A break-even (7-7) season for Cincinnati included the individual highlight of QB Ken Anderson winning the first of his four NFL passing titles. He posted a league-best 95.7 rating, with 213 completions in 328 attempts (64.9 percent) for 2667 yards, with 18 TDs and 10 INTs. In a Nov. 10 win vs. Pittsburgh, Anderson set a Bengals record (still standing through 2017) for completion percentage, ringing up a 90.9 by connecting on 20-of-22. Through 2017, that's third-best in NFL history (minimum 20 attempts). CB Lemar Parrish led the NFL in punt returns, with an 18.8-yard average that remains through '17 as the franchise record. The Bengals were 7-4 through 11 games, but were still a game and a half behind first-place Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati lost its last three contests. The Bengals swept the "Battle of Ohio" series vs. Cleveland for the first time, winning 33-7 at home in the season opener and 34-24 at Cleveland in Game 5. The campaign was preceded by a tumultuous offseason. Labor unrest roiled the league scene well into the preseason. The NFL Players Association called a strike, but not all players were on board, and most teams welcomed willing veterans into training camps. The Bengals were at the top in terms of veterans reporting to camp. Early preseason games were played with large numbers of rookies and other new personnel, however, and the Bengals offered fans refunds to those games. Most fans kept their tickets. The strike effort dwindled as preseason neared its end, and the regular season opened normally. Prior to preseason, the Bengals were in the thick of an NFL battle against player raids by the new World Football League, as they disputed the WFL Philadelphia franchise's signing of star LB Bill Bergey to a contract to begin in 1976, even though Bergey still was obligated to the Bengals through 1975. The Bengals lost that battle in court, but the decision wound up being moot. Bergey's offers from the unstable new league eventually fell through, and on July 10 of '74, Cincinnati traded Bergey to Philadelphia's NFL team, the Eagles, for first-round draft choices in 1976 and '77, plus a second-rounder in '77.
