In the franchise's 25th anniversary season, the team started 2-0 under new head coach Dave Shula, with wins at Seattle and vs. the L.A. Raiders. And they seemed a lock to go 3-0 the next week against an 0-2 Green Bay team under rookie head coach Mike Holmgren, leading almost all the way. But a little-known Packers QB, Brett Favre, made the first splash of what would become one of the NFL's greatest careers. Favre directed a 21-point fourth quarter for a 24-23 win. A second-year pro at the time, playing in only his fourth game, Favre had come off the bench to replace injured starter Don Majkowski in the first quarter. Favre's two TD passes, including a 35-yarder to unheralded WR Kittrick Taylor with 0:13 to play, were the first two of a total that would rise to an NFL-record 508. The Green Bay game was the start of a five-game losing streak for Cincinnati, and the team finished 5-11. The year was marked by news involving many of the franchise's biggest names. All-Pro OT Anthony Munoz, with 11 Pro Bowl selections on his resume, was limited to eight games by injuries and announced his retirement prior to playing in the season finale. Another Bengals icon, QB Boomer Esiason, was benched in favor of '92 top draft pick David Klingler after the team fell to 4-7. Esiason asked to be traded as the season ended, and the club said it would try to accommodate him. Early '92 was the end of the line for Ickey Woods, Cincinnati's 1988 rookie RB sensation. Woods had seen some action in '90 and '91, after suffering a season-ending '89 left knee injury, but his '91 year included a significant right knee injury, and he was waived after failing to show well in the '92 spring mini-camp. WR Eddie Brown, a standout performer from 1985-91, saw his NFL career essentially ended by a ruptured disc in his neck discovered early in training camp. Brown underwent surgery and missed the season. He gained free agency after the season, but found the market slow and wound up re-signing with the Bengals. He was released in final 1993 preseason cuts and did not play again in the NFL. Through 1991, Brown ranked third in Bengals history in receiving yards (6134) and held club records for receiving yards in a game (216) and a season (1273). Bright spots in '92 included WR Carl Pickens, named Associated Press NFL Rookie of the Year, and RB Harold Green, whose 1170 rushing yards were second-most in club history to that point. After the season finale, the Bengals hired team QB legend Ken Anderson as QBs coach. In the Game 3 loss at Green Bay, Bengals rookie Pickens turned in a 95-yard punt return for a TD, the longest punt return through 2017 in Bengals history.
