Bengals Beat Seattle To Cap Off Undefeated October

SEATTLE -- Marvin Lewis politely acknowledged becoming Cincinnati's all-time wins leader only to immediately crack a joke when it was pointed out the Bengals had surpassed their entire win total from a year ago.

"We didn't have to go far to surpass last year, unfortunately," Lewis said.

It's not just the Bengals' win total that's surprising. They're doing it thanks to defense, a couple of rookies on offense, and on Sunday one huge special teams play.


Quarterback Andy Dalton threw a pair of first-half touchdown passes, one to fellow rookie A.J. Green,Brandon Tate returned a punt 56 yards for a touchdown with 3:22 left and the Bengals won their fourth straight with a 34-12 win over the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

Toss in Reggie Nelson's 75-yard interception return for a score in the final minute and every phase had a hand in the Bengals fourth straight win and first win on the West Coast since beating San Diego in 2003.

Cincinnati is 5-2 for the fourth time in the past 21 years and the previous three times it reached the postseason. The Bengals are tied with Baltimore a half game behind Pittsburgh in the tough AFC North.

"We continue to find a way to win it and continue to find a way to keep it interesting. We have to grow on the positives and we've got to correct the negatives," Lewis said.

"That's a hard-fought game. It started out with more talking than playing. We got ahead at that point, and we were able to settle down and play a little bit more better in the second half."

Dalton tossed TDs of 14 yards to Jerome Simpson and a beautiful 43-yarder that dropped into the arms of Green in the second quarter to give the Bengals a 17-3 lead.

From there, the Bengals (5-2) leaned on their impressive defense that bent, but managed to keep Seattle out of the end zone until the fourth quarter.


"To the people on the outside, they may be surprised and what not," Cincinnati cornerback Leon Hall said. "Every season we come in expecting to win. ... Just hopefully, we've got some big games coming up, so we execute in those games."

Dalton made mistakes in the second half, throwing a pair of interceptions and the Bengals managed only 252 yards of total offense. That proved to be enough thanks to special teams, defense and flubs from the struggling Seahawks.

Dalton, whom Seattle passed on in April's draft by using its late first-round pick on right tackle James Carpenter instead of the quarterback out of TCU, was 18 of 29 for 168 yards. Green finished with four catches for 63 yards.

Mike Nugent made two field goals, including a 48-yarder with 4:50 left to give the Bengals a 20-12 lead. It capped a drive where Cincinnati used 4 minutes and forced Seattle to get a touchdown and 2-point conversion to tie.

It was a moot point. Seattle (2-5) went three-and-out on the ensuing possession and Tate, filling in for Adam "Pacman" Jones who was injured in the first quarter, caught Jon Ryan's punt and sprinted nearly untouched to seal the victory.

It was Cincinnati's first punt return for a score since 2003.

"For some reason when he kicked it I had the feeling I was going to do something special with it," Tate said. "I didn't know I was going to score, but I put all the trust in my teammates. The other 10 guys did their job, I just went out and did mine."

One of Cincinnati's challenges was deciphering Seattle's quarterback. Charlie Whitehurst started after coach Pete Carroll determined he wanted to try and hold out Tarvaris Jackson, and his pectoral injury, another week. But Whitehurst was ineffective and Jackson entered midway through the second quarter.

The quarterback roulette that never hit on the right number was part of a maddening and confusing day that started when receiver Mike Williams was surprisingly inactive after not being listed on any injury reports all week.


The Seahawks (2-5) were flustered to the point where running backMarshawn Lynch was barking at coaches on the bench after Seattle was held to a field goal on the final play of the third quarter -- the second time they were stymied inside the 10.

"There were a couple plays out there where I feel myself, I didn't execute right, and I think those were plays that would have put the game in a different perspective," Lynch said.

Jackson finished 21 of 40 for a career-high 323 yards in just 2½ quarters, while Whitehurst was 4 of 7 for 52 yards and was sacked twice in his limited appearance.

And Carroll again flubbed his time management late in the first half. When Seattle was out of timeouts, Carroll called a run play on fourth-and-2 at the Cincinnati 3 with 14 seconds left. Lynch got the 2 yards, but the ball was not spotted in time to be spiked and Seattle walked away with no points.

The mistake appeared huge when Seattle trailed just 17-12 early in the fourth quarter before the Bengals pulled away.

