Quarterback Carson Palmer got off to a strong start on his way to a solid 3836-yard season with 32 touchdown passes, earning a trip to the Pro Bowl.

[3] However, a costly loss to the Steelers in the wild card round extended their playoff win drought to 16 years.

Running backs (RB) Wide receivers (WR) Tight ends (TE) Defensive linemen (DL) Defensive backs (DB) Special teams In addition to their regular games with AFC North rivals, the Bengals played teams from the AFC South and NFC North as per the schedule rotation, and also played intraconference games against the Bills and the Chiefs based on divisional positions from 2004.

Note: Intra-divisional opponents are in bold text [5] at Paul Brown Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio

With the costly loss, the Bengals season ended at 11–6, thus once again it extended their playoff win drought to 16 years.