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Cincinnati appears headed in reverse after dreary loss Bengals
Bills 33, Bengals 21: Unattractive reality emerges
The Bengals will not have to cope with a potential tragedy, and for that they're thankful. That only tempered the reality that their season is essentially beyond repair. Cincinnati sunk to 2-6 at the season's halfway point with a 33-21 loss to the Buffalo Bills yesterday in Ralph Wilson Stadium. The only consolation in another dismal day was that receiver Chad Johnson, carted off the field with a neck injury late in the game, appears to have escaped serious injury. A CT scan at a Buffalo-area hospital checked out normal, and Johnson accompanied the team on its flight home.
Beyond that good news was another day of futility for the Bengals. "We're not a very good football team," quarterback Carson Palmer said. "It's frustrating. There's nothing more you can say about it. It's just frustrating." A Bills team that hardly overflows with talent dominated Cincinnati. The Bengals couldn't run, and they couldn't stop the run. Cincinnati ran 17 times for 28 yards. Buffalo rookie Marshawn Lynch ran for a season-high 153 yards on 29 carries. His last run, a clinching 56-yard touchdown, was characteristic of the pathetic tackling the Bengals have displayed most of the season. With 2 ½ minutes remaining and the Bills (4-4) ahead 26-21, Lynch took a handoff with linebacker Rashad Jeanty bearing down on him. Jeanty appeared to have Lynch wrapped up in the backfield, but Lynch spun out of the tackle. Defensive end Justin Smith looked like he had a chance to trip up Lynch, but he whiffed. Lynch cut right, and no one remained in his path as he cruised to the end zone. "I was the free guy," Jeanty said. "I missed a tackle. It comes down to making a tackle or missing a tackle. It was my opportunity to make a play, and I missed the tackle." It was hardly the only blunder by the Bengals. The supposedly high-powered offense scored a touchdown on its first drive, then scored only once more on a Bills defense that has given up more yards than all but two teams. With the Bengals ahead 21-19 early in the fourth quarter, Palmer threw a third-and-10 pass to an open Johnson, who looked to have an opening to the end zone. Johnson dropped the pass. "Chad makes that play 98 times out of 100," Palmer said. The special teams made a rare play when Glenn Holt returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown but otherwise contributed to the follies. Blue Adams committed an unnecessary roughness penalty in punt coverage to give Buffalo possession at its 43 early in the third quarter. The Bills kicked a field goal to take a 16-14 lead. The most costly special teams faux pas, partly for sheer volume, came after a three-and-out on the possession after Johnson's drop. On Kyle Larsen's punt into a stiff wind, the Bengals committed three penalties. The Bills accepted Adams' defensive holding call and took over at the Bengals 32. After six Lynch runs moved the ball to the 8, Lynch took a handoff and threw to wide-open tight end Robert Royal in the end zone for the go-ahead score with 5:51 left. The Bengals allowed the Bills to gain 479 yards and convert 8 of 13 third-down chances. In its first seven games, Buffalo averaged 246 yards. Lee Evans caught nine passes for 165 yards and a touchdown, mostly at the expense of cornerback Johnathan Joseph. "We're 2-6," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "I'm not happy about it, and there's nothing I can change about it. It's disappointing." Columbus Dispatch http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/bengals/stories/2007/11/05/bengals1105.ART_ART_11-05-07_C1_058CJE5.html?sid=101 |
