 1990 against Cincinnati (they were AFC Central rivals) in a 40-20 loss.
He missed the rest of the season and Cody Carlson replaced him under center.
Who were the head coaches in the last Bengals playoff win?
The Bengals were coached by Sam Wyche in 1990 and the Bengals were just two years removed from playing in the Super Bowl.
Wyche went 3-13 in 1991and was replaced by Dave Shula as the head coach. Wyche was hired by Tampa Bay where he coached four seasons, going 23-41.
As a Bengals coach, he was 61-66.
The Oilers were coached by Jack Pardee who was 43-31 in five seasons with Houston His last year was 1994, when he went 1-9 before being fired.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals last playoff win was 31 years ago on January 6
