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Ocho Cinco was happier Sunday against the Titans.

Week 12 (W) -- Bengals 35, Titans 6 -- Lights, camera, action!!! It was TV highlight time for Chad Johnson and the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday afternoon in Paul Brown Stadium as the Bengals finally got the dominating victory they'd been seeking. The victims were the lackluster, fading Tennessee Titans, and the star was none other than Ocho Cinco himself. Chad brought in a personal record 12 receptions, set a Bengals career record for most receptions in only his 7th year, and caught 3 TD passes from Carson Palmer in the rout. After his first TD, Chad hijacked a CBS camera station and drew a 15 yard penalty and a likely fine. The running game returned out of thin air, with Rudi Johnson going for 88 yards and a TD, plus Kenny Watson running for a TD. The Bengals improved to 4-7 and delighted the home crowd for once. The playoffs are obviously gone, but Cincinnati left fans with a lingering hope of perhaps climbing back to a .500 season, given the schedule ahead. 11/27 Miscellany --   Carson Palmer will notch his 100th TD with his next scoring pass. He is the only Cincinnati QB to throw for 30 in a season, and he is on track for 30 this year. . . Marvin Lewis is only 8-11 in December, for those hoping for an 8-8 finish. . . TJ Houshmandzadeh continues to lead the NFL in receptions with 83, but close behind is the Patriots' unsung hero, Wes Welker, with 81 including 13 on Sunday night in the great escape (31-28) against the Eagles. Next up: Sunday Night Football on NBC at Pittsburgh. Let's hope we can see the lines on the field!!

Vince Young is coming off a career game.

Titanic Struggle -- OK, that's Marty's term, but most all Cincinnatians have spent some time remembering Joe Nuxhall this week. Sunday's 1 PM matchup at Paul Brown Stadium with Tennessee may indeed prove to reveal a sinking ship instead, though. Tennessee is 6-4 and in the playoff hunt. Luckily, they exposed a weakness to big pass and return plays on the most recent episode of Monday Night Football, which may be in the Bengals' favor. Plus, Willie Anderson has vowed that the Bengals are going to get back to digging with hand shovels, so Jeff Fisher's boys best watch out. . . Well, let's get real. The Bengals' running game is anemic, and the rushes per game and yards per rush have now fallen consistently over the last two years. Carson Palmer is being asked to do more and more, and while his completion and yardage numbers are excellent, he leads the NFL in INTs. Meanwhile, Vince Young just got done passing for 309 yards and running for 74 more, and the Bengals show no signs of stopping teams from scoring. Before the recent two game skid, Tennessee was on a 12-3 run. The Titans may just have to tackle and avoid Monday night's penalties to win this one.

Antrel Rolle got it done with pick-sixes, not tackles.

Week 11 (L) -- Cardinals 35, Bengals 27 -- This was a tough one to swallow. The Bengals were favored and there had been a palpable feel of a comeback in the air. One man, CB Antrel Rolle of the Arizona Cardinals, put that all to rest Sunday in Cincinnati. Rolle picked off three Carson Palmer passes, two for touchdowns, with nearly identical 55 and 54 yardages on the scores. Once again the Bengals could not run and it hurt. The running game totalled only 72 total yards, but not near as badly as Palmer's 4 interceptions, which were returned for a total of 155 yards and helped Arizona control not only the score but some additional field position reversals. This one was well within reach had the Bengals made tackles on the returns, and especially had the offense mustered anything in the scoreless fourth quarter. Our hero, Ocho Cinco, also fumbled away a red zone chance. It just proves that good receiving stats plus 37 completions and 329 passing yards doesn't go very far these days . . .

President Ford played the last time an NFL team had as few rushing yards as Arizona allowed last week.

