The 1988 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's 21st year in professional football and its 19th with the National Football League (NFL).
After coming off a disappointing 1987 season, the Bengals tied for the best record in the NFL in 1988, secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, and won the AFC Championship, appearing in Super Bowl XXIII, where they lost to the San Francisco 49ers 20–16.
The Bengals went 8–0 at home in 1988 and 4–4 on the road.
The 1988 Bengals were featured in the NFL Films series The Missing Rings, being included as one of the five best teams in NFL history not to have won the Super Bowl.
The Bengals would not play in the Super Bowl or AFC Championship again until the 2021 season.
Season summary
During the strike-shortened 1987 season, quarterback Boomer Esiason and head coach Sam Wyche had openly feuded, and the team finished with a miserable 4–11 record. Esiason and Wyche worked out their differences in the off-season. In 1988 Esiason ended up having the best season of his career en route to Super Bowl XXIII. During the regular season, he threw for 3,572 yards and 28 touchdown passes with only 14 interceptions, while also rushing for 248 yards and a touchdown on 43 carries. Esiason's performance made him the top rated quarterback in the league with a 97.4 passer rating and earned him the NFL Most Valuable Player Award.
Cincinnati had a number of offensive weapons, boasting 6 Pro Bowl selections. Wide receiver Eddie Brown was the top receiver on the team, with 54 receptions for 1,273 yards and 9 touchdowns, setting franchise records for most receiving yards in season, highest yards per catch average in a season (24.0) and most receiving yards in a single game (216 against the Pittsburgh Steelers). Wide receiver Tim McGee and Pro Bowl tight end Rodney Holman were also major threats, combining for 75 receptions, 1,213 yards, and 9 touchdowns.
Rookie fullback Ickey Woods was Cincinnati's top rusher with 1,066 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also catching 21 passes for 199 yards. Woods gained a lot of media attention with his "Ickey Shuffle", a dance routine he did in the end zone to celebrate his touchdowns. Multi-talented running back James Brooks was also a key contributor, gaining a total of 1,218 combined rushing and receiving yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Bengals' offensive line was led by such Pro Bowl players as right guard Max Montoya and left tackle Anthony Muñoz. Muñoz was named the NFL Offensive Lineman of the Year for the third time in his career, and was selected to play in the Pro Bowl for the 8th consecutive season. The Bengals' pioneering use of the Hurry-up offense was perfected that year, making it difficult for defenders to respond to plays and make proper substitutions. With all these weapons, Cincinnati's offense led the NFL in scoring (448 points), rushing yards (2,710), and total yards (6,302).
The Bengals defense ranked 17th in the league, allowing 5,556 yards and 329 points during the regular season. Cincinnati had a superb defensive line, led by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Tim Krumrie, along with linemen Jim Skow (9.5 sacks), David Grant (5 sacks), and Jason Buck (6 sacks). Pro Bowl defensive backs Eric Thomas and David Fulcher combined for 12 interceptions. The team ended up winning the AFC Central with a 12 – 4 record.
The Bengals would get off to a fast start, coming from behind to beat the Phoenix Cardinals 21-14, and then they would sweep a 2-week road trip in Pennsylvania, coming from behind to beat the Philadelphia Eagles 28-24 and the Pittsburgh Steelers 17-12 in weeks 2 and 3. The Bengals would then beat the Cleveland Browns at home 24-17 to start 4-0 for the first time since 1975. The Bengals would then thump the Raiders in Los Angeles 45-21 (the Bengals first road win against the Raiders in 9 tries), and then would beat the New York Jets 36-19 at home to start 6-0, tying the franchise best start to a season at the time. In week 7 the New England Patriots would provide the Bengals with their first loss of the season, 21-27. Boomer threw for 5 interceptions which was featured on Showtimes Inside the NFL season 10 episode 12.
In week 10, the Bengals destroyed the Pittsburgh Steelers 42-7 at home to set the records in the series for largest margin of victory and most points scored by one team in the series. It would also be the first of 3 straight season sweeps of the Steelers for the Bengals.
In week 14, the Bengals beat the Buffalo Bills 35-21, handing Buffalo only their second loss of the season. The Bills had come into the game with an 11-1 record and the overall best record in the NFL.