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Centerville’s
Mike Nugent unloads a field goal, giving the Cincinnati
Bengals a much
needed 23-20 win over Cleveland. Photo by bengals.com
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Stripes back to old
ways
Bengals get much needed win
from bengals.com
Desperately trying to stay in the AFC North race, the Bengals found
themselves in another second-half hole, but the Cinderella Kids struck
at midnight again when Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton coolly
hung in the pocket on third-and-six with 58 seconds left and hit rookie
wide receiver A.J. Green on a spectacular 51-yard catch that set up
Mike Nugent ’s 26-yard field goal with 38 seconds left for a 23-20
victory over the Browns.
Green went high to snatch the ball in front of cornerback Joe Haden and
raced to the two-yard line as the 7-4 Bengals secured their fifth
fourth-quarter victory of the season. Dalton got his fourth fourth
quarter win on 21 of 31 passing for 270 yards.
They got the shot when Browns kicker Phil Dawson missed his first
50-yarder of the season from 55 with just less than two minutes left.
Dawson nailed his seventh 50-yard field goal of the season, a 54-yarder
that made it 20-10 with 3:54 left in the third quarter.
But as has been his M.O., Dalton who hit 20 of his first 29 passes for
219 yards, rallied the Bengals and cut the lead to 20-17 on
back-to-back throws that netted 57 yards as the Bengals finally went
deep against Cleveland’s cover two zone before 48,260 at Paul Brown
Stadium.
Rookie wide receiver A.J. Green went one-on-one with cornerback Joe
Haden down the right sideline and Green came back on an underthrown
ball for a 35-yard catch. On the next snap tight end Jermaine Gresham
was the widest receiver isolated on safety Eric Hagg and Gresham made
like Green, outjumping Hagg for a 22-yard touchdown catch with 1:22
left in the third quarter.
It was Dalton’s 16th touchdown pass of the season, breaking Greg Cook’s
42-year-old Bengals’ record.
Then it was the defense’s turn to get the Bengals the 20-20 tie.
Defensive tackle Geno Atkin , who just never stops, drilled Browns
quarterback Colt McCoy in the chest as he rolled out of the pocket and
he ended up throwing a duck that was picked off by Bengals safety
Reggie Nelson at the Cincinnati 46.
Dalton then hooked up again with Gresham on a huge third-and-eight when
he was one-on-one with linebacker Scott Fujita and it set up Mike
Nugent’s 40-yard field goal with 10:57 left in the game.
The Bengals defense was doing it without injured tackle Pat Sims
(ankle) and safety Chris Crocker (shoulder), although Crocker seemed to
be rotating with Taylor Mays late in the game.
Atkins gave Bengals a great shot to take the lead with a third-down
sack, his team-leading 6.5 drop, with seven minutes left.
But for the second straight drive, the Bengals opted to go to the air
even though running back Cedric Benson had 107 yards on his first
18 carries for his third 100-yard game of the season. They ran it just
twice in those two possessions that ended with punts, the last one when
Dalton tried to hit Gresham over the middle but the blitz was too quick.
Needing a win to stay in the AFC North race, the Bengals offered their
most abysmal outing of the season when they fell behind the Browns 17-7
at the half.
Bengals right tackle Andre Smith ’s inability to block rookie end
Jabaal Sheard all half finally caught up to them with 33 seconds left
when Sheard sacked quarterback Andy Dalton and forced just the second
lost fumble by the Bengals this season and the first since Sept. 25 .
It couldn’t have come at a worst time. The Browns got it at the Bengals
14 and with seven seconds left in the half quarterback Colt McCoy
exploited poor coverage in the secondary. With three men rushing and
eight men dropping into coverage from the Bengals 3 on the last snap
before a field-goal attempt, rookie wide receiver Greg Little bolted
out of the slot between safety Reggie Nelson and cornerback Adam Jones
going to the corner for his first NFL touchdown on McCoy’s quick throw
just over Nelson’s jump.
