Finally! The Bengals Win

By Adam Kiefaber

Bengal fans already started to head for the exits before cornerback Johnathan Joseph’s 42-yard interception return for a touchdown put the finishing touch on a 13-point come-from-behind 38-31 win over the New York Jets.

Personally, I thought that showed either a tremendous amount of confidence or a tremendous lack of respect by the fans.

How can anybody expect any NFL team, let alone the Cincinnati Bengals, to hold onto an eight-point lead with six minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Most of 60,000+ stayed to witness the interception and you will never be able to get any of the people (estimated 10 to 15 thousand) who left to ever admit it.

Down 20-10 and eventually 23-10 in the third quarter, the same Bengal fans showered, and deservingly so, their team with boos.

The boos eventually turned into cheers, when the Bengals scored 28 straight points in the second half.

Most of cheers, and deservingly so, praised the effort of veteran backup Kenny Watson (below - right). Watson finished with 130 yards on 31 carries and scored three touchdowns.

Backing up Watson was DeDe Dorsey, who flashed off his running skills as well. With the Bengals down 17-23, Dorsey received a handoff on a third-and-two. Jets safety Abram Elam had a clear path to stop the play in the backfield when Dorsey broke the tackle with a spin move. That impressive play led to the go-ahead touchdown.

Personally, I like the duo of Watson and Dorsey. Granted they were playing against the Jets, but I can’t be the only one who is a little disappointed that Rudi Johnson is supposed to play next week. Also, with Chris Perry expected back soon where does that leave Dorsey, who in my mind could develop into the Bengals’ best running back.

If you take out the two big plays to Jets’ wide receiver Laveranues Coles, the Bengals’ defense played a perfect game. After four consecutive games of allowing at least 100 yards to the opposing team’s starting running back, the Bengals held Thomas Jones to 67 yards on 19 carries. The defense also limited the Jets to only two (out of 11) third-down conversions.

At the start of the game, Levi Jones was booed as if he was a member of a terrorist group. Jones had given up 2.5 sacks in what seemed like 2.5 plays last Sunday to Chiefs’ defensive end Jared Allen. On consecutive third downs early in the first quarter, Jones was called for false start penalties. The first penalty pushed Cincinnati out of field-goal range and set up a 3rd and 10, where quarterback Carson Palmer was sacked, forcing a Bengals punt. Then Jones did it again, on a third-and-two. However, this time Jones pancaked the opposing defensive end, as Palmer had time to find T.J. Houshmandzadeh for the first down. That drive led to a 20-yard field goal by Shayne Graham, giving the Bengals their first points of the game.

Another player worth mentioning is wide receiver Glenn Holt, who drew two key pass interference calls and caught four passes for 54 yards.

Also, the crowd may have made a big play when Jets’ quarterback Chad Pennington wasn’t ready for a snap at midfield. At the time, the Bengals held a 24-23 lead. Domata Peko recovered the ball and Cincinnati capitalized with Watson’s third touchdown of the game.

The Bengals seem to be improving and the team’s confidence would be soaring if they could pull off a win this week against division-leading Pittsburgh.