Like kickers, punters are often underrated and overlooked, but they are still extremely important to the outcome of any given game. They help to control field position for their team, and they can make or break a game with a well-placed punt or shanked shot. The Cincinnati Bengals have had some solid punters over their history. Here, we'll look at the five best.
Criteria for selection
This is a subjective list, but with punters specifically it's largely based on statistics, as it's difficult to distinguish between them otherwise. Playoff success is also factored in, but only to a certain degree. The order of the punters on this list is certainly debatable, and subject to change in the future, and that's part of the fun. Let's get into it.
The 5 best punters in Bengals history
5. Dave Lewis (1970-1973)
Let's kick the list off with Dave Lewis, who served as Cincinnati's punter for four seasons from 1970 to 1973. He also served as a backup quarterback for the team for a couple of seasons and completed six of 14 passes for 57 yards. He's not going to make an Bengals all-time lists for his QB play, but his punting is a different story.
Lewis led the NFL in yards per punt in both of his first two seasons in the league in 1970 and 1971, which is an impressive feat. He was also named First-Team All Pro in 1970 as a rookie. In terms of Bengals franchise history, Lewis is in the top five in the following categories: punts, punt yards, touchbacks and yards per punt.
4. Kyle Larson (2004-2008)
Kyle Larson had a productive, albeit brief, stint as the punter for the Bengals. The team picked him up after he went undrafted in 2004, and he went out to play in every game for the team over the next five seasons. During that time he recorded 379 punts for 15,900 yards, 109 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line and 32 touchbacks -- all of which are the fourth-most in team history.
Larson had a punt average of 42 yards and his career-long punt went for 75 yards. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team in 2004. Not a bad career for an undrafted punter from Nebraska.
3. Lee Johnson (1988-1998)
Lee Johnson wrote his name all over Cincinnati's record books during his time with the team. He's second all-time in team history in total punts, total punt yards, and punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He also booted the most punts resulting in a touchback in team history with 93. He played in five playoff games with the Bengals and punted 25 times for 1,111 yards in those contests. Johnson didn't rack up any individual accolades during his career, but he was named to Cincinnati's 40th Anniversary Team in 2007.
2. Pat McInally (1975-1985)
Pat McInally played his entire career as a member of the Bengals. He's third in franchise history in total punts, total punt yards, and punts inside the opponent's 20-yard line. He appeared in four playoff games for the Bengals and ripped a total of 12 punts with an average of 40.6 yards per punt in those contests.
The most interesting thing about McInally is that he also played wide receiver for the Bengals throughout his career in addition to punter. McInally compiled 57 receptions for 808 yards and five touchdowns over the course of his career. Not too many other punters in the history of the NFL have also served as productive pass-catchers.
McInally made the Pro Bowl in 1981 (as a punter) and he was named First-Team All Pro that same year. He was also named to Cincinnati's 50th Anniversary Team.
1. Kevin Huber (2009-2022)
Kevin Huber is the most productive punter in Bengals history. He stands as the team's career leader in every significant punting category, including total punts (1011), total punt yards (45,766), gross average (45.27), net average (40.34) and punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line (346). He also shares the franchise record for longest punt (75), and he holds the team record for most total games played with 216.
Huber appeared in nine playoff games for the Bengals, and he had a yards per punt average of 44.7 in those contests. He also had 14 punts land inside the opponents' 20-yard line in the postseason. He's the team's all-time leader in both playoff punts (42) and playoff punting yards (1,879). He was named to the Pro Bowl in 2014 as a member of the Bengals.