Ben Roethlisberger turned in another solid performance. Mike Wallace, rookie wide receiver, had over 100 yards. Willie Parker made his way back. The Steelers still lost.

Cincinnati’s last second touchdown came on a pass from Carson Palmer over to Andre Caldwell, giving the Bengals a 23-20 win over the Steelers. The Super Bowl champions have now lost two games in a row. Willie Parker, who during the first two Steelers games had struggled, rushed for 93 yards in 25 carries and also had 36 yards receiving and a touchdown. Rashard Mendenhall, backup running back, did not have a carry in the game, which is an indication that Parker’s job is not in danger.

Roethlisberger had two touchdowns and 276 yards. Wallace, who caught seven passes for a total of 102 yards, was Roethlisberger’s favorite target. However he also threw to Hines Ward (four catches and 82 total yards) and Heath Miller (5 catches and 20 yards). Santonio Holmes only had one 18 yard catch.

It doesn’t appear that Wallace is going to be a consistent performer. However he did show that he has the ability to make big plays, which makes him worthy of having a spot on the bench in deep leagues.

The Bengals are also capable of making big plays, as the Steelers found out.

The turning point in the game came when Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph returned a Roethlisberger interception for a touchdown. Joesph had an interception and sack in the game and is turning into a real sleeper fantasy possibility.

During most of the game Palmer struggled. He went 20 for 37 for a total of 183 yards and one touchdown. However late in the game he was able to turn it on, finding Caldwell (6 catches for 52 yards) for the winning touchdown. Palmer also connected with Brian Leonard to score the two point conversion.

The Bengals were led in receiving yards by Chad Ochocinco who had 54 yards on five catches. Chris Henry (1 catch for 19 yards) and Laveranues Coles (5 catches for 34 yards) weren’t much of a factor in the game mostly due to Pittsburgh’s tough defense.

Cedric Benson proved that he should be a starter versus all opponents, rushing for 76 yards with one touchdown on 16 carries.

Next week Benson could do even better as the Bengals travel to Cleveland. Benson, Ochocinco and Palmer should be considered as must starts. Henry, Coles and maybe Caldwell all have potential. However they are probably more suitable to be on your bench because you don’t know which will end up getting more targets.

Pittsburgh will try to get on track next week at home versus the San Diego Chargers. Roethlisberger, Ward, Ward, Holmes and Parker all are in play. Miller should start as well, since an SD will usually struggle against a TE. You should leave Wallace on the bench until he has two good performances in a row.

With the clocking ticking down to just 0:02 left in the game quarterback Aaron Rodgers took the final snap, faked spiking the ball and looked out at the end zone.

There for a split second it appeared as though the Cincinnati Bengals might once again blow a last minute lead for the second time in two weeks with Rodgers pulling off his second comeback this season late in the game.

However Cincinnati (1-1) were saved by a penalty for a false start and were able to barely salvage a 31-24 win against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday at Lambeau Field.

Marvin Lewis, Bengals head coach, said they didn’t do enough to win last week’s game and that they got what they deserved. Today we made a couple more plays and were able to win the game. That is what counts and our football team does understand that.

One week after suffering a painful last minute loss to the Broncos on a touchdown coming from a deflected pass in their season opener, the Bengals almost outdid that by blowing their 10 point lead during the final minute of Sunday’s game.

Green Bay (1-1) kicked a field goal late in the game, cutting the lead to 7 points. They then recovered their onside kick.

Rey Maualuga, Bengals linebacker, said that the crowd cheered and he said come on now. It was like deja vu. But our defense held our ground and did a good job.

Rodgers then led the Packers down field to Cincinnati’s 10 yard line as the clock was running out. However a false start was called against the Packers, ending the game. Mike McCarthy, Packers coach, said that officials had told him that the penalty was called on Greg Jennings, wide receiver.

McCarthy said that he was surprised by it.

Until then the Bengals had been cruising to their win. They broke a 21-21 tie in the third quarter when Chad Ochocinco caught a 13 yard pass from Carson Palmer for a touchdown. Ochocinco then fulfilled his promise of performing a Lambeau leap.

Ochocinco raced to the stands and found a small group of Bengals fans dressed in orange sitting in the front row by the end zone. He leaped into the fans, just like Packers play do after scoring.

