The Cincinnati Bengals date back to 1967 as members of the American Football League. They played their first two seasons in the AFL and after the NFL/AFL merger joined the AFC Conference. For most of their tenure in the NFL, they’ve been members of the AFC Central but would move to the AFC North during realignment in 2002. Original owner Paul Brown selected the team name to pay tribute to an older Cincinnati football team that played under the name ‘Bengals’ in the late 1930’s. The Browns would share Riverfront Stadium with the MLB Cincinnati Reds for most of the first 30 years in town. In 2000, they would move into a football specific stadium named for Paul Brown.
Cincinnati didn’t have much success in their first decade as NFL members. In the 1970’s, the Bengals would make the playoffs three times and win two divisional titles. Ironically, their best team of the 1970’s–if not the best in franchise history–didn’t win the divisional title. The 1975 the team finished 11-3, still the best winning percentage (.786) in franchise history. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, the Pittsburgh Steelers finished 12-2 that same year relegating the Bengals to a wild card playoff spot. Throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s they were for the most part a solid team but fell short of championship level. The Bengals made the Super Bowl twice in the 1970’s (1981 and 1988) and would lose to the San Francisco 49ers both times. Cincinnati would win the AFC Central title in 1990 and wouldn’t be back in the playoffs for 15 years. The Bengals have reached the playoffs four times since then and are among the top contenders for the 2014 AFC Championship.
The Bengals’ uniforms have always been unique in NFL teams due to their simplicity. The original uniforms the team used upon entry into the NFL were a ‘remix’ of the Cleveland Browns‘ uniforms but with the word ‘Bengals’ on the helmet. Owner Paul Brown would reject several other designs including a ‘tiger stripe’ motif similar to the one currently used by the team. The Bengals were the last team to add player numbers to jersey sleeves (1981). Since Brown’s death in 1991, the Bengals have added a few more cosmetic touches like more tiger stripes on the jerseys but are still on the conservative side.
Cincinnati was a very popular television team during the 1970’s and 1980’s, but their 15-year playoff drought with few superstars on the roster caused that support to erode somewhat. They’re back on the upswing, however, and should be a more frequent participant in national TV games in the future. Of course, just being on national TV does little good for fans who want to watch Bengals football game online. The NFL’s network TV partners offer little to no live streaming of games. The NFL’s official website offers little in the way of live digital content though it is a good way to watch Bengals video highlights online. One of the only recourses for Bengals live game streaming is the NFL premium ‘Sunday Ticket’ package. This package includes all TV broadcasts and does have digital streaming capability, though the platform doesn’t perform especially well. There is some good news for fans in that a Bengals live radio stream is easy to find online.
The best way to stay on top of the action is to watch Cincinnati Bengals online free. There are countless live video streams available on the Internet encompassing virtually every sport, league and team in the world. A number of websites compile an extensive index of these streams including Wiziwig, Stream2watch.me, FrontRowSports and others. These websites change their address from time to time, and new sites come online frequently, so a Google search is a good idea to get the most up to date information.
After you locate the link for the Bengals live stream, you’ll be watching the game in a matter of minutes. You have some options to provide the best possible viewing experience. You can select from a number of stream speeds to find one that works best with your Internet connection and computer. You can also choose how you want to watch the action. The easiest way is on your computer and with a big monitor and a decent sound system that can be as good as watching on HDTV. Other options include streaming to your smartphone/tablet or to your television set using a Roku player or similar device. No matter how you watch the action there’s no better way to keep up with the Cincinnati Bengals all season long!