Mark Sanchez, after just one career playoff game, is giving an off-Broadway performance that is pretty good.

The other New York Jets are as well.  No longer are they a team that is overlooked, after they defeated AFC North champion Cincinnati twice in a week.

Are there still doubters out there?

The Jets, with rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez playing error free, turned their surprising appearance  in the playoffs on Saturday into a production with a long run.  Sanchez had a touchdown pass, with the top running game in the NFL taking it from there to set up the Jets 24-14 win over the Bengals.

Sanchez said, it’s very special.  I don’t have anything to do with it.

Actually the first playoff win for the Jets since 2004 did have something to do with Sanchez.

Sanchez, who was playing in wind chill in single digits versus a defense trying their best to get the game into his hands, was 12 for 15 and passed for 182 yards, giving him a 139.4 passer rating.

Sanchez was considered the weakest link for the Jets as they entered the playoffs.  However he became the team’s focal point and got his first win in the playoffs before Carson Palmer, his idol from childhood.

Rex Ryan, Jets coach said today he had the tiger’s eye.  He was ready.  Every day I watch him get better and better in practice.  He has done a great job.  He is tired I think hearing that he is this football team’s weak link.

Other rookies for the Jets made plays under pressure.  Shonn Greene, third round pick, rushed for 135 yards and scored a touchdown on a run of 39 yards to lead the Jets running game.  New York rushed for 171 yards while defeating the Bengals back to back.

For the Bengals, Cedric Benson rushed for 169 yards, setting a playoff game team record.  However Cincinnati wasn’t able to manage much else.  Their streak of not having a playoff win is at 19 years and still counting.

What about the Jets?

Palmer said, they may have an opportunity for making a move.  The Bengals quarterback during much of the game was under pressure and off-target.  Their defense is really good.

You can take the word of Palmer’s on that.

Six days earlier the Bengals took a trip to the Meadowlands and were flattened.  New York rushed for 257 yards while the Bengals only managed to get 72 yards.  Chad Ochocinco was shut out.  In the second match up not much changed.  In the rematch Ochocinco caught only two passes for a total of 28 yards.

Ryan, winning his head coach playoff debut said, it was a great effort by the entire team.  We are a very good team.  People will start to believe that soon if they don’t already.

The Jets shouldn’t be counted out by anyone now, not like two weeks ago when their own coach did.  Sanchez threw three interceptions and the Jets lost to the Falcons 10-7.  Ryan thought his team was out of playoff contention.  However, after that everything lined up in the Jets favor.

A week later Indianapolis pulled their starters from the game.  The Jets then rallied to get the win.  At the same time, four other teams that were playoff contenders lost their games.  The Bengals then visited the Meadowlands, losing 37-0 having little at stake.

Buddy, the father of Rex Ryan, was the 1969 Jets defensive line coach.  That was the Jets team that won a Super Bowl after Broadway Joe Namath guaranteed the victory.  The Jets entered the playoffs more like a show from off-Broadway, with their lack of a star quarterback to deliver a win.

That is until Saturday’s game.

Sanchez played like a playoff pro and joined thee ranks of Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco and Shaun King as rookie quarterbacks with postseason start wins.  Sanchez at times found himself soaking things in from the sideline.

Sanchez said it blows your mind.  It’s so unbelievable.  I am hoping next week I will have this feeling.

Sanchez was the lowest ranked passer by far in the playoffs.  During his rookie season he threw 20 interceptions, second highest in the league.  Cincinnati wanted the game placed in his hands.  However the Southern California kid played in a wind chill of 8 degrees with his passing hand having no glove on it and handled it all with no bobbles.

The team presented owner Woody Johnson with the game ball after the game.  Johnson’s daughter Casey on Monday was discovered dead at her home in Los Angeles.  Johnson had red eyes as he exited the locker room.

At the outset the Jets had a scare.  Punter Steve Weatherford was not cleared to play due to an elevated heartbeat and dizziness.  For the very first time in kicker Jay Feely’s NFL career he punted.  On seven kicks he averaged 31 yards and made a field goal of 20 yards with 5:47 to play.

Feely said I was very happy to be kicking the field goal at that point instead of punting.  It was great.

Weatherford did attempt to warm up in the wind chill of single digits, but didn’t feel good.

Weatherford said, I got lightheaded and my heart rate was elevated.  It wasn’t anything that was life threatening but when it comes to your heart…

By halftime the Jets had a 14-7 lead on two big plays involving Sanchez.  After faking a hand off he pitched the ball perfectly to Greene, who after one block found an open space and ran for 39 yards to score a touchdown, the longest in his NFL career.

