NFL Roundup Bengals Win After Persuading Coach to Gamble
Coach Marvin Lewis wanted to play it safe. The Cincinnati Bengals wanted more.
“We came here to play for a win,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “Nothing else.”
After Palmer and his teammates persuaded Lewis to gamble on fourth and 11 with just over a minute left in overtime Sunday, Palmer scrambled for 15 yards to set up Shayne Graham’s 31-yard field goal on the final play, giving visiting Cincinnati a 23-20 victory over the winless Cleveland Browns.
The Bengals (3-1), whose only loss came on a tipped pass in the final seconds of their opener against Denver, faced a fourth down at Cleveland’s 41 with 1 minute 4 seconds left. Lewis was content to play for the tie, but when the Browns called a timeout, the Bengals got a chance to lobby their coach.
They made a persuasive argument.
Palmer dropped back to pass, but facing tight coverage downfield he tucked the ball away and ran up the middle for the first down. Cincinnati then ran two plays to get Graham in position, and he made the winning kick.
“Marvin was saying we’re going to punt,” Palmer said of his sideline negotiation. “I said, ‘I think we can get this.’ That’s why Marvin’s great. He listens to people around him. Most coaches, once they make up their mind, they make up their mind.”
The Browns (0-4) had outplayed the Bengals for three quarters but still lost their 10th in a row.
Derek Anderson, making his first start for the Browns since Coach Eric Mangini benched Brady Quinn, completed 26 of 48 passes for 269 yards. Jerome Harrison, filling in for the injured Jamal Lewis, had 121 yards on 29 carries, and Joshua Cribbs had 223 return yards. But it was not enough to end Cleveland’s slide.
“There’s no sugarcoating it,” wide receiver Braylon Edwards said. “You can say it’s something to build on, but it hurts. To have the wind knocked out of you at the end, it definitely hurts.”
¶Champ Bailey knocked away the potential tying touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Sam Hurd with 1 second left and the Broncos escaped with a 17-10 over the Cowboys in Denver. On fourth and goal from the 2, Romo dropped back and found Hurd cutting over the middle, but Bailey reached around and swatted the pass away, giving the Broncos their first 4-0 start since 2003. Dallas is 2-2. The Broncos took the lead on Brandon Marshall’s 51-yard touchdown catch with 1:46 remaining.
Manning Ties Two Records
Peyton Manning led Indianapolis (4-0) to touchdowns on four of its first five drives and tied league records established by Fran Tarkenton and Dan Marino in the Colts’ 34-17 victory over the Seahawks. Manning’s first touchdown pass went to Reggie Wayne for a 5-yard score, making Manning and Dan Marino the only quarterbacks in league history to throw 55 touchdown passes to two receivers. Manning also threw 112 touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison. Manning’s second touchdown, a 21-yarder to the rookie Austin Collie, put him alongside Tarkenton at No. 3 on the N.F.L.’s career list. Both have 342, trailing only Marino (420) and Brett Favre (469). “Fran and my dad are friends and my dad has told me great stories about Fran Tarkenton,” Manning said. “He was a unique player.” Seattle fell to 1-3.
¶David Garrard shredded Tennessee’s injury-depleted secondary for 323 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Jacksonville’s defense forced four punts and three turnovers in Tennessee’s first eight possessions as the Jaguars dismantled the Titans, 37-17. Jacksonville is 2-2; Tennessee, which started 10-0 last season, fell to 0-4. “Being at a loss for words is a good way to put it,” Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said. The announced attendance at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium was 49,014, the second straight home game blacked on local television. Defensive tackle John Henderson had a message for fans: “Come on out and get some tickets and just believe in us.”
49ers Take Control in West
Tight end Vernon Davis caught a 13-yard pass for his third touchdown in two weeks, and the 49ers beat the Rams, 35-0, to take command of the National Football Conference West race. Host San Francisco (3-1) has beaten all three of the teams in the division, and posted its first shutout since 2002. The Rams (0-4) lost their 14th straight. St. Louis has scored 24 points in four games.
