Five years after being fired by the Cleveland Browns, Paul Brown finally got a team of his own with the Cincinnati Bengals, an AFL expansion team. This was Professional Football's third attempt at a team in Cincinnati following the Celts and Reds , who together lasted just three seasons.

The Bengals played their first game in San Diego on September 6th losing to the Chargers 29-13. At Nippert Stadium on the campus of University of Cincinnati the Bengals played their first home game beating the Denver Broncos 24-10.

A week later the first year Bengals won again beating the Buffalo Bills 34-23. However, the Bengals would come back down to earth winning just one of their last 11 games.

One of the bright spots for the expansion Bengals was Paul Robinson who won the AFL Rookie of the Year by rushing for 1,023 yards while scoring nine Touchdowns.