Ochocinco said it was fun. I was a little undecided where I should jump at first. He said he didn’t want to show disrespect for the tradition, so he was asking as he went along and the Bengals fans said that it was ok to do.

Antwan Odom, defensive end, had five sacks, tying a single game record for the team. Four of the sacks came after Chad Clifton, left tackle for the Packers, sustained an ankle injury and was taken off the field in the early part of the third quarter.

Pass protection was an issue for the Packers in their win over Chicago last week as well.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers quarterback, said he was a good player but we have to all protect better, including me.

Rodgers wasn’t able to pull another comeback off after defeating the Bears on a touchdown pass to Jennings late in the game last Sunday. Rodgers finished this week’s game 21 for 39 with 261 total yards and one touchdown. Jennings did not have a catch in the game.

Bengals running back Cedric Benson had 141 yards rushing. He wondered after the game if the Packers had been over confident about Sunday’s game.

Benson said maybe there were a little bit but that he didn’t blame them. Last week they beat a good Bears team and they were probably feeling good. But we have good players as well.

Palmer went 15 for 23 with 185 yards, three touchdowns and two intercepted passes, both coming from Charles Woodson of the Packers. In the second quarter Woodson returned one of the interceptions 37 yards scoring a touchdown.

However, that was the only highlight on defense on what was overall a disappointing day. Woodson said that it just wasn’t there for whatever reason. We could not get the stops. Palmer took the blame for the interceptions. He said in the final minute he was confident that the defense would handle things.

Palmer said he didn’t feel here we go again. Our defense is good and has too much pride for letting that happen again.

Notes
On the first possession for Green Bay in the second half Clifton injured his ankled and had to be taken from the field. After the game McCarthy said the injury was a sprain. With Atari Bigby, starting safety, already out Green Bay lost another player when Nick Collins injured his shoulder during the second quarter after colliding with his teammate Johnny Jolly.

It was unbelievable. When Brandon Stokely grabbed the deflected pass and turned to look up the field, there was no one standing in his way to the end zone.

In just the few seconds it take to sprint down the field, Stokley turned around what would have been a crushing loss for Denver into a historic moment in franchise history. Stokley’s 87 yard touchdown with just left seconds left in game gave the Broncos a 12-7 win over the Bengals, who definitely will need lots of time to recover from this loss.

Carson Palmer, quarterback for the Bengals, said he had never seen anything quite like that before. I’ve been playing football since the age of 7 or 8 and never seen anything like this.

No one has seen this before. According to the NFL, the 87 yard play is the longest game winning play from the line of scrimmage in the last minute of a game in NFL history.

Thirty minutes after the game had ended there was a lone Bengals fan dressed in a Rey Maualuga orange jersey sitting alone in the empty green seats that are in back of the end zone. He sat staring out at the field, attempting to understand what had just taken place.

One strange bounce of the ball had completely changed everything.

Stokley said we needed a miracle and got it. He said when I scored I remember it was really quiet and I felt good.

The Broncos were heartsick when a one yard run by Cedric Benson gave the Bengals a 7-6 lead with just 38 seconds left in the game. There wasn’t anyone on the team who felt worse than Kyle Orton, the quarterback, after his bad judgment had given Cincinnati the opportunity to go ahead in the game.

In desperation, Orton tossed a pass down the sideline that was almost intercepted. On the next play he tried to throw a pass to Brandon Marshall on the sideline, but he was well covered. Leon Hall the corner back cut in front of him and tipped the ball up into the air.

The ball caromed over to Stokely, who headed straight for the end zone after his lucky catch, and ran sideways for a few steps to kill a little time before he finally crossed the goal line.

There was so much going through my mind, Stokely said. He said that his mind was racing and he told himself to get whatever you can, and then could feel myself pulling away.

The play was caused by a high risk coaching decision. It was the result of a poor defensive play. Hall went after the ball instead of knocking it down and the safeties weren’t looking for a deflection.

Hall said he needed to either pick it off or knock the ball to the ground.

But instead the game ended up being left entirely to chance.

Correll Buckhalter, running back for the Broncos, said that he had seen quite a few things in football before but nothing quite like this.

In what was the regular season coaching debut for Josh McDaniels, Orton placed the Broncos in the position for a gut wrenching loss. Orton, who has a dislocated index finger on his right throwing hand, was just able to give the Broncos a lead at 6-0 as the game headed into the final minutes.

