Five things to know about Boomer Esiason as he enters the Bengals' Ring of Honor
Chad Johnson and Boomer Esiason are this year’s inductees into the Bengals’ Ring of Honor, the Cincinnati Bengals announced Thursday morning.
The Bengals will induct the 2023 Ring of Honor class during halftime of their primetime Monday Night Football matchup against the Los Angeles Rams on Sept. 25.
More: Chad Johnson, Boomer Esiason will be inducted into Bengals' Ring of Honor this year
Esiason is one of the top quarterbacks in franchise history. He played 14 seasons in the National Football League, his first nine with the Bengals from 1984-92. He played three years with the New York Jets and one with the Arizona Cardinals before returning to the Bengals for his final season in 1997.
Norman Julius Esiason was born and raised in East Islip, N.Y. He got the "Boomer" nickname before he was born. His mother Irene, reacting to his constant kicking in the womb, called him "Boomer," and he has kept the name since.
Here are five things to know about the left-handed quarterback:
1. Esiason was the NFL MVP during the Bengals’ Super Bowl season of 1988
Esiason was the Most Valuable Player for the NFL in the 1988 season when he threw for 3,572 yards and a career-high 28 touchdowns. He led the NFL in passer rating (97.4) and completed 57.5 percent of his passes.
The Bengals finished the season 12–4 with the highest-scoring offense in the NFL, winning the AFC Central Division. He finished the season as the NFL's top-rated passer. The Bengals defeated the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills in the playoffs to go to the Super Bowl in Miami against San Francisco.
The Bengals lost 20-16 to the 49ers.
In 1990, he led the Bengals to a 41-14 win over the Houston Oilers in the playoffs, the Bengals’ last postseason win until their Super Bowl run in 2022. Against the Oilers, Esiason threw for 150 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 57 and a TD.
2. Esiason was a star quarterback at Maryland
The University of Maryland was the only college to offer Esiason a scholarship. Once he got there, he set 17 school records. Esiason threw for 6,169 yards and 42 touchdowns and was a two-time honorable mention All-American in 1982 and 1983.
In his senior season, he led Maryland to the Atlantic Coast Conference title, beating No. 3 North Carolina in the final home game.
The Bengals picked Esiason with the 38th pick in the 1984 NFL Draft, early in the second round. He was the first quarterback taken in the draft that year.
3. He finished his career with the Bengals in a memorable 1997 return
Esiason returned to the Bengals for the 1997 season. He replaced Jeff Blake midway through the 1997 season, throwing for 13 touchdowns with only two interceptions and garnering a passer rating of over 106 for the season. The Bengals were 3–8 with Blake under center.
With Esiason at quarterback, they won four of their last five games and scored over 30 points four times. They broke 40 points twice, in a 44–42 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and a 41–14 rout of the Tennessee Oilers. The Bengals wanted Esiason to come back for two more years but he chose to retire.
On Dec. 21, 1997, he played his last NFL game. His last play was a 79-yard touchdown play-action pass to wide receiver Darnay Scott. The touchdown proved to be the winner in a 16–14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
4. Esiason set numerous passing records
On Oct. 7, 1990, Esiason threw for 490 yards in a 34–31 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. That was a Bengals record until Joe Burrow broke it with 525 against the Ravens on Jan. 2, 2022.
In 1996, Esiason threw for the fifth-best passing yardage day in NFL history at the time, with 522 yards in a 37–34 overtime victory over Washington.
Esiason was named to the Pro Bowl four times and still holds several NFL career records for left-handed quarterbacks, including most touchdown passes (247), passing yards (37,920), and completions (2,969).
5. His son’s cystic fibrosis diagnosis galvanized the community
Esiason’s son Gunnar was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 1993 when he was 2 years old. Boomer had just signed with the New York Jets.
Cystic fibrosis is a rare disease, affecting about 30,000 Americans. It causes organs and cells that produce mucus in the body to malfunction, prompting thick mucus blockages that can also catch germs and cause significant infections. It is a genetic condition, and there is no cure.
Boomer kept his son’s condition in the spotlight. The life span for someone with cystic fibrosis used to be about 30 years. Now, people with the disease can and do live into their 80s.
Gunnar earned an MBA. He took on a leadership role with the Boomer Esiason Foundation, which supports and advocates for people with cystic fibrosis. He got married. He started a podcast. He and his wife are now raising a 2-year-old.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Boomer Esiason: Five things to know about former Bengals quarterback