Razing Arizona? -- The Cardinals were heralded in the preseason as an undernoticed, unrespected contender, with some good reasons. Nowadays they're roundly ripped for sub-par performances, and many Bengals fans may have circled Sunday's 1 PM start at Paul Brown Stadium as a win in the comeback chart for Cincinnati. Not so fast, Tarzan. Arizona is fresh off a 31-21 victory over surprising Detroit, and LB Karlos Dansby earned NFC player of the week honors after missing 2 games. Dansby was blessed to pick off former Bengal QB Jon Kitna twice in the win last week, defended well against the pass, forced a fumble and had 4 tackles as well. He could spell trouble again for Cincy if the ground game sputters once again, which it may. The Cards held the Lions to a modern NFL record low of minus 18 rushing yards. That means dudes were wearing leather helmets the last time a rushing game had such a pathetic performance. Rudi better get it running, and it's going to take more than last week's 2.0 yards per carry from the backfield.

Chris Henry has been activated by the Bengals after league reinstatement.

Week 10 -- (W) Bengals 21, Ravens 7 -- Three at a time folks, no hurry, three at a time. The Bengals got to a very normal score total Sunday afternoon in Baltimore by a most unorthodox method -- seven Shayne Graham field goals, a team record. Though surely disappointed by no end zone scores, the Bengal faithful must admit to being pleased by a near shutout over a division foe on the road. Baltimore scored its only points with less than two minutes left and with backup QB Kyle Boller. Steve McNair had earlier fumbled twice and thrown a pick. The Ravens continued their turnover barrage, giving it to Cincinnati six times. The Bengals could only convert short field goals, the longest being 35 yards, yet the treys were more than enough to seal victory. Chad Johnson indeed played, Chris Henry signalled a promising return with 99 receiving yards, and Carson Palmer threw for 271 with no INTs. The Bengals did not turn the ball over and maintained solid defense for once in the 2007 campaign. Now 3-6, the Bengals are eyeing a soft schedule, but have unfortunately by early losses created an almost impossible playoff task as they can reasonably afford only one loss the rest of the season to have any chance at all, and even that may be slim. Still, victories are nice and we'll enjoy this one for a few days. Nov. 13 Notes-- The young bloods really got involved in Cincinnati's impressive defensive performance at Baltimore. Second year DE Frostee Rucker caused a fumble as did Jonathan Fanene, and first rounder Leon Hall had a pick at CB. Dublin Coffman's Chinedum Ndukwe, who has been praised in this forum before, caused a fumble and got his first NFL INT as well. Veteran DE Justin Smith also looked good and has now played over 100 games for the Bengal defense. Smith praised the return of Landon Johnson to MLB as a key to keeping the Ravens running game in check. Of course, Baltimore did the same to the Bengals, holding Rudi Johnson and Kenny Watson to 70 yards on 34 carries. That must improve for the Bengals to rattle off any more wins. Next up: the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday 11/18 at 1 PM at Paul Brown Stadium.

Chad Back in Action?

Ocho's Itchin' -- Though it was unthinkable last Sunday as he lay immobile on the ground in the fourth quarter, it looks as if WR Chad Johnson will play Sunday afternoon at 4 pm at Baltimore. He is listed as probable and went through a fairly normal practice on Wednesday. If Ocho Cinco plays, the Bengals will finally be back to their notable WR trio as it appears Chris Henry will take the field, despite this week's "valet-gate" for Henry in a local parking lot. Who will they go up against? It won't be Samari Rolle, who has been ruled out once again for game action, though CB Chris McAllister has finally practiced this week and may see action. It may not matter for TE Reggie Kelly, who is listed as doubtful. Former Buckeye LB Anthony Schlegel is also doubtful due to a back injury. Bengal fans are desperate right now for a victory, and this will be a tough one on the road, as the Ravens cannot be counted on to turn the ball over as many times as they did in the their two Monday Night appearances, first in week 1 against Cincinnati and then last week in the disasterous loss to the Steelers. Still, unduly optimistic followers are saying that 9-7 may secure a playoff spot this year, and the schedule includes San Fran, Miami and St. Louis, who have a combined 2 victories. To validate that optimism, the Bengals will need a stretch run of 7-1, which seems as unthinkable as Chad Johnson playing this week.

