The year was 1994. The Cincinnati Bengals were 0-7. This after winning only 11 games total in from 1991 to 1993, the three years following their last playoff appearance.
The Bengals were now at home facing the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys without their starting quarterback, David Klinger. The sixth overall pick in the 1992 Draft was sidelined with a knee injury, which meant Cincinnati would have to roll with its third-string quarterback, an undersized sixth round Draft pick of the New York Jets that Cincinnati picked up off waivers.
And then, just when it seemed all hope was lost, the franchise found new life.