The Bengals dominated a not very motivated Colts team on Thursday Night.  Ryan Fitzpatrick started this game for the Bengals and he was efficient in completing 5 of 8 passes for 44 yards with 1 TD pass (9-yarder to WR Glenn Holt).  He also carried the football 4 times for 35 yards (8.8 ypc).  Jeff Rowe had a solid game completing 7 of 11 passes for 67 yards.  Jordan Palmer was also semi-effective completing 4 of 7 passes for 43 yards and he also carried the football 1 time for 15 yards.  James Johnson led the Bengals in rushing in this game with 54 yards on 8 carries (6.8 ypc).  DeDe Dorsey also had a solid game with 9 carries for 38 yards (4.2 ypc) with a TD run (6-yarder).  Chris Perry was busy with 9 carries for 20 yards (2.2 ypc) with a 5-yard TD run.  The Bengals held onto the football for a amazing 35:56 in this football game.  The Bengals rushed for 171 yards on 38 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 26 passes for 130 yards.

The Bengals shut out the Colts’ offense as they scored on a 103-yard kickoff return by Courtney Roby.  Cornerbacks Simeon Castille and David Jones along with safety Kyries Hebert led the way for the Bengals with 5 tackles apiece.  The Colts were held to 41 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.2 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 28 passes for 113 yards.  The Bengals finished up the preseason with a 2-2 record.

The Bengals were awful last Saturday Night at home against the Saints but the score should have been much worse.  Carson Palmer completed 11 of 16 passes for 105 yards but he had his nose broken in this game.  He should be good to go in the regular season opener however.  Ryan Fitzpatrick made a brief appearance as he completed 2 of 4 passes for 13 yards.  Jeff Rowe was solid on some dink and dunk passes completing 7 of 10 for 36 yards.  Carson Palmer’s little brother Jordan did not look too good in this game as he completed 1 of 2 passes for 6 yards and he tossed an interception.  Chris Perry was very busy for the Bengals in this game as he carried the football 12 times for 36 yards (3.0 ypc).  He also caught 4 passes for 22 yards (5.5 avg) against the Saints.  Ben Utecht was the leading receiver for the Bengals in this game with 4 catches for 49 yards (12.3 avg).  The Bengals finished up with 38 yards rushing on 17 carries (2.2 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 32 passes for 127 yards.

Linebacker Keith Rivers led a poor Bengals’ defensive effort with 8 tackles and a sack.  The Saints finished up with 145 yards rushing on 29 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 42 passes for 313 yards.  The Bengals have to feel fortunate that this game didn’t count.

The Bengals have placed WR Marcus Maxwell on the Injured Reserve List due to a torn muscle.  This will hurt the depth of the Bengals’ WR corps but it isn’t as if Maxwell would be considered a difference maker on the offense.  The Bengals are probably really glad that they have re-signed Chris Henry due to injuries in the WR corps.

The Bengals swore up and down that Chris Henry was done with the Bengals due to his off the field actions.  But, with Chad Johnson’s shoulder banged up and none of the rookie WRs really stepping up the Bengals have re-signed Chris Henry.  Henry will have to sit out the first four games of the NFL season due to an NFL suspension.  The 25-year old Henry played in 8 games for the Bengals last season and he caught 21 passes for 343 yards (15.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  No one questions Henry’s talent on the field as he’s good enough to be a #1 WR for some teams and that’s why the Bengals bit the bullet and re-signed him.  Henry has now played in 35 games in his NFL career and he has caught 88 passes for 1,370 yards (15.6 avg) with 17 TD grabs.  If Henry sees the light and behaves the Bengals made a good move here but if he acts up Cincinnati will wish they never bothered with him.

The Bengals didn’t look too bad in the first three quarters but they were outscored 17-0 in the 4th quarter which cost them this game.  Carson Palmer was not at his best on Sunday Night as he completed 6 of 13 passes for 50 yards with 1 interceptions.  Backup QB Ryan Fitzpatrick was awesome in this game as he completed 11 of 14 passes for 111 yards with a 12-yard TD pass to WR Glenn Holt.  Fitzpatrick also carried the football 3 times for 31 yards (10.3 ypc) in this game.  Jeff Rowe finished up the game completing 8 of 14 passes for 101 yards.  Kenny Watson led the Bengals in rushing Sunday Night with 31 yards on 5 carries (6.2 ypc).  Chris Perry was also busy with 23 yards rushing on 7 carries (3.3 ypc) against the Lions.  Rookie WR Jerome Simpson led the Bengals in receiving in this game with 5 grabs for 114 yards (22.8 avg).  The Bengals finished up with 100 yards on 21 carries (4.8 ypc) in this game and they also completed 25 of 41 passes for 224 yards.

