When was the last time the Bengals won the Super Bowl?

The Cincinnati Bengals have reached the Super Bowl this season in a shocking turnaround for the franchise. The team finished with a record of 2-14 in 2019 and 4-11-1 in 2020. Yet they advanced to the postseason this year and are looking to take home the Lombardi Trophy.

NFL fans in general love a good story about a deserving team winning a title. Joe Burrow is only in his second season and, as we already know, he snapped a three-decade long playoff win drought this year.

But when was the last time the Bengals won a Super Bowl? It turns out that drought is much longer than just three decades, with this marking another opportunity for Cincinnati to win its first ever.

When was the last time the Bengals won a Super Bowl?

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's Super Bowl Press Conference

The answer is never. The franchise has never won a Super Bowl title since joining the league in 1968 as part of the AFL. In fact, this is an organization with very little playoff success in general.

However, this does mark the team's third ever Super Bowl appearance. The first came back during the 1981 season with Forrest Gregg roaming the sidelines as head coach.

The Bengals went 12-4 and took down the Buffalo Bills and San Diego Chargers before meeting up with the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl. The game was close, but Joe Montana and company took home the 26-21 victory.

That season saw quarterback Ken Anderson win the NFL MVP award, and the Bengals seemed like a team destined for its first championship. Yet a drought followed their loss, lasting until the team's new quarterback Boomer Esiason won MVP during the 1988 season.

That year saw the Bengals reach the Super Bowl yet again, after they took down the Seattle Seahawks and the Buffalo Bills. For reference, the Seahawks were in the AFC at the time.

Cincinnati had yet another Super Bowl showdown with San Francisco, only to lose again in close fashion with a final score of 20-16. Their next playoff victory was in the 1990 Wild Card Round, but the team did not win another postseason game until this year's Wild Card game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

The good news for the organization this time around is that they do not have to go up against the 49ers. That matchup almost became a reality, but the Los Angeles Rams came out on top in the NFC Championship Game to advance to the Super Bowl.

This time will feature a showdown between Burrow and Matthew Stafford. Anderson and Esiason were unable to win it all after posting MVP seasons. Burrow had a great year, but his performance wasn't quite MVP worthy.

Yet Burrow has taken off in the playoffs and this late surge may be enough to lead Cincinnati to the franchise's first ever Super Bowl victory.

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