He then had a brain freeze and took a sack, which pushed the Broncos out of reach for what could have been Matt Prater’s third and decisive field goal. Prater had earlier connected in the game from 50 and 48 yards out.

The odds still appeared to be in favor of the Broncos. During the second half the Bengals only managed one first down against the Bronco’s overhauled defense. After being shut down all game, Palmer performed flawlessly in the clutch. He completed all six of his passes on the Bengals 91 yard drive, capped off by the touchdown run from Benson.

That turned out to merely be a tease.

Benson said that was the weirdest and craziest ending to a football game that he had ever experienced.

Tell that to the one lonely fan sitting alone in the stands.

Notes
Orton’s stitches were removed from his finger following the game. He is hopeful that he will be able to play in next week’s game without having to wear a glove. Orton completed 17 of 28 passes in the game for 43 yards.

Marshall, who during training camp was suspended for complaining about the fact that he wasn’t traded, led the team with seven catches on 27 yards. He did drop the first pass that was thrown to him.

Cincinnati coaches have a 9-0 regular season debut record, not counting the interim coaches.

Palmer was 21 for 33 with 247 yards after missing the final three games of the preseason with a sprained ankle.

A Bengals field goal attempt was botched on a bad snap.

The Bengals on 4th and 2 ran the wild cat, keeping a drive alive.

There was a crowd of 62,831 at the game, 3,000 less than the stadium’s capacity.

Questions still follow Maualuga. Dressing for practice to prepare for the final exhibition game for the Bengals against the Colts, almost 2,000 miles away from home where all of the criticisms began. And the unflattering evaluations still follow him.

Maybe the former All American linebacker from USC, Rey Maualuga thought all of the questions had dissipated. May he mistakenly thought that because he was now starting to show his potential with the Bengals, after being drafted by Cincinnati mid second round, that he wouldn’t have to think about all the negative analyses coming from anonymous scouts any longer. All the questions about his maturity, intelligence, and ability for him to translate his success in college to a successful pro football career. Maualuga has discovered that even thought Jeff FitzGerald, Bengals linebackers coach, stated on a recent show of “Hard Knocks” on HBO that the coaching staff absolutely needed to get Maualuga into the starting lineup, that the questions about whether he has NFL level talent have not disappeared.

Maualuga says people will talk as he rested his hand, adorned with his “One Love” Jamaican inspired bracelet, inside his metal locker. People are going to say things about you and say you can’t do it. No matter what I said it was not going to help in getting me drafted to where I wanted to go. I had to come here and just let my play do the talking.

His play so far has sounded like a man yelling into his microphone. In the Bengals’ third exhibition game against the Rams, Maualuga had eight tackles, leading the team even though he started this season at strong side linebacker behind Rashad Jeanty on the team’s depth chart. This week FitzGerald said Maualuga has made it into a race and it’s now a neck and neck battle. Maualuga on Sunday stated he has been informed that he would start in Cincinnati’s season opener, although the team has not announced that.

The coaches have also found him impressive when working as a middle linebacker, which was the position he played in college at USC, when Cincinnati switches to the nickel defense during passing situations.

FitzGerald said that when it came to him playing outside linebacker that here had been questions regarding his pass coverage because they hadn’t seen him playing there before. Up to now we have been happy with what we have seen. There are always concerns when you haven’t seen a guy in the position. He exclusively played inside linebacker and we didn’t get to see him covering receivers from outside the box. Coming into the spring that was one of the big questions we had about his, but he’s done a good job and been able to carry that through into training camp.

As the scouts worried about his exploits on the field (was he inconsistent, was he just a big play wonder), there were other questions regarding his maturity.

Before the Rose Bowl last season, Maualuga, who won the Bednarik Award for being the top defensive player in the nation, was captured on film, dancing suggestively behind Erin Andrews, sideline reporter for ESPN. It wasn’t a good reflection on him, and it was obvious he had made a mistake with the video getting millions of YouTube views.

Maualuga stated that he apologized with how he handled himself and felt he had show disrespect to women. He added that he didn’t want there to be the appearance that they could do things like that and get away with it.

Since then he’s walked the line of trying to maintain his what’s best for the team, chilled out, happy go lucky personality while at the same time trying not to be too obnoxious as a rookie linebacker who is challenging a veteran for a starting position.