It was the most points the Browns had scored since Oct. 16.
The Bengals made good on their vow to commit to the running game when
they handed the ball nine times to running back Cedric Benson in the
first quarter and he responded with 64 yards and a wide-open 16-yard
touchdown run that tied the game at seven with 21 seconds left in the
first quarter.
But Benson could manage just four yards the rest of the half as their
offense stalled with inconsistent play from their offensive line.
The Bengals had a first down from their 27 with 4:27 left in the half,
but Sheard beat Smith and dumped running back Bernard Scott for a
three-yard loss. On third down, Sheard chased Dalton out of bounds and
he had to throw it away.
Meanwhile, the Bengals third-ranked rush defense took some hits from a
Cleveland running game ranked 29th and supposedly in tatters. But
running back Peyton Hillis came off the inactive list for the first
time in five games and pounded for 42 yards on 10 carries in the half
as the Browns romped to a 4.7-yard average on 19 carries against a
defense that came in allowing just 3.4.
But they let the Browns take a 10-7 lead right away early in the second
quarter on a big pass play. Working on a third-and-four from the
Bengals 40, McCoy found Little beating cornerback Nate Clements for a
15-yard pass to set up Phil Dawson’s 32-yard field goal with 9:20 left
on the half.
The Bengals did everything they wanted with the football on the game’s
first drive when Benson ripped off a 33-yard run behind the left side
and racked up 40 yards. But he didn’t get the last one on a 76-yard
drive that took seven and a half minutes and ended when the Browns
stuffed Benson on fourth-and-one.
The Browns came into the game seventh in the NFL in allowing just over
19 points per game and eighth in keeping teams out of the end zone in
the red zone and they showed why. The Bengals sent Benson behind the
right side and fullback Chris Pressley and seemed to have a surge, but
linebacker Kaluka Maiava filled the hole and safety Mike Adams came
over the top to make sure.
The drive not only wasted Benson’s second longest run of the season
(his longest is a 39-yarder against these Browns on Opening Day), but a
couple of big third-down plays.
Wide receiver Andrew Hawkins checked in with his weekly early big play
on third down to revive that first drive that appeared to bog down on a
hold on left guard Nate Livings. But Hawkins scooted 19 yards on a
screen on third-and-19 and then on third-and-eight Dalton hit wide
receiver Jerome Simpson in stride over the middle as he worked on
cornerback Sheldon Brown for a nine-yard gain on third-and-eight.
The goal-line stand did lead to points because the Bengals forced a
punt from the Cleveland 10 when outside linebacker Manny Lawson and
middle linebacker Rey Maualuga chased McCoy out of bounds and the
Bengals won a challenge that reversed the spot.
The Bengals got the ball at their own 47 and it took just three plays
to get the score. One was wide receiver A.J Green’s first catch since
he injured his knee against Pittsburgh two weeks ago, a 24-yard
go-to-the-ground catch on the sideline between a Cover Two defense as
Dalton hit him rolling to the right off play-action.
Benson then scored on a 16-yarder running left behind Pressley, walling
off safety Usama Young, and Livings and left tackle Andrew
Whitwort with 21 seconds left in the first quarter.
It was Green’s only catch of the half as Dalton went into halftime
eight of 10 for 87 yards. McCoy was eight of 18 for 102 yards with the
only turnover of the half the Bengals’ killing fumble.
Just exactly what the Bengals couldn’t have happen happened on the
game’s first drive when the Browns’ comatose offense scored for the
first time this season in the first quarter on McCoy’s 24-yard
touchdown pass to wide receiver Jordan Norwood.
McCoy, barely averaging six yards per pass in an offense dearth of
plays of at least 20 yards, got right away when he went after Clements.
Clements slipped covering Norwood down the right sideline for a 36-yard
play and then on third-and-10 McCoy had all day and Clements again let
Norwood get behind him for the touchdown only four minutes into the
game.
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