¶The Dolphins beat the visiting Bills, 38-10, for their first victory. The Dolphins came into the game 0-3 despite a strong running attack and an 11-minute edge per game in time of possession. Against Buffalo (1-3), Miami controlled the ball for 37 minutes, rushed for 250 yards and mounted scoring drives of 65, 66 and 65 yards. With quarterback Chad Henne making his first start, the Dolphins were 11 for 19 on third- and fourth-down conversions. Buffalo (1-3) has lost eight in a row against A.F.C. East opponents.
In Other Games
Jay Cutler threw two touchdown passes and spun like a helicopter blade while running in a third score in the Bears’ 48-24 win over the Lions. With a chance to put together consecutive wins for the first time since 2007, the visiting Lions (1-3) hung in for a half before Chicago (3-1) pulled away. Lions Coach Jim Schwartz called the second half, which began with a 102-yard kickoff return by the Bears, “one of the worst” he had seen. “We were poor on special teams, we were poor on offense, we were poor on defense, we were outcoached, we were outplayed, their trainers were probably better than ours in the second half,” he said. “So credit goes to them.”
¶Houston (2-2) finally found its running game and figured out a way to shut down someone else’s as Steve Slaton rushed for two scores in the Texans’ 29-6 victory over the Raiders. The Texans, who entered the game with the league’s worst run defense, held the visiting Raiders (1-3) to 45 yards rushing and 165 over all.
¶The Redskins rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit at home for a 16-13 victory over the Buccaneers, moving to the .500 mark a week after they surrendered Detroit’s first victory in two years. “At halftime, I was like, if we don’t pull this one out, I don’t know what I’m going to do on Monday,” quarterback Jason Campbell said. “I might as well hibernate.” Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib intercepted three of Campbell’s passes, but he was beaten down the right sideline on the 59-yard pass to Santana Moss that gave the Redskins the lead for good.
Injury Report
Houston, which had the league’s first confirmed case of swine flu last week, had several players become ill before Sunday’s game against the Raiders but did not confirm any other cases of swine flu. Safety Eugene Wilson sat out with an illness and running back Chris Brown was available but not feeling well and did not play. Linebacker Xavier Adibi was also ill but played on special teams. ... Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson left during the fourth quarter against Chicago because of leg injuries.
Coach Marvin Lewis wanted to play it safe. The Cincinnati Bengals wanted more.
“We came here to play for a win,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “Nothing else.”
After Palmer and his teammates persuaded Lewis to gamble on fourth and 11 with just over a minute left in overtime Sunday, Palmer scrambled for 15 yards to set up Shayne Graham’s 31-yard field goal on the final play, giving visiting Cincinnati a 23-20 victory over the winless Cleveland Browns.
The Bengals (3-1), whose only loss came on a tipped pass in the final seconds of their opener against Denver, faced a fourth down at Cleveland’s 41 with 1 minute 4 seconds left. Lewis was content to play for the tie, but when the Browns called a timeout, the Bengals got a chance to lobby their coach.
They made a persuasive argument.
Palmer dropped back to pass, but facing tight coverage downfield he tucked the ball away and ran up the middle for the first down. Cincinnati then ran two plays to get Graham in position, and he made the winning kick.
“Marvin was saying we’re going to punt,” Palmer said of his sideline negotiation. “I said, ‘I think we can get this.’ That’s why Marvin’s great. He listens to people around him. Most coaches, once they make up their mind, they make up their mind.”
The Browns (0-4) had outplayed the Bengals for three quarters but still lost their 10th in a row.
Derek Anderson, making his first start for the Browns since Coach Eric Mangini benched Brady Quinn, completed 26 of 48 passes for 269 yards. Jerome Harrison, filling in for the injured Jamal Lewis, had 121 yards on 29 carries, and Joshua Cribbs had 223 return yards. But it was not enough to end Cleveland’s slide.
“There’s no sugarcoating it,” wide receiver Braylon Edwards said. “You can say it’s something to build on, but it hurts. To have the wind knocked out of you at the end, it definitely hurts.”
¶Champ Bailey knocked away the potential tying touchdown pass from Tony Romo to Sam Hurd with 1 second left and the Broncos escaped with a 17-10 over the Cowboys in Denver. On fourth and goal from the 2, Romo dropped back and found Hurd cutting over the middle, but Bailey reached around and swatted the pass away, giving the Broncos their first 4-0 start since 2003. Dallas is 2-2. The Broncos took the lead on Brandon Marshall’s 51-yard touchdown catch with 1:46 remaining.