Comin' Back -- Ghosts of Bengals past are starting to emerge with the additionns of RB Chris Perry and WR Chris Perry this week. Perry's status is stil not certain -- he is practicing but the team must decide by the end of the week whether to activate or release him, or place him on injured reserve for the rest of the year. TJ Houshmandzadeh rested  his knee during practice today, but old faithful Ocho Cinco got out on the field with his teammates, despite the scary injury last Sunday. The WR position will no doubt be important against Baltimore, as both CBs Samari Rolle and Chris McAllister may still be out, and as we all know what Big Ben did to the Ravens' defense just this past Monday. Chris Henry may be ready to play, as he trained with the Bengals and played in the pre-season, and has had two weeks of practice now. In activating Henry, the Bengals cut Skylar Green, who had been ineffective in the return game.

Bengals Bulled in Beefalo

Week 9 -- (L) Bills 33, Bengals 21 -- Well, I predicted a strong dose of Marshawn Lynch for the Bengals' defense to swallow, but this was an overdose. Lynch took the Bills (4-4) on his back in the second half to erase a 21-16 Bengal lead, pounding Cincinnati with a spectacular 56 yard TD run late in the game, after he had thrown a TD pass earlier in the fourth quarter to Robert Royal. Lynch finished with a yardage high for his rookie year of 153 on the ground. Lynch threw just the one pass, as JP Losman fired 295 yards through the air on 24 completions. Cincinnati (2-6) actually had only two offensive scores -- one of the TDs came on a 100 yard Glenn Holt kickoff return. Impressive, certainly, but too little even when it seemed the Bills were going to be content with field goal after field goal. The Bengals had absolutely no running attack to counter Lynch, with Rudi Johnson scraping for 11 yards on 9 carries. In a scary note toward game's end, Chad Johnson was carted off and had severe neck pain, but did not lose consciousness. He had full movement and was released from the hospital in time to fly home with his teammates. A big hit in which former Buckeye Donte Whitner played a part led to Chad's injury and a 10 minute delay in the game. 

Quick Strikes for the Stripes?

Advantage Bills? -- Buffalo is far from an offensive juggernaut this year, but four weeks in a row now the Bills have held the time of possession advantage over their opponents. Three of the four have been wins, Bengal fans. Let's hope this week it will only be due to Carson Palmer quick strike touchdown passes. Last week in beating the Jets (who fell to the Bengals the week before), Buffalo sustained a 16 play first quarter drive that kept the Bills' defense fresh and the Jets winded. However, Buffalo managed only a field goal, and in the fourth quarter had just a 6-3 lead on the lowly Jets. So, despite the time of possession stats, which Bills' coach Dick Jauron minimizes, this may be the type of offense the Bengals can handle.  Expect healthy doses of rookie RB Marshawn Lynch, since the passing attack may sputter as the reigns return to QB JP Losman over Trent Edwards. Edwards has played lately as the Bills' quarterback saga has unfolded, but he has not practiced this week and is listed as doubtful. Buckeye favorite CB Ashton Youboty is listed as questionable. Ohio Stater Donte Whitner is a go at safety, but his unheralded secondary cohort Jim Loenhard is questionable. On the striped side, LBs Caleb Miller and Ahmad Brooks are out, as is OT Willie Anderson. Stacy Andrews will start on the offensive line for Cincinnati. DT John Thornton is now listed as questionable.

Back in Business in Buffalo --  It's been a rough stretch, we all know. In fairness to our favorites, though, the Bengals' squad has been through a lot this year, and I don't just mean legally. The RB position has been decimated. The whole season has been played without Kenny Irons and Chris Perry, who were to hopefully have been the 2 and 3 backs. Now the Bengals have been playing recently without Rudi Johnson as well, though Rudi is expected back for the trip to Canada Jr. on Sunday. There has been no help at WR behind Chad Johnson and TJ Houshmandzadeh, due to a slew of injuries (and a suspension) well documented in Bengal Bites since preseason times. The top two are Pro-Bowl material, though, and coupled with the return of Rudi the Bills may be feeling ill this weekend. Fortunately, on defense, Justin Smith has returned to practice from a hamstring injury. On the other hand, John Thornton DT and Caleb Miller LB have not practiced. Overall, this may be a winnable game, and a victory on the road is crucial right now for any chance to right this ship.

Tags: cincinnati bengals