It took almost nine months, but wide receiver Chad Johnson finally admitted to throwing a temper tantrum in the locker room at halftime of the Cincinnati Bengals' 31-17 playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Jan. 8.

Johnson called a news conference two days after the game and repeatedly said, "Nothing happened."

The Cincinnati Bengals could be renamed The Outlaws.

Make that ‘‘The Outstanding Outlaws.’’

That’s the upside for the reborn Bengals.

The downside is the number of rogues who dot the roster, reminiscent of the Buddy Parker-coached Pittsburgh Steelers of the 1960s.

The difference is that those Steelers were losers. The 2006 Bengals are 3-0, and since Marvin Lewis took over as head coach four years ago, they haven’t suffered a losing season. Before Lewis arrived, they’d endured 11 straight years of losing.

Despite differing results a week ago, but for the same reason neither Carson Palmer nor Tom Brady is happy.

Palmer will try to lead the Cincinnati Bengals to their second straight 4-0 start and hand Brady and the New England Patriots rare back-to-back losses Sunday when the teams meet at Paul Brown Stadium.

The Patriots (2-1) have won three Super Bowls the past five years, but have traditionally struggled against the Bengals, long considered one of the NFL's weaker teams before Palmer's breakout 2005 season. New England leads the all-time series 11-8, but seven of those losses have been by double digits.

CINCINNATI — The Bengals’ career rushing leader will make his first regular-season return to Cincinnati on Sunday. Corey Dillon probably won’t receive a warm welcome.

"I would assume they would boo," receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said. "They might boo him because you (media) guys painted a bad picture of him, some of it his fault and some of it not his fault."

While racking up 8,061 yards for Cincinnati, Dillon nursed an image as a malcontent. The Bengals sent him to New England in March 2004 in a trade that has benefited both teams. Dillon gave the Patriots the workhorse they needed to win the Super Bowl, and the Bengals got to showcase Rudi Johnson and draft safety Madieu Williams with the second-round pick they acquired.

CINCINNATI — The number is alarming, especially compared with the impressive total from last season.

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer has been sacked 11 times in three games this season. That’s more than half the 21 the Bengals allowed in all 16 regular-season games a year ago.

The Pittsburgh Steelers sacked Carson Palmer six times Sunday, a week after the Browns sacked him four times. Last year, Palmer was not sacked more than twice in any game. New England, with coach Bill Belichick at the controls, will pose another stiff challenge Sunday.