"It would have been a good call if we made it," Carroll said. "But we didn't."

Game notes
Carroll said Williams tweaked a hamstring and that's why he was not active. ... Seattle WRs Sidney Rice (102) and Ben Obomanu (107) both topped 100 yards receiving. ... Jones said his hamstring was just a tweak and that he would do "whatever I have to do to be healthy," for next week's game at Tennessee. ... Lewis passed Sam Wyche for most wins in Bengals history.

Bengals Keep Colts Winless

Andy Dalton passed for 264
yards and a touchdown in the
Bengals win over the Colts.

By:  Coop


The Cincinnati Bengals were playing host to the Indianapolis Colts.  The Bengals were looking to 4-2, while the Colts were trying to pick up their first win of the year.  Indy had one of the worst offenses in the NFL heading into this game, while the Bengals had the best defense in the NFL.  So for the first time in a long time, the Bengals were actually favored over that team a couple hours West of them.


The Bengals did not disappoint, they keep Indy winless, 27-17 the final score.  Here is how it all happened. 


A few minutes into the game, Andy Dalton hooked up with AJ Green for an 11 yard touchdown pass, it was 7-0.  That would be the only score of the 1st quarter.


Indianapolis got on the board when Donald Brown got the hand-off, and took it to the house for an 18 yard score, it was a tie ballgame.  


Cincy would retake the lead as time expired in the 1st half when Mike Nugent kicked a 20 yard field goal. 10-7 the score heading into the locker room.


To start the 2nd half for the Bengals, they marched down the field to the 1 yard line, then handed it off to Cedric Benson, and he cashed it in.  17-7 the score.  Then, with 2:20 to go in the 3rd, Nugent kicked a 43 yard field goal to go up by 13, 20-7.


The Colts were showing some signs of a comeback in the 4th quarter.  It all started with an Adam Vinatieri 46 yard field goal to make it 20-10.  Then on their next drive Painter connected with Dallas Clark for a 1 yard touchdown pass, it was now only a one possession game, 20-17.


Indy had the ball back, looking to march down the field and tie it or take the lead.  Well they could have, if there wasn't a fumble.  Garcon fumbled it, Carlos Dunlap picked it up, and took it back for a 35 yard touchdown. It was not a pick 6, it was a POP 6.  That put the nails in the coffin, 27-17 the score, and that is how she finished.


The game was not televised, due to the blackout rule, but it looked like there were quite a bit of people there. 


Andy Dalton had another good game, he 25 of 32 passes, good for 264 yards and a touchdown.


Jerome Simpson looked great today, as he had 6 catches for 101 yards.  AJ Green added 51 yards.


Both teams were good against the running game today, as both teams only had 94 yards on the ground.  The Bengals defense forced 3 turnovers today.


The Bengals will not play next Sunday, but after that they will head to Seattle to take on the Seahawks.  That game will be at 4:15 PM ET and televised on CBS.  Until then, WHO DEY!

Bengals Beat Browns To Kickoff Season

CLEVELAND -- Bruce Gradkowski looked up field and couldn't believe his eyes. There was nothing, just green grass and rookie receiver A.J. Green.

With a sudden snap, the Bengals had fooled Cleveland's defense, leaving them flat-footed and out of position. Now, it was up to Cincinnati's backup quarterback to complete the sneaky trick.

"I said, 'Oh my gosh, you gotta be kidding me,'" Gradkowski said.


The Browns were just as shocked.

Gradkowski caught Cleveland's defense still in the huddle and quickly lobbed a 41-yard touchdown pass to Green in the fourth quarter, giving the whatever-it-takes Bengals a stunning 27-17 win Sunday over the Browns to spoil a sloppy debut in Cleveland's first game under coach Pat Shurmur.

"The play is designed to catch them napping," said Bengals running backCedric Benson, who put the Browns away with a 39-yard TD run in the final minutes. "We caught them napping."

Green, who hadn't caught a pass all game, was left uncovered by the Browns, who were still huddled up when the Bengals lined up.

After taking the shotgun snap, Gradkowski, on in relief of injured rookie starterAndy Dalton, looked toward a wide-open Green streaking down the right side.

Green felt as if he was dreaming.

"I thought, 'Ball, please get down and into my hands,'" the speedy first-round pick said. "It's one of the slowest balls I've ever seen. It was one of the toughest catches I've ever had because I had so long to think about it. It took forever to get to me."