Sanchez during the second quarter was able to catch Cincinnati off guard.  After rolling to the right, Sanchez spotted Dustin Keller, tight end, running past the secondary uncovered.  He threw a perfect pass.  Keller was able to keep his balance for the final 15 yards after Chinedum Ndukwe, Bengals safety, attempted in vain to  push Keller out of bounds.

Sanchez at halftime was 7 for 10 with 94 yards passing and a 132.9 passer rating.  His stats could have been better if Braylon Edwards hadn’t dropped a pass inside the end zone.

Late third quarter Sanchez led the Jets on a 75 yard, eight play drive which was capped off by a 9 yard touchdown run by Thomas Jones to give the Jets a lead of 21-7.  Benson then had a touchdown run of 47 yards, the longest playoff run in Cincinnati team history, to get the Bengals to within a touchdown.  However Greene and Sanchez turned it up again.

The ending of the game involved some more serendipity for the Jets.  Shayne Graham, franchise tagged player of the Bengals, during the second half missed two field goal attempts, including one from 28 yards with 3:49 left to play, essentially sealing the Jets victory.

With their lucky breaks and everything, the Sanchise and Rex are heading to the playoffs.

It it the same old Jets?  No, not this time around.

The top ranked defense of Rex Ryan’s shut the Bengals down, while rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez was very efficient in  leading the clock eating offense as the Jets clinched the first playoff spot for the team in three seasons on Sunday night with their 37-0 defeat at chilly Meadowlands.

Sanchez said, this is a very special feeling.  People were counting us out a couple weeks ago.

The Jets (9-7) needed a win in order to keep their season alive.  Fans braved Arctic conditions to watch the Jets get their rematch set up against the Bengals (10-6), AFC North champion, for Saturday’s first round game in Cincinnati.

Ryan, who is headed to the playoffs as a first year coach of the Jets said, our goal wasn’t making the playoffs.  We have much higher goals.  At one point our record was 4-6.  Our mission for the team was impossible then went to improbable and then back to being impossible and finally inevitable.

After spending a couple minutes in their lock room, Jets players were led back to the field by Ryan.  They ran a victory lap to celebrate and high fived the several thousand fans remaining in the stands.

Darrelle Revis, Jets cornerback, said it was great.  We need to give something back to our fans who stuck with us.

New York’s victory, which was recognized with Ryan getting his sideline Gatorade shower, was probably the last game the team will play at Giants Stadium.  It capped off an entire series of twists and turns that were favorable for the Jets.

Two weeks ago it appeared that the Jets were out of the playoff race when they lost to the Falcons.  Even Ryan said mistakenly that the team’s chance to make the playoffs were over.

The Jets instead last Sunday defeated Indianapolis, who was previously undefeated, when Peyton Manning along with a few other stars for the Colts were sent to the bench during the second half of the game.  Several other teams contending for the playoffs lost, which set up the win-and-in game for the Jets versus the Bengals.

Ryan said I don’t think we backed in.  We will try to go out there and prove that.

Chad Ochocinco, Bengals wide receiver, said Cincinnati would be ready for the Jets.

He said, we will be fine.  We will study things that we can fix, particularly on the offense.  We are going to be much more serious next week.

Earlier this week Braylon Edwards, Jets wide receiver, said the Jets wouldn’t lose.  He was backed up by his teammates in a big way.

Sanchez said, the team we are playing again is a great team.  We need to prepare ourselves for the dog fight in their place.

The shutout at home was the first for the Jets since December 14, 2003 when they defeated the Steelers 6-0.  After the game the sky was filled with white and green confetti, with fans waving white rally towels that said in green “Win And We’re In.”

Sanchez went 8 out of 16 for a total of 63 yards passing and had no turnovers.  Late fourth quarter Kellen Clemens replaced him with the game under control.  Thomas Jones rushed for 78 yards and scored two touchdowns.  Brad Smith, versatile wide receiver, rushed for 92 yards, including a touchdown run of 32 yards.  The Jets set a season rushing yards record.

The Bengals started the game playing a majority of their starters.  Cedric Benson, running back, was the only Bengal healthy starter that didn’t play.  However early third quarter Carson Palmer was pulled.  When he was playing Palmer was ineffective,  He was only 1 out of 11 and had zero passing yards before being replaced by J.T. O’Sullivan.