At the team’s training camp, located in Georgetown, KY, Maualuga was always the last rookie to leave after signing autographs. One time his legs started to cramp from staying on so long that he needed to be carried off the field as he continued signing footballs and tossing them to the fans. He has also playfully nabbed walkie talkies from gullible team interns.

It’s definitely harmless fun. However, his complete personality won’t be revealed until after Maualuga completely understands all the fine points regarding his position.

FitzGerald said this is just a glimpse of who we will see on the football field. He will be good in the community and interactive with people. All of that will come. But right now it is all about him learning how to play our defense and the linebacker techniques we use, and then just getting out and playing your behind off.

The veteran linebackers and several of the fellow ex USC Trojans, including Keith Rivers, linebacker, Frostee Rucker, defensive end, and Carson Palmer, quarterback, will all help him to channel his enthusiasm.

Chinedum Ndukwe, strong safety, said about Maualuga that he is very high spirited and that was a good thing he brought to the team. He just needs to channel that in the right way. Regardless he will make the plays. I am sure that Rey wants to be a big time player. The veteran guys surrounding him is going to really help him.

Early in training camp Maualuga was slowed by a hamstring injury. He missed about a week of practice as well as the team’s first exhibition game. However since that time with all the repetitions during practice, he has performed very well.

Marvin Lewis, head coach for the Bengals, said that Maualuga might make a small mistake or something but he is going full speed. What he does, he does with an impact. Like most of the college players Rey comes needing to learn how to discipline his eyes. And that is true with just about any college linebacker. But USC has a varied defensive scheme and he learned a lot there so he has a big advantage.

Although Maualuga has tried to let his playing during preseason answer all of the criticism, he has not forgot what occurred in April. He said he was bitter at first when he didn’t get drafted until the second round, but that he has gotten over it. However, the way that he plays seems to confirm that he is still attempting to answer all of the questions that have never quite gone away.

Maualuga said he didn’t know that he really had anything to prove. I just need to go out and play football and do what the coaches have taught me. He added that he wasn’t going out of his way to show other people what he could do. Football is what I have played for 12 years. Sometime people will say he is a football player. We were wrong. This guy really can play. That is what I am going to show.

The fire and brimstone speech that was given after the Cincinnati Bengals loss last week to the Rams appears to have definitely resonated with the team.

On Thursday night in the final game of the preseason versus the Indianapolis Colts and before 56,527 fans at Paul Brown Stadium, the Bengals came out of the gate with a much larger sense of purpose. It definitely showed in their 38-7 victory.

The win gave the Bengals a 2-2 preseason record for the second year in a row. With their loss the Colts record dropped to 1-3. They haven’t had a winning preseason since 2004.

The Bengals have now won six straight games against the Colts during the preseason.

Marvin Lewis, Bengals head coach, said they were not going to brag about tonight’s statistics, but the first group did come out and set the tempo and were able to get things done. Then we had the opportunity to see some of the guys who needed to show why they deserve to be here. He added that they got good tape to look at, and that is what the game had been about.

The offensive line, after struggling during the game last week, performed a lot better. They allowed only one sack and were able to open up the running game where the backs continued to take advantage. Out of the 389 total offensive yards for the Bengals, 296 were on the ground and they averaged 6.9 yard a carry.

With many players fighting for a spot on the roster, Brian Leonard really helped his cause during the first half of the game. The 3rd running back who was acquired by the Bengals in a trade in May with the Rams, had a breakout performance finally which may have wrapped the third spot up for him.

Leonard had nine rushes for 64 yards along with a touchdown and two catches for eight yards.

DeDe Dorsey gave one more reason to consider him with his block of a punt from Pat McAfee in the early part of the fourth quarter and seven yard score. Dorsey finished the game with nine carries and 46 yards. Coming into the game he was the last Cincinnati player to block a punt two years ago while playing against Arizona.

Today the Bengals will be very deliberate before paring their roster down to 53 by the Saturday 4 p.m. deadline. The team will actually have 54 players since Andre Smith, first round draft pick, is exempt for two weeks.

The night was a fast one for the first teams. On the Colts’ opening drive the defense was able to force a three and out. The offense was then able to drive for 61 yards on five plays. The first 44 yards were all accounted for by Cedric Benson on three plays (two of the plays were runs which totaled 35 yards). Andre Caldwell was then able to get free and caught a pass of 14 yards from J.T. O’Sullivan in the end zone.

