Bio & Stats
| Position | Defensive Tackle |
| Height | 6-2 |
| Weight | 297 lbs. |
| Birthdate | 10/2/1976 |
| College | West Virginia |
| Acquired | UFA (Tenn) '03 |
| Experience | 9 years |
Seventh-year pro played his third Bengals season and was the only player with an entry on every column on team’s defensive stat sheet ... Ranked second on the line with 58 total tackles (31 solo) ... Had 2 forced fumbles, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery, 1 INT (first of career) and 2 passes defensed ... Voted the winner of 2005 Bengals “Good Guy” award by Cincinnati chapter of Pro Football Writers.
2005 RECAP:
PARTICIPATION: Started every game at RDT, including Wild Card playoff 1-8-06 vs. Pittsburgh ... Has started every Bengals game since joining the team as unrestricted free agent in 2003.
HIGHLIGHTS: Logged 6 tackles Sept. 11 at Cleveland, and his forced fumble against QB Trent Dilfer was recovered by teammate Keiwan Ratliff at Bengals 49 in second quarter, setting up FG drive that gave the Bengals a 10-3 lead … Had 2 tackles Sept. 18 vs. Minnesota, and forced a Michael Bennett fumble that teammate Justin Smith recovered at Vikings 15 in second quarter, setting up a field goal … Had 4 tackles Oct. 2 vs. Houston, and recovered a fumble forced by Justin Smith at Texans 35 late in the fourth quarter, setting up field goal for final 16-10 victory margin … Tied for line lead with 6 tackles Oct. 16 at Tennessee, and led line in solos with 5 … Led line in tackles with 5 on Oct. 30 vs. Green Bay, and had a pass deflection that led to an INT by teammate Odell Thurman at Bengals 43 in second quarter … Logged first sack of season in second quarter Nov. 6 at Baltimore, dropping Anthony Wright for 8-yard loss to Ravens 21, his only tackle of the game … Had first career INT in division-clinching win Dec. 18 at Detroit, picking off a Jeff Garcia pass intended for FB Sean McHugh at Detroit 45 in first quarter, setting up TD for a 17-0 Bengals lead … Also at Detroit, tied for line lead with 5 tackles … Recorded 6 tackles Dec. 24 vs. Buffalo, including 6-yard sack of Kelly Holcomb at Bengals 43 late in third quarter.
PREVIOUS SEASONS: 2004 - Started 16 games for his third straight NFL season, manning LDT spot ... Played 16 games for the fifth time in his six NFL seasons ... Had 4 tackles (all solo) Sept. 26 vs. Baltimore, including sack of Kyle Boller for no gain ... Led the line with 7 tackles (5 solo) Oct. 3 at Pittsburgh ... Tied for line tackles lead with 7 (3 solo) Oct. 17 at Cleveland ... Had 4 tackles (2 solo) in Monday night win Oct. 25 vs. Denver ... On Oct. 31 at Tennessee, had 7 tackles (4 solo) ... Had 2 tackles in victory Nov. 7 vs. Dallas, helping defense allow no opponent TDs for first time under head coach Marvin Lewis ... Led the line with 8 tackles Nov. 28 vs. Cleveland, including 7-yard sack of Kelly Holcomb in fourth quarter ... Had 6 tackles Dec. 26 vs. NY Giants, and his tipped pass against Eli Manning on third-down play in fourth quarter forced Giants punt that Keiwan Ratliff returned 42 yards, setting up game-winning TD drive ... Closed season with 6 tackles Jan. 2 at Philadelphia, including 9-yard sack of Jeff Blake.
2003 - Thornton’s sack total of 6 was a career high, topping his 4.5 for Tennessee in 1999 … Had 6 tackles (3 solo) Oct. 5 at Buffalo, including 8-yard sack of Drew Bledsoe in fourth quarter … Was all over the stat sheet in Oct. 26 win vs. Seattle, blocking a FG try (details above), recovering a fumble, sacking Matt Hasselbeck and recording 6 tackles … Sealed the Seattle win when he covered Bobby Engram’s fumble on a punt return on game’s final play … Led DL Nov. 2 at Arizona with 5 solo tackles, including 12-yard sack of Jeff Blake … Had 7 tackles (6 solo) Nov. 30 at Pittsburgh, including 2 sacks for 13 yards, and he also had a key fumble recovery … His sacks against Steelers’ Tommy Maddox were for 6 yards in third quarter and 7 yards in fourth quarter, with second sack dropping Maddox on third-down play to force a punt … In second quarter of Pittsburgh game, Thornton quelled Steelers threat by recovering fumble by QB Charlie Batch at Bengals 12-yard line … Saw limited action Dec. 14 vs. San Francisco after suffering a thigh bruise and finished with 1 tackle … Had 2 tackles (1 solo) Dec. 21 at St. Louis, and forced a fumble against Marc Bulger (Rams recovered).