During the first quarter, the Bengals only ran three plays and the Jets ran 24.  The Jets also out gained the Bengals 138 yards versus 1 yard for Cincinnati.  At halftime the Jets had 250 yards, with 190 coming from the ground game.  The Bengals had just 7 yards.

The record for the Bengals at Giants Stadium dropped to 0-11, including an 0-8 record versus the Jets.

Marvin Lewis, Bengals coach said, that wasn’t the outcome that we wanted to have.  In all three aspects of the game we were outplayed by the Jets.  Now we have an opportunity to regroup before next Saturday afternoon to get going again.

On the Jets first possession they got things started.  Smith inside the TigerCat formation took the snap directly on third down and 7 at the Jet’s 42 yard line.  After taking a couple steps to the right  he then moved up the middle.  Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall took him down on the one yard line.  Then Jones went over the top to score the touchdown.

A field goal of 20 yards from Jay Feely early second quarter made the score 10-0.  It capped off an 11 minute, 21 play drive.

The 32 yard run for a touchdown by Smith gave New York a 17-0 lead.  Smith lined up in the quarterback position, taking the snap from centerr, then took off and ran over Bengals linebacker Rashad Jeanty before crossing into the end zone.

With 37 seconds left to play first half, Jerricho Cotchery scored on a 6 yard run to make the score 24-0.  The Jets got the football back right away.  On the Bengals next scrimmage play, Dwight Lowery intercepted Palmer’s pass, returning the ball 34 yards before being pushed out of bounds by Palmer.  Feely, three plays later, kicked a field goal of 39 yards.  The Jets went into halftime with a 27 point lead.

With just under 10 minutes to play in the game a touchdown run of 2 yards was added by Jones to make the score 37-0.  It was the 14th rushing touchdown for Jones and set a Jets team record.

The highly anticipated Ochocinco and Revis showdown went in Revis’ favor.  Ochocino had to leave the game after injuring his left knee.  He had no catches for the game.  An MRI was to be done on Monday.

Ochocinco said Darrelle did a really great job, whether or not I had just one leg.

Early in September, we picked the Redskins and Steelers for the Super Bowl. We also left the Ravens off the playoff lineup for the AFC, choosing the Bengals instead. Two months into the season, we aren’t looking quite so stupid.

The Cincinnati Bengals faced the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, with the Raven’s backs against the wall. The Ravens, after losing last month at home to the Bengals, badly needed a win.

But the Bengals held them off.

Their ten point margin of victory wasn’t really that close. During the first quarter the Bengals scored 14 points and really were never threatened in the game, thanks to the defense’s strong effort.

The fourth quarter could have been interesting, but Steven Hauschka, Ravens kicker, missed a field goal from 38 yards that would have cut the Bengals lead to just seven points.

The Ravens now have a 4-4 record and looking up at the Bengals (6-2) and Steelers (5-2). The remainder of their schedule features a pair of games versus the Steelers, a home game versus the Colts and a trip into Lambeau Field.

So we were very wrong when it comes to the Redskins but with the Ravens we’re right on track.

The real test for the Bengals is still coming. Will they be able to avoid playing down to their competition’s level? After a game in Pittsburgh, they will face Oakland, Cleveland and Detroit.

Based on their season performance to date, we wouldn’t be too surprised to see them defeat the Steelers once more, and then scratch and claw in order to take two out of three.

When it comes to the Bengals, it looks like we are going to end up being right. It won’t come close to wiping the egg off our faces concerning the Redskins, but it will help. At least a little.

Quick, get me rewrite.

That is what the columnist from the Chicago Tribune should be shouting following the Cincinnati Bengals’ – who were fired up by the almost possessed and determined Cedric Benson running- thrashing the Chicago Bears on Sunday evening 45-10 in Paul Brown Stadium.

In Sunday’s Tribune, the premise of the column was that the only type of running that the ex Bear was any good at was his running off at the mouth. According to the columnist the problem for Benson in Chicago, in addition to him constantly whining, was he was too soft, too slow and too distracting.

There might be some truth to those claims during the three troubled years that Benson spent with the Bears, but it hasn’t been since Benson joined Cincinnati 13 months ago. It definitely was not true on Sunday when Benson battered Chicago for 189 career high yards on 37 carries with one touchdown.

Benson said, a few times I might have been a bit too hyped up, maybe too antsy. On a couple of the drives I had to get myself calmed down and to stay poised I had to gather my emotions. After I was able to get past that, I was good and kept rolling.

