The Cincinnati Bengals are 9-4 after Sunday's win. How many times has that happened?

Following Sunday's win over the Cleveland Browns, the Cincinnati Bengals' record sits at 9-4 for the 2022 season.

The victory was the fifth in a row for the Bengals who remain one of the NFL's hottest teams. They are one of three nine-win teams in the league, and trail only the 12-1 Philadelphia Eagles and the 10-3 Buffalo Bills, Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings for the best record.

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So how many times in franchise history have the Bengals been at least 9-4 after 13 games? Nine other times, including two Super Bowl seasons – 1981 and 1988.

Here's a look at the best starts in Bengals franchise history:

1973 Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals improved to 9-4 with a win over the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 9 at Riverfront Stadium. Ken Anderson threw for 201 yards and three touchdowns. Isaac Curtis caught five passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns.

"No, none of 'em (the catches) were hard," Curtis said after the game. "Actually, they were easy to catch. Ken just laid 'em in there perfectly."

The NFL schedule was still only 14 games back then, and the Bengals defeated the Houston Oilers Dec. 16 to finish the regular season 10-4.

Coach Don Shula's Dolphins awaited the Bengals in the playoffs, and the eventual Super Bowl champions got a 34-16 win in the Orange Bowl.

1975 Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals record after 13 games sat at 10-3 following a 35-14 loss on the road to the eventual Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 13.

"It was easy to sum up," Bengals coach Paul Brown said after the game. "They blew us out and overpowered us. We caught a team really ready to play."

Brown praised his counterpart, Steelers coach Chuck Noll: "They've got a great team and great players and they're well put together. You know, they used to call Noll 'the pope' in Cleveland because he could do no wrong."

Th next week the Bengals defeated the San Diego Chargers to finish the regular season 11-3.

Again the Bengals lost in the first round of the playoffs, this time 31-28 to the Oakland Raiders.

1976 Cincinnati Bengals

Back-to-back losses to the Pittsburgh Steelers Nov. 28 and Oakland Raiders Dec. 6 had the Bengals sitting at 9-4 through 13 games.

Veteran defensive lineman Coy Bacon was so disheartened by the Raiders loss that he contemplated retirement.

"I can't go through this no more," Bacon said after the game. "It's really heartbreaking. I'm 33 years old. I don't know if I'm going to play anymore. I don't know if I'm coming back next year or not."

The Bengals needed to win their next game and needed the Steelers to lose to the Houston Oilers in their finale to qualify for the playoffs.

The Bengals got a 42-3 win over the New York Jets the next week to finish the season at 10-4.

Unfortunately for Cincinnati, the Steelers beat the Oilers 21-0.

"I know we have a better team than Pittsburgh, I know that!" Bacon said. "I still think we could've gone all the way in the playoffs.

"Our problem was getting there."

1981 Cincinnati Bengals

A 41-21 win over the Cleveland Browns on on Nov. 29 had the Bengals at 10-3.

For Bengals coach Forrest Gregg, getting a win against the team he used to coach for was big, and he couldn't hide his excitement.

"I would be lying to you if I said it wasn't (special)," Gregg said after the game. "I'm not different than anybody else."

"I've never seen him so pumped up for a game," Bengals receiver Cris Collinsworth said after the game.

Now playing a 16-game schedule, the Bengals finished with a loss to the San Francisco 49ers and wins over the Pittsburgh Steelers and Atlanta Falcons to finish the regular season 12-4.

This was Cincinnati's first Super Bowl season, where they fell to San Francisco in Super Bowl XVI.

1988 Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals defeated the Buffalo Bills 35-21 on Nov. 27 to move to 10-3.

The Bengals put up 455 yards of total offense, including a season-high 232 yards rushing.

"We had to run," center Bruce Kozerski said after the game. "We knew we couldn't line up against these guys and throw 50 times a game. And we knew if we were going to have a chance, we had to keep the ball out of (Buffalo quarterback) Jim Kelly's hands."

The season ended with a win over the San Diego Chargers, a loss to the Houston Oilers and a win over the Washington Redskins to end up 12-4.

This was the second Super Bowl appearance for Cincinnati. This time losing Super Bowl XXIII to the San Francisco 49ers.

2005 Cincinnati Bengals

A 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on Dec. 11 had the Bengals 10-3 and poised to make their return to the NFL Playoffs.

It was a Shayne Graham field goal as time expired that led to the win. Afterward, Browns quarterback Trent Dilfer had words of encouragement for Bengals QB Carson Palmer.

"He said not every game is a blowout. Not every game is pretty," Palmer said after the game. "He said, 'On your way to the Super Bowl, you're going to run into a bunch of games like that, and the good teams win those games.' "

A win the following week against the Detroit Lions followed by losses to the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs meant the Bengals ended the regular season at 11-5.

The Bengals fell to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the playoffs, in the infamous Kimo von Oelhoffen game.

2009 Cincinnati Bengals

A 30-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 13 put the Bengals at 9-4.

Cedric Benson ran for 96 yards, but the Bengals could only muster 103 passing yards.

"Against a team like (Minnesota), everybody's got to perform. You can't just have a few guys here and there," Benson said after the game.

"To y'all they're super Bengals. That's the same old Bengals to me," Vikings defensive tackle Pat Williams said after the game.

The Bengals closed out their season with a loss to the San Diego Chargers, a win over the Kansas City Chiefs and a loss to the New York Jets to finish 10-6.

The Bengals and Jets had a rematch the next week in the playoffs, with New York coming out on top again.

2013 Cincinnati Bengals

A 42-28 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 8 had the Bengals sitting at 9-4.

Quarterback Andy Dalton threw for 275 yards and had his fifth game that season with three or more touchdown passes.

"I felt like I did some good things," Dalton said after the game. "I was consistent getting completions, I was finding the open guy, and guys were making plays."

The win pushed the Bengals to the No. 3 seed in the AFC.

The following week, the Bengals lost on the road to the Pittsburgh Steelers before closing out the season with wins over the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens to finish 11-5.

The Bengals lost at home to the San Diego Chargers in the Wild Card round to end the season.

2015 Cincinnati Bengals

A 33-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 13 dropped the Bengals' record to 10-3.

Quarterback Andy Dalton, tight end Tyler Eifert and safety George Iloka were all knocked out of the game with injuries for the Bengals, which denied the team the chance to clinch the AFC North.

"It is disappointing, especially the way this season has gone," Dalton said after the game. "There is still a lot of football left to be played and I'm going to try to get back as quick as I can."

Cincinnati followed that up with a win over the San Francisco 49ers, a loss to the Denver Broncos and a win against the Baltimore Ravens to finish 12-4.

The Bengals fell to the Steelers in the Wild Card round, in another infamous Bengals-Steelers playoff game.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals record is 9-4; what is the team's best record after 13 games?