Manning Ties Two Records
Peyton Manning led Indianapolis (4-0) to touchdowns on four of its first five drives and tied league records established by Fran Tarkenton and Dan Marino in the Colts’ 34-17 victory over the Seahawks. Manning’s first touchdown pass went to Reggie Wayne for a 5-yard score, making Manning and Dan Marino the only quarterbacks in league history to throw 55 touchdown passes to two receivers. Manning also threw 112 touchdown passes to Marvin Harrison. Manning’s second touchdown, a 21-yarder to the rookie Austin Collie, put him alongside Tarkenton at No. 3 on the N.F.L.’s career list. Both have 342, trailing only Marino (420) and Brett Favre (469). “Fran and my dad are friends and my dad has told me great stories about Fran Tarkenton,” Manning said. “He was a unique player.” Seattle fell to 1-3.
¶David Garrard shredded Tennessee’s injury-depleted secondary for 323 yards and 3 touchdowns, and Jacksonville’s defense forced four punts and three turnovers in Tennessee’s first eight possessions as the Jaguars dismantled the Titans, 37-17. Jacksonville is 2-2; Tennessee, which started 10-0 last season, fell to 0-4. “Being at a loss for words is a good way to put it,” Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck said. The announced attendance at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium was 49,014, the second straight home game blacked on local television. Defensive tackle John Henderson had a message for fans: “Come on out and get some tickets and just believe in us.”
49ers Take Control in West
Tight end Vernon Davis caught a 13-yard pass for his third touchdown in two weeks, and the 49ers beat the Rams, 35-0, to take command of the National Football Conference West race. Host San Francisco (3-1) has beaten all three of the teams in the division, and posted its first shutout since 2002. The Rams (0-4) lost their 14th straight. St. Louis has scored 24 points in four games.
¶The Dolphins beat the visiting Bills, 38-10, for their first victory. The Dolphins came into the game 0-3 despite a strong running attack and an 11-minute edge per game in time of possession. Against Buffalo (1-3), Miami controlled the ball for 37 minutes, rushed for 250 yards and mounted scoring drives of 65, 66 and 65 yards. With quarterback Chad Henne making his first start, the Dolphins were 11 for 19 on third- and fourth-down conversions. Buffalo (1-3) has lost eight in a row against A.F.C. East opponents.
In Other Games
Jay Cutler threw two touchdown passes and spun like a helicopter blade while running in a third score in the Bears’ 48-24 win over the Lions. With a chance to put together consecutive wins for the first time since 2007, the visiting Lions (1-3) hung in for a half before Chicago (3-1) pulled away. Lions Coach Jim Schwartz called the second half, which began with a 102-yard kickoff return by the Bears, “one of the worst” he had seen. “We were poor on special teams, we were poor on offense, we were poor on defense, we were outcoached, we were outplayed, their trainers were probably better than ours in the second half,” he said. “So credit goes to them.”
¶Houston (2-2) finally found its running game and figured out a way to shut down someone else’s as Steve Slaton rushed for two scores in the Texans’ 29-6 victory over the Raiders. The Texans, who entered the game with the league’s worst run defense, held the visiting Raiders (1-3) to 45 yards rushing and 165 over all.
¶The Redskins rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit at home for a 16-13 victory over the Buccaneers, moving to the .500 mark a week after they surrendered Detroit’s first victory in two years. “At halftime, I was like, if we don’t pull this one out, I don’t know what I’m going to do on Monday,” quarterback Jason Campbell said. “I might as well hibernate.” Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib intercepted three of Campbell’s passes, but he was beaten down the right sideline on the 59-yard pass to Santana Moss that gave the Redskins the lead for good.
Injury Report
Houston, which had the league’s first confirmed case of swine flu last week, had several players become ill before Sunday’s game against the Raiders but did not confirm any other cases of swine flu. Safety Eugene Wilson sat out with an illness and running back Chris Brown was available but not feeling well and did not play. Linebacker Xavier Adibi was also ill but played on special teams. ... Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson left during the fourth quarter against Chicago because of leg injuries.
Source: New York Times