After seven weeks this season, Benson is the leading rusher in the NFL with 720 yards.

Last year after Chicago cut Benson following disappointing play on the field as well as two run ins with the law, he thought that the Bears had spread some negative information around the league concerning him which black balled him. He wasn’t able to get a job until finally the Bengals gave him a chance.

Although last week he down played the claims with local media, Benson did bring it up during a conference call that was with Chicago sportswriters. The other day Chicago head coach Lovie Smith denied the claims and also said that at times changes of scenery helped a player.

That has been true for Benson going to Cincinnati. On Sunday his teammates seemed to be inspired to help Benson rub Chicago’s noses into the dirt.

Kyle Cook, Bengals center, said to tell the truth just about every guy in the room has some sort of chip on his shoulder for something. There are guys in here who other teams cut and let go because no one else wanted them.

Today we rose up all together. All that hype about Ced and the Tank (Tank Johnson, defensive tackle for the Bengals and former Chicago Bear), we lived up to it. Everyone was making such a big deal in the papers and streets about them but not all of us, Cook added.

The Bengals haven’t looked this good in years.

Chad Ochocinco reconnected with Carson Palmer in a way they haven’t for several years. Afterwards Ochocinco said about he and Palmer as he was holding court over at his locker: baby, we are back, we are and we’re better than ever.

Palmer’s performance was exceptional. He completed 20 of his 24 passes for a total of 233 yards along with five touchdowns. Palmer’s main target was Ochocinco who had 10 catches for a total of 118 yards along with two touchdowns.

The defense for the Bengals, even with their front line that has been decimated by the flu and injuries, was as dominant as their offense. Jay Cutler was picked off three times and the defense also recovered a fumble from the Bears.

Benson said that we all knew it would be a very emotional day. What a great day, what a wonderful thing it was to be able to get out there and strut our stuff.

Matt Schaub eliminated the drama.

On Sunday Schaub threw four touchdown passes tying his career high as the Houston Texans, who have had problems at the end of their games, pulled away in this one without giving the Bengals a shot to coast to a 28-17 win over Cincinnati.

Everyone knew if the final outcome were to come down to the last minutes that the Texas (3-3) would have been at a disadvantage.

Schaub said, all their games went all the way to the wire. They deserve the credit because of the fact that they found a way to win the games. We had to put away the game.

Cincinnati (4-2) never got the chance to work their last minute magic.

The Bengals, prior to the game on Sunday, had won three games in a row during the last 22 seconds of the game by pulling off unlikely finishes after their opponents didn’t finish them off. There was one chance for escape for the Bengals on Sunday when Steve Slaton fumbled as the Texans were within range of a field goal with 6:12 minutes left to play.

But there wasn’t any drama this time. Two plays later Cincinnati fumbled right back, a sure sign that their luck was running out.

Chad Ochocinco, Bengals receiver said, that was our fault. We have been saying all along that we can not keep winning games with how we have been playing. We need to be consistent for four quarters.

Schaub didn’t rally give them a chance. He was able to pick the defense apart that lost their starting tackle and best pass rusher during the first quarter. Schaub completed 28 out of 40 passes for a total of 392 yards, the second highest in his career. Schaub last week in the Arizona game set his career highs. He completed 35 passes out of 50 attempts.

Gary Kubiak, Texans coach said, Matt had continued to put great numbers up while on the road.

Carson Palmer ran a predictable Bengals offense. Other than the final two minutes not too much got done. During the last 48 seconds of the game before half time, Cincinnati scored 10 points, giving the Bengals a 17-14 lead. In this game the offense didn’t go anywhere during the second half.

During the second half of their last games the Texans defense has shut their opponents out. They clinched this game when Brian Cushing picked off a pass from Palmer with 1:49 left in the game. Palmer, who played the game wearing a glove over his left hand (non-passing) to help support his sprained thumb, completed 23 out of 35 passes for a total of 259 yards.

Frank Bush, Houston’s defensive coordinator, challenged his troops to stop the then leading rusher in the NFL, Cedric Benson. The Texans limited Benson to only 44 yards rushing on 16 carries, which was his worst game of the season by far.

During the third quarter Houston only allowed six yards in nine plays, the finest third quarter performance in the Texans franchise history.

Dunta Robinson, Texans cornerback said, we were swarm tackling. We all had our job to do. We made them a one dimensional team. Our defense played well.