Two hours prior to the game, Carson Palmer did suit up and work on a practice field. However he did not participate in the pre-game drills and missed his third game in a row.

The Colts tied the game on their next possession when Jim Sorgi hit Taj Smith with a 22 yard pass for a touchdown. Defender Geoffrey Pope tried to break up the pass but mistimed the play, which allowed Smith to go free untouched. The Colts caught a break during that drive when an interception by Corey Lynch was disallowed when Pat Sims was penalized for being offside.

On the next drive, the Bengals were able to retake the lead on a 49 yard field goal from Sam Swank. The drive was started by Bernard Scott with his kick return of 35 yards down to the Bengals 47, and then rushed three times for 14 yards. The sixth round draft pick, who throughout the preseason continued to progress, finished the game with five carries and 43 yards.

It appeared that the Colts were on their way to scoring again when Morgan Trent stripped the ball from John Matthews which was recovered on the Bengals 34 yard line by Marvin White.

The Bengals were then able to break the game wide open during the final six minutes of the first half, with their two scoring drives. They increased the score to 17-7 on an 81 yard, eight play drive which was capped off by a seven yard Jordan Palmer pass to Chris Henry in the end zone. The touchdown was Henry’s fourth for the preseason.

Leonard on that drive made the play of the night, hurdling over defender Travis Key on a 23 yard gain. Palmer, three plays later on third down, scrambled for 26 yards and fumbled in Colts’ territory. However the play was reversed when he was ruled down by contact.

Frostee Rucker was able to force a fumble and then recovered the ball at the Colts’ 14. From four yards out Leonard then rushed up the middle in three plays. The score was 24-7 at half time.

During the second quarter, Cincinnati out gained Indianapolis 131-34 with Pat Sims having two key third down sacks that ended drives. The Bengals finished the game with six sacks.

The Bengals opening drive for the second half was a 10 play 72 yard drive that was capped off by a Palmer 25 yard pass to Kolomona Kapanui.

Palmer struggled at the beginning, but then settled down and went 8 for 16 with two touchdowns and 75 yards.

Jim Sorgi went 11 for 19 for the Colts for 119 yards in what was his first preseason playing action. The Colts sat all of their starters out except two.

Just two days after ending his holdout Andre Smith, Cincinnati Bengals rookie right tackle, broke his left foot at practice.

The first round draft pick suffered a small fracture in his foot while working out in a non-contact drill. It was just his third workout since he had signed his deal with the Bengals. His chances of landing a starting position this year was given another major setback.

Marvin Lewis, head coach for the Bengals, stated that the medical staff told him that the injury wouldn’t require surgery. He added that it was too soon to make any close predictions in terms of how long it would be before he would be able to return to the practice field but that it looked like he would miss a few weeks.

The Bengals drafted Smith as the sixth overall pick and expected that he would start at right tackle this year.

A protracted contract impasse has forced him into missing training camp as well as the first three games of the preseason. On Sunday he finally agree to a $21 million guaranteed four year contract and later that day worked out with the team in hopes of playing in the final game of the preseason against Indianapolis on Thursday.

For now the team will have Anthony Collins, second year lineman, at right tackle. Last year Collins was a fourth round pick and due to injuries was the starting right tackle in six games.

The offensive line has been overhauled during the off season. Cincinnati has made changes at both tackle positions and at center, trying to upgrade their offense which ranked last in the NFL in 2008.

The main priority is making sure Carson Palmer, the quarterback, is protected. He was hit on a frequent basis last year. Palmer’s nose was broken during the preseason, and during the regular season he tore a tendon and ligament in his passing elbow and was forced to miss 12 games.

During the first game of the preseason this year, Palmer sprained his left ankle and has had to miss the last two preseason games. On Tuesday he took snaps for the first time since the sprain with the starting offense.

Lewis said that Palmer looked remarkably improved and was moving better.

Palmer wants to play in the last game of the preseason. Lewis will make a final decision right before the game.

Lewis said that as they go forward they were going to play it out in terms of what would be best for Carson. He added that it was good to see Palmer getting back and involved with what the team was doing today and tomorrow and that the goal was having him ready for going full speed by Monday.