2002 — Started every game for Tennessee, including two postseason contests … Helped Titans limit foes to second-fewest rushing yards (89.0/game) in NFL … Started at LDT except for Games 6-7 (vs. Jacksonville and at Cincinnati), when he filled in at RDE for injured Carlos Hall … Played through late-season left ankle injury … In regular season, totaled 44 tackles (21 solo), with 2 sacks… Had 1.5 sacks Sept. 22 vs. Cleveland, and totaled 6 tackles with season-high 3 QB pressures … Made first of his two starts at RDE Oct. 13 vs. Jacksonville and had 7 tackles, tied for season high, with a shared a sack as Titans won 23-14 … Win over Jacksonville halted a four-game losing streak and opened a stretch that would see Titans go 10-1 in their final 11 regular-season games … Started at RDE for second straight game Oct. 27 at Cincinnati, and his 7-tackle effort included a crucial play in 30-24 victory, a stop on RB Corey Dillon for no gain on a fourth-and-goal play from 1-yard line with 1:13 remaining … Had 2 tackles and 2 QB pressures in Divisional playoff win Jan. 11 vs. Pittsburgh … Had 1 tackle in AFC title game Jan 19 at Oakland.
2001 — Played only in season’s first three games before missing final 13 contests with subluxed right shoulder … Had surgery in November, and was placed on Injured Reserve list Nov. 8.
2000 — Started every game for defending AFC champs and had his Titans high in tackles (55), with 4 sacks … Had season-high 8 tackles Sept. 3 at Buffalo … Had 4 tackles with a sack of Elvis Grbac in win Sept. 10 vs. Kansas City … Had 3 tackles, a fumble recovery and a blocked FG try in win Oct. 8 at Cincinnati … Sacked Mark Brunell in Monday night win Oct. 16 vs. Jacksonville, and sacked Brad Johnson in Monday night win Oct. 30 at Washington … His 5 tackles Nov. 12 vs. Baltimore included a sack of Trent Dilfer … Had 1 tackle in reserve role in Divisional playoff loss Jan. 7 vs. Baltimore.
1999 — Drafted by Tennessee in second round (52nd overall) … Signed July 26 … Played in every game, with three starts, and played in all four postseason games as Titans advanced to Super Bowl XXXIV vs. St. Louis … His 4.5 sacks in regular season led all rookie defensive tackles, and he was named to Pro Football Weekly’s All-Rookie team … Made NFL debut Sept. 12 with 1 tackle vs. Cincinnati … In his second pro game, Sept. 19 vs. Cleveland, credited with 1.5 sacks against Browns’ Tim Couch … Made first NFL start Oct. 3 at San Francisco and had season-high 5 tackles, including 2 for-loss … Had 4 tackles and a sack in season finale Jan. 2 at Pittsburgh … Had 4 tackles in postseason, including 2 on Jan. 8 vs. Buffalo.
DUAL DISTINCTION: Thornton holds the unusual status of being the last Bengal to block an opponent’s field goal attempt while also being the last opponent to block a Bengals field goal try. Thornton blocked a 49-yard attempt by Seattle’s Josh Brown on Oct. 26 of the 2003 campaign, a key play in an eventual three-point victory (27-24). The block kept the Seahawks from expanding on a 24-20 lead, and the Bengals responded by driving 61 yards for the eventual winning TD. While playing for Tennessee on Oct. 8, 2000 at Paul Brown Stadium, Thornton inflicted the most recent blocked FG against Cincinnati, stopping a 35-yard Neil Rackers attempt in a 23-14 Titans win.
COLLEGE: Two-time All-Big East selection at West Virginia … Defensive co-captain as a senior, and earned first-team All-America honors from The Sports Network … Started every game his last three seasons, and as a junior, was named to All-American Strength Team by National Strength Coaches Association … Played from 1995-98; redshirted in '94.
PERSONAL: Hometown is Philadelphia, PA … Attended Scotland School for Veterans' Children in central Pennsylvania, and was a first-team all-state pick for small schools in football while helping lead basketball team to state title … Has been active in charitable and community affairs, and teamed with Papa John's Pizza in Nashville to initiate a program called Papa John's Pep Talks, in which he spoke at local schools about making good choices and treated students to pizza parties … In Cincinnati, he donates Bengals tickets to the Autism Society of Greater Cincinnati, and he sponsors the "John Thornton and Friends Bowling for Autism" fundraiser … Married (wife Allison), with two sons, Jalen (born 1-23-01) and Ty (6- 4-03) … Full name is John Jason Thornton.