Cincinnati suffered a big loss when Antwan Odom, defensive end, who is the NFL co-leader in sacks, injured his Achilles tendon. Marvin Lewis, Bengals coach said, it was probably severe. There will be tests performed to determine how extensive the injury is.

On The Texans’ first possession, Odom charged the line, blocking a Kris Brown field goal attempt from 28 yards. Later during the first quarter Odom injured his right Achilles during a Schaub touchdown pass of 12 yards to Owen Daniels. Odom was taken off in a cart. The injury cost Cincinnati their leading pass rusher.

Also during the first quarter Domata Peko, Bengals defensive tackle, injured his knee. Houston was playing without their starting guards, who have both been lost for the season due to injuries.

Before the game, a moment of silence was held for Vikki Zimmer, the late wife of Mike Zimmer, defensive coordinator. On October 8 she died of natural causes unexpectedly. During the third quarter Connor Barwin, the former star from the University of Cincinnati, got the first sack of his career against Palmer. There were approximately 70 relatives and friends in the stands. The career high for Schaub is 414 yards which he got last December 7 versus Green Bay. Andrew Johnson had eight catches for a total of 135 yards, while Slaton caught six for a total of 102 yards, including one of 38 yards for a touchdown. Ochocinco had five catches for a total of 103 yards. It was his first receiving day for 100 yards since the last game in 2007. Cincinnati has scored 54 out of their total 118 points during the last two minutes of both halves as well as overtime.

In what was an AFC North battle for first place, the Cincinnati Bengals once again were able to find a way to win yet another close game.

For their opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, the outcome was a familiar loss.

Bengals quarter Carson Palmer connected on a touchdown pass of twenty yards to Andre Caldwell with just 22 seconds left in the game, capping an 80 yard drive which was kept alive by Ravens penalties which allowed the Bengals to escape with a 17-14 win on Sunday.

The point margin in all five games for the Bengals this season have been seven or fewer points. Cincinnati has won three games in a row by a margin of three points each time. It almost seems at this point they wouldn’t want things to be any other way.

Marvin Lewis, head coach for the Bengals said, they believe no matter the circumstances that they can win. We keep discussing it. Don’t worry, don’t flinch, just keep playing.

The 4-1 Bengals appeared to be destined to fall short in this game until Palmer was able to mastermind their final drive, which was also helped by three penalty yellow flags.

Chris Carr drew a penalty for illegal contact, Ray Lewis for unnecessary roughness, and Frank Walker for pass interference on third down and 16 from Baltimore’s 30 yard line.

On the play after the pass interference penalty Palmer connected with Caldwell down the middle to score the winning touchdown.

Following the ensuring kickoff, the crowd of 71,161 let out a derisive chant against the referees.

Cedric Benson, Bengals running back, rushed for 120 yards, and became the first player to go over 100 yards in 40 games versus the Ravens. Palmer went 18 for 31 for a total of 271 yards. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco caught seven passes for 94 yards.

Ochocinco said, we were not as sound as needed to be. We had a few turnovers offensively. But we got a few breaks and were able to make our way. On that last drive we managed to capitalize.

The Ravens (3-2) have lost two games in a row after they started the season 3-0 for only the second time in their franchise history. In their game last week, two calls for roughing the pass played a key role in their 27-21 loss to New England.

The Ravens drew 10 penalties for a total of 76 yards against Cincinnati. Several of the calls seemed to come at the worst times.

Kelly Gregg, Ravens defensive tackle said, there were some tough calls today. But you can’t just leave things in their hands.

Several of Gregg’s teammates repeated the mantra.

Trevor Pryce, defensive end said, I am not going there. I don’t talk about the referee thing. If you dominate then the calls won’t matter.

Simply put, Baltimore didn’t come close at all to dominating. After they averaged 32.5 points during the first four games this season, they only had one offensive touchdown against Cincinnati. Their defense gave up 403 yards, with 142 rushing.

That is one of the main reasons why Baltimore wasn’t heavily criticizing the referee.

Walker said, the referees just call the game. They are close games because we are letting them be close.

With Baltimore trailing 10-7, Joe Flacco threw a screen pass to Ray Rice, who then turned upfield to face several tacklers. He ducked Brandon Johnson, linebacker, and then was able to stay upright through planting his fingers into the artificial turf and completing the play for 48 yards.

Then it was time for Palmer.

Ochocinco said in the huddle Carson was very confident, keeping all of us calm. When he talks like that in the huddle and with all that swagger and confidence we don’t have any doubt that we will score.

