The Bengals raced to a 4-1 start and stood 5-3 at the mid-way point of the season, but a 1-7 finish left them with a 6-10 final record and last-place finish in the AFC North. The season was marred by a wave of injuries that crippled the team. Of the 53 players on the roster for the regular-season opener at Indianapolis, 22 missed at least two games due to injury. Fourteen of those 22 players ended the season on Reserve/Injured, including starters QB Andy Dalton, WR A.J. Green, WR Tyler Boyd and TE Tyler Eifert, as well as other major contributors, including DE Carl Lawson and TE Tyler Kroft. Cincinnati's defense struggled from the outset, and through nine games was allowing a league-worst 454.6 net yards per game, which at the time was on pace to set an NFL record for yards allowed in a season. The Bengals fired first-year defensive coordinator Teryl Austin on Nov. 12, the day after a 51-14 home loss to New Orleans, and head coach Marvin Lewis assumed defensive coordinator duties for the season's final seven games. The Bengals' defense showed improvement under Lewis, but still finished last in the NFL at 413.6 net yards allowed per game. Second-year HB Joe Mixon rushed for 1168 yards and became the first Bengal ever to lead the AFC in rushing in a season (though RB Paul Robinson led the AFL in rushing in 1968). Boyd enjoyed a breakout season, and his 1028 receiving yards made him the first Bengal other than Green to hit the century mark in 10 seasons (Chad Johnson, 2009). On Oct. 7 vs. Miami, Green's 112 receiving yards gave him his 32nd 100-yard game, passing WR Chad Johnson (31) for most in team history. Rookie S Jessie Bates III totaled a team-best 111 tackles on defense, making him only the sixth Bengals rookie ever to lead the team in tackles. On Dec. 31, the day after the season finale, the Bengals and head coach Marvin Lewis mutually decided to part ways after 16 seasons. Lewis ended his career with a 131-122-3 regular season record (131-129-3 including postseason). His total of 131 career victories is the most in team history and at the time ranked tied for 24th in NFL history.