Green hauled it in and sprinted untouched into the end zone to shock the Browns and their fans. Cleveland fell to 1-12 in season openers since 1999.

Shurmur isn't convinced what the Bengals did was legal.


"They quick-snapped us," Shurmur said. "I'll have to watch the tape, but it's my understanding they changed personnel, lined up and then quick-snapped. There's rules that go along with that, so we'll see. My understanding is when the offense changes personnel, the defense is allowed to do so as well and have time to do it."

The play was equally surprising for the Bengals, who jumped in celebration at the improbable TD. This was the kind of play that usually happens to them.

"We just got lucky," said center Kyle Cook. "I think they knew they screwed up. We just called it at the right time."

Browns cornerback Sheldon Brown thought the Bengals got away with one.

"We were still in the defensive huddle when they snapped the ball," he said. "It happened so fast, all I know there was a lot of people running wide open down the field."

Colt McCoy threw two TD passes for the Browns, who were disorganized for much of Shurmur's first game. Cleveland committed 11 penalties -- 10 in the first half -- but the Browns' biggest offense was not being ready while protecting a 17-13 lead in the fourth quarter.

Cornerback Joe Haden, who had kept Green without a catch for more than 50 minutes and batted away five passes, was out of position and couldn't catch Green.

"We weren't ready," Haden said. "Everybody was scrambling. Everybody was standing in the middle looking at D'Qwell {Jackson) trying to figure out what the call was. We never got one and when we heard everybody screaming, they were already lined up and we just started running."

Benson, who recently served jail time on an assault charge, finished with 121 yards on 25 carries. Mike Nugent kicked field goals of 24 and 47 yards for Cincinnati.

Considered by some to be the NFL's worst team, and with veteran quarterback Carson Palmer sitting out in a standoff with ownership, the Bengals somehow won their first opener since 2007. And they did it with Gradkowski, their third-string QB, who pulled one over on the Browns.

"Every once in a while you lose a game that makes you feel sick to your stomach," Browns linebacker Scott Fujita said. "This is definitely one of those games."

Dalton was hit by Browns rookie defensive tackle Phil Taylor on Cincinnati's final offensive play in the first half. Dalton, trying to become only the fifth rookie since 1970 to win his debut on the road, finished 10 of 15 for 81 yards. He hopes to play next week at Denver.

Shurmur's first quarter as a head coach couldn't have gone much worse as the Browns were called for six penalties, gained 3 yards rushing and were badly outplayed.

Afterward, a red-faced Shurmur didn't hold back when assessing his team's disappointing outing.

"A season full of mistakes in the first quarter," Shurmur said. "No excuses. I don't care if you're a rookie. I don't care if you've been in this thing for 12 years, and I care if this is your last game. You can't make mistakes."

Brown didn't offer any excuses, but felt the officiating was one-sided. Cincinnati was only whistled for three infractions.

"It's kind of frustrating, but in my eyes some of those calls are questionable," he said. "The biggest thing is do not let this game trickle over into a whole season. That would be the most frustrating thing."

Game notes
Players and coaches on both sidelines helped hold the giant American flag that covered the entire field during a stirring pregame tribute to the 10th anniversary of 9/11. ... Jackson had 11 tackles, two sacks and forced a fumble for the Browns. ... Cincinnati leads the series 40-36. ... The Bengals improved to 20-24 in openers, 7-13 on the road. ... Browns punter Richmond McGeeaveraged 36 yards on eight punts, a poor debut that could lead to changes.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

Bengals Draft AJ Green

The Bengals selected WR AJ Green as their 1st pick in the 2011
NFL Draft.

By:  Coop


BREAKING NEWS:  "With the 4th pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, the Cincinnati Bengals select...AJ Green."


Yes, the Bengals have just now drafted AJ Green, the former Georgia WR.  Green may be the best offensive player in the draft, and either him or Julio Jones is the best WR in the draft.


In 2010, Green had 57 receptions for 848 yards, averaged 14.9 yards per catch, and had 9 touchdowns.


He had a great career with the Bulldogs, in all 3 years he played, he had at least 53 receptions, 808 yards, and 6 touchdowns.


The Bengals are happy to get him, and we'll see if he makes a difference on Carson Palmer's return.


As a Bengals fan, I am very happy in our pick.  I expect a great NFL career from AJ Green.