The Bengals got back on track yesterday by playing defense and running the football.  Carson Palmer was just a game manager yesterday as he completed 13 of 24 passes for 110 yards with 1 TD pass.  Larry Johnson got his first action for the Bengals as he was awesome carrying the ball 22 times for 107 yards (4.9 ypc).  Bernard Scott also had another solid game with 87 yards rushing on 18 carries (4.8 ypc) yesterday.  Chad Ocho Cinco led the way in the passing game for the Bengals yesterday with 3 catches for 38 yards (12.7 avg).  TE J.P. Foschi pitched in with 2 catches for 11 yards (5.5 avg) with a TD grab.  The Bengals finished up with 306 total yards on offense (210 rushing, 96 passing) as they held onto the football for 38:11 of the game!

Linebacker Landon Johnson led a great team effort by the Bengals’ D with 8 tackles.  The Browns finished up with only 169 total yards on offense (58 rushing, 111 passing) yesterday.  The Bengals improve to 8-3 on the season as they now have a 2-game lead in the AFC North.

The Bengals need Carson Palmer to stay healthy because he is the leader of the team.  He is playing at a high level this season and he is a big reason that they are 7-3 and sitting atop the AFC North right now.  The 29-year old Palmer has started every game for the Bengals this season and he has completed 192 of 312 passes (61.5%) for 2,217 yards with 14 TD passes and 8 INTs (87.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 23 times for 59 yards (2.6 avg) with 3 TD runs this year.  The Bengals have pretty much gone the way that Palmer has in his career so it’s good for them that he is playing well right now.  Palmer has played in 75 games for the Bengals in his career and he has completed 1,572 of 2,477 (63.5%) passes for 17,847 yards with 121 TD passes and 75 INTs (88.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 131 times for 232 yards (1.8 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  For the Bengals to hold off the Steelers and Ravens in the AFC North they will need to continue to block well and keep Carson Palmer in one piece.

The Lions proved yesterday that their offensive explosion last week was a mirage.  The Browns hope that last week wasn’t a mirage offensively and that Brady Quinn can build off his outstanding effort.  The Bengals represent a bigger challenge for the Browns’ offense as they have a ballhawking secondary as CBs Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall have 12 interceptions between them.  With that being said the Browns had their second best offensive game of the year against the Bengals in the first matchup between these teams earlier this year.  The Browns should fight fire with fire and let Quinn continue to throw the ball downfield in this game.  The Bengals don’t have a great pass rush so Quinn should have time to throw the ball so they should let er rip.  Mohamed Massaquoi can not afford to drop anything that hits his hands if the Browns are going to have any hope of an upset this weekend because he is the teams’ lone deep threat.  Chansi Stuckey had his best game of the year last week and the Browns need him to keep up the good work against the Bengals on Sunday.  Joshua Cribbs will be the X-factor for the Browns in this game as he is averaging 6.2 yards per carry running the Wildcat Formation for the Browns and he also is a severe threat out of the backfield in the passing game for the Browns.  The Bengals had also better be careful and not kick the ball to often to Cribbs who can make them pay dearly for that decision.  Jamal Lewis will likely still get the bulk of the work in the running game for the Browns this week.  But, Chris Jennings is starting to catch the eye of the Browns coaching staff as of late.  Still, the Bengals will likely be glad if they don’t see much of Jerome Harrison who torched them in the first meeting between these two teams earlier this season who is currently in Eric Mangini’s Dog House.

The Bengals can’t afford to just run the ball this week as they did against the Raiders last week and why would they?  Carson Palmer loves playing the Browns as he has 22 career TD passes against them in only 9 games.  The Browns are allowing 247.1 yards passing per game this season and QBs have a 93.7 Rating against them so look for Palmer to attack them through the air  early and often in this game.  Chad Ocho Cinco could be in line for a huge game against the Brownies this week.  Cedric Benson is iffy for this game with a hip problem.  If he can’t go look for rookie Bernard Scott to pick up the slack against a Browns’ D that is allowing 154.9 yards rushing and 4.6 yards per carry this year.  Brian Leonard and Larry Johnson could also get in on the fun.  Still, this is the Battle of Ohio and the Browns will probably bring their best effort into the Jungle.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 30, BROWNS 20

The Bengals were stunned earlier today at the Black Hole in Oakland.  The Raiders scored 10 points in a 18-second span late in the 4th quarter to beat the Bengals.  The game was tied at 17 with 33 seconds left in the game and that is when Andre Caldwell fumbled a kick return setting up Sebastian Janikowski with the dagger FG.  Carson Palmer had a so-so game completing 14 of 22 passes for 207 yards with 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 7 yards (1.8 ypc) with 2 TD runs today.  Rookie RB Bernard Scott was awesome in this game as he carried the ball 21 times for 119 yards (5.7 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 32 yards (10.7 avg).  Brian Leonard pitched in with 13 carries for 36 yards (2.8 ypc) today.  Chad Ocho Cinco (4 rec, 67 yards) and Laveranues Coles (2 rec, 61 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bengals today.  The Bengals finished up with 348 total yards on offense (177 rushing, 171 passing) today. 