Linebackers Corey Mays (5 tackles) and Darryl Blackstock (4 tackles, sack) led the way for the Bengals’ defense in this game.  The Lions finished with 112 yards rushing on 31 carries (3.6 ypc) against the Bengals and they also completed 16 of 27 passes for 263 yards.

It’s pretty much win or else look for new work for Marvin Lewis in 2008.  The Bengals were a disappointing 7-9 last season and ownership won’t tolerate that again.  After all, it appears that Lewis has a fondness for players who fall in the draft because of questionable pasts and despite the talent of those players the Bengals have gotten a lot of bad press because of them.  The Bengals probably don’t mind the bad press as long as the team in winning but they didn’t last year.  Lewis has now been the head coach of the Bengals for five years and he has compiled a 42-38 record (52.5%) during the regular season.  He’s only 0-1 in the post season but in his defense they probably wouldn’t have lost that game if Carson Palmer wasn’t put out of the game on a cheap shot by Steelers’ DE Kimo Von Oelhoffen…….but no one ever accused the Steelers of EVER playing clean football.  Still, Lewis better win this season if he wants to remain the head coach of the Bengals.

I still don’t know how the Bengals pulled out the game last night as the Packers outgained them 383-241.  Carson Palmer had a solid game completing 5 of 9 passes for 33 yards including a 14-yard TD strike to TE Ben Utecht.  Ryan Fitzpatrick was also solid completing 6 of 9 passes for 59 yards.  He also carried the football 2 times for 13 yards (6.5 ypc).  Jeff Rowe was horrible last night and he gave the Packers a chance to come back.  He only completed 2 of 8 passes for 24 yards and he threw a pickoff.  Jordan Palmer finished up the game and he completed his only pass attempt for 2 yards.  Chris Perry led the Bengals in rushing with 42 yards on 11 carries (3.8 ypc) with a 16-yard TD run.  Running back James Johnson was also busy as he carried the ball 13 times for 40 yards (3.1 ypc).  Kenny Watson pitched in with 29 yards rushing on 6 carries (4.8 ypc) last night.  TE Ben Utecht was the leading receiver last night with 4 catches for 34 yards (8.5 avg) with a TD grab from Carson Palmer.  The Bengals finished up last night with 123 yards rushing on 33 carries (3.7 ypc).  They also completed 14 of 27 passes for 118 yards.

The Bengals did get a good effort out of some of the young defensive players on the team last night.  1st round pick Keith Rivers led the Bengals with 7 tackles last night.  Fellow linebacker Corey Mays pitched in with 4 tackles and a interception.  Veteran safety Dexter Jackson made a few big plays as he finished with 1 tackle, 1 sack and a interception.  Rookie CB Corey Lynch had three tackles and he recovered the fumble that essentially put the game on ice for the Bengals last night.  The Packers rushed for 112 yards on 22 carries (5.1 ypc) last night.  They also completed 29 of 53 passes for 271 yards last night.  The Bengals need to play a little better on defense before the season starts but they have time.  It was still a nice win.

The Bengals have lost 2nd year safety Chinedum Ndukwe for as many as six weeks as he was injured today in practice.  Ndukwe was likely to be the starting strong safety for the Bengals this season based on his strong play as a rookie last season.  He played in 14 games (2 starts) last season for the Bengals and he made 44 tackles, had 2 sacks, defensed 6 passes and he had 3 interceptions.  Dexter Jackson will take back his old starting job at least at the start of the 2008 season.  Jackson played in 14 games (all starts) last season for the Bengals and he made 72 tackles, had 1/2 a sack, defensed 3 passes and intercepted 2 passes.  Jackson should be able to do a decent job for the Bengals in 2008.  He has now played in 115 games (83 starts) in his NFL career and he has made 460 tackles, has 5 sacks, has defensed 40 passes and he has 17 career interceptions.  It will be interesting to see if Jackson can hold off Ndukwe for the starting job when he’s ready to return to action in a few weeks.

The Bengals have released running back Kenny Irons who has been very slow to recover from a torn ACL that he injured before last season started.  It’s a shame that the Bengals used a 2nd round pick on Irons last season as they had other needs more than a running back at the time.  It’s possible that Irons will get another chance with some other team but he doesn’t seem capable of making a roster right now or the Bengals would have definately kept him.