It wasn’t the first time the Bengals had trailed in the game and needed to rally. Reed’s interception return of 52 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter had given Baltimore a 7-0 lead. Later Reed was able to knock a ball loose from Chad Ochocinco which the Ravens were able to recover on their 16 yard line.

During the third quarter the Bengals took the lead at 10-7 on an 84 yard drive that was kept alive on a penalty called against Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth. On a third down play, with Palmer being sacked, Foxworth was flagged for illegal contact. Benson, four plays later, was able to break out on a touchdown run of 28 yards, which gave him over 100 yards for the game.

The Bengals missed the extra point. However Baltimore drew a flag for illegal formation. Shayne Graham then converted on the extra point.

Notes
The last running back to rush for over 100 yards versus the Ravens was Larry Johnson of Kansas City in 2006. Over the past six years Cincinnati has a 4-2 record versus Baltimore. Cincinnati down is 8 for 9 on their fourth down conversions this season.

In overtime the last minute Bengals pulled one out. A field goal from 31 yards by Shayne Graham on the last play of the game in overtime gave Cincinnati a 23-20 victory on Sunday over the Cleveland Browns who have not won a game yet this season. The field goal was set up on a 15 yard running play on fourth down from Carson Palmer.

Marvin Lewis, head coach for the Bengals, decided not to settle for the tie and gambled on fourth down and 11 from Cleveland’s 41 yard line with 1:04 remaining in overtime. Palmer dropped back like he was going to pass and then put the ball under his arm and raced up the middle to get the first down.

The Bengals ran two more plays to get into field goal position. Graham, who had had a field goal and extra point blocked, was able to drill the ball through the uprights.

All four of the Bengals (3-1) games have come down right to the wire. Last week they defeated the defending Super Bowl championship team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, by the same 23-20 score after Palmer with 14 seconds left in the game threw a four yard touchdown pass.

Cleveland (0-4) has now lost 10 games in a row, including last season. Derek Anderson, Browns quarterback, was able to spark Cleveland during his first start of the year. Anderson had one touchdown throwing and one running.

Graham’s field goal capped the fourth possession for the Bengals in overtime, salvaging the game for the offense of Cincinnati which had stalled for three quarters. They were lucky that they were given the additional fifteen minutes to pull the game out.

Palmer went 23 for 44 on 230 yards and connected on two touchdown passes with Chad Ochocinco. For the game Ochocinco had just three catches.

Just like last week, when the stakes were the highest, Palmer performed his best. On the Bengals’ final drive he was able to complete two third down and ten passes, connecting on a 20 yard pass with Chris Henry up the middle and one with Laveranues Coles. However what will be remembered is his deciding to take off on the run to get the biggest first down of the game.

If the gamble had backfired, Cleveland would have received the ball near midfield. The Browns would have had the opportunity to go for the win, and pundits would have second guessed Lewis for weeks, despite getting Cincinnati off to the team’s best start of the season since 2006.

Anderson, who made his first start since Brady Quinn was benched by coach Eric Mangini, went 26 for 48 for 269 yards and connected on a two yard touchdown pass with Steve Heiden. Anderson was also able to find some instant chemistry with Mohamed Massaquoi, the rookie, who caught eight passes for a total of 148 yards.

There were also bad moments for Anderson. With Cleveland down 14-7 he had a pass intercepted in the end zone. He later atoned for his mistake with a scoring run of one yard.

For three quarters Cincinnati’s offense didn’t do anything. With a loss possibly looming, they suddenly woke up.

After they gained 156 yards during the first quarter, the Bengals had seven possessions in a row where they didn’t get a first down. In the fourth quarter Cincinnati trailed 20-14. Palmer then led the Bengals on a 70 yard drive. With 1:55 left in regulation, Palmer threw a two yard touchdown pass to Ochocinco which tied the game at 20-20.

Cincinnati seemed poised for yet another dramatic win. However, the point after from Graham was low and Shaun Rogers, nose tackle, blocked it. In the first quarter Rogers had deflected a field goal attempt from 23 yards out.

The Browns defense boxed the Bengals offense up for three quarters. However, late fourth quarter Cincinnati started to find passing and running lanes.

Jerome Harrison, running back for the Browns, started for injured Jamal Lewis. Harrison had 121 yards rushing on 29 carries.

Browns kicker Billy Cundiff had two field goals. Joshua Cribbs of the Browns returned the ball for 230 total yards.

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.