The defense was pretty solid until the end of the game for the Bengals today.  LBs Dhani Jones (9 tackles) and Rey Maualuga (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Bengals on D today.  The Raiders finished up with 275 total yards on offense (92 rushing, 183 passing) in this game.  The Bengals are still atop of the AFC North with a 7-3 record.

The Bengals are hot as a firecracker right now as they have won three games in a row by a combined score of 80-29!  The Bengals will likely come out running the ball with rookie Bernard Scott against a Raiders’ D that is allowing 155.6 yards rushing per game and 4.4 yards per carry.  Don’t think for a minute though that Carson Palmer won’t be putting the ball up a lot to Chad Ocho Cinco, Laveranues Coles and Andre Caldwell against a Raiders’ D giving up 211.6 yards passing per game.  Carson Palmer won’t let his team overlook the pathetic Raiders this Sunday.

The Raiders will have a new look this Sunday with Bruce Gradkowski taking over as the starting QB.  He doesn’t have the arm that JaMarcus Russell does but he is far more accurate on the short stuff.  That means that TE Zach Miller will likely be his top target this week meaning that Chris Crocker and Chinedum Ndukwe will be challenged.  The Raiders have speed to burn at WR but it’s too bad none of them can catch the football.  Michael Bush will be the main man in the running game for the Raiders and the yards will not come easy for him as the Bengals only allow 83.4 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry.

PREDICTION:  BENGALS 24, RAIDERS 17

Chris Crocker and Chinedum Ndukwe has played pretty darn well for the Bengals this season despite not getting much credit.  Most of the credit for the pass defense is going to CBs Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph but the safeties have had their back all season.  Crocker has made 41 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 8 passes defensed and he has 2 interceptions.  He is the center fielder of the D for the Bengals as the free safety and he has played well this season for them.  Ndukwe was supposed to back up Roy Williams at strong safety but he’s in the starting lineup now due to injury.  He has 42 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and he has defensed 3 passes.  He’s not the big playmaker that Williams is but he’s a sure tackler and he is very solid in run support.  The Bengals are lucky to have a pair of safeties the quality of Crocker and Ndukwe.

The Bengals have released 30-year old WR Antonio Chatman and 28-year old TE Ben Utecht.  Chatman has been on the Injured Reserve List all year with a leg injury.  He played in 36 games in his three years with the Bengals and he caught 43 passes for 365 yards (8.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Chatman also returned 6 kickoffs for 142 yards (23.7 avg) and 47 punts for 304 yards (6.5 avg) in his time with the Bengals.  Ben Utecht has missed all season due to a series of concussions in training camp.  That is a shame because the Bengals could sure use him at TE right about now.  Utecht played in 10 games for the Bengals last season and he caught 16 passes for 123 yards (7.7 avg). 

The Bengals have signed 29-year old running back Larry Johnson to a 1-year deal.  Johnson played in 7 games for the Chiefs this season in which he carried the ball 132 times for 377 yards (2.9 ypc) and he also caught 12 passes for 76 yards (6.3 avg).  Johnson was released for both his off the field conduct and his lack of production.  The Bengals are banking on Johnson returning to form with a winning team with a better cast of players around him.  Johnson has played in 75 games in his 7 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,375 times for 6,015 yards (4.4 ypc) with 55 TD runs.  He has also caught 151 passes for 1,369 yards (9.1 avg) with 6 TD grabs in his career.  This was a great signing for the Bengals especially with Cedric Benson going down with a bum hip a couple of days ago.

It’s not known yet how serious Cedric Benson’s hip injury is but he didn’t return to the game Sunday after injuring it.  Benson has been one of the main men in the Bengals’ offense and he is a player that the team can’t afford to lose.  Benson has played in all 9 games for the Bengals this season and he has carried the ball 205 times for 859 yards (4.2 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 10 passes for 66 yards (6.6 avg) this year.  If Benson has to miss some time rookie Bernard Scott will likely move into the starting lineup.  Scott has played in all 9 games for the Bengals so far this season and he has carried the ball 29 times for 95 yards (3.3 ypc) and he has also caught 2 passes for 35 yards (17.5 avg).  If Scott is indeed moved into the starting lineup the Bengals will have to replace him on kickoff returns and that would also hurt the Bengals.  He has returned 7 kickoffs for 261 yards (37.3 avg) so far this season for the Bengals.  The Bengals had better hope that Benson isn’t too seriously injured because they need him big time.

The Bengals swept the Steelers for the year by beating them at their own game at Heinz Field.  The Bengals won with special teams and defense in this game.  LB Dhani Jones, S Chinedum Ndukwe, CB Leon Hall and CB Jonathan Joseph led the way for the Bengals today with 7 tackles apiece.  But, DE Jonathan Fanene was the star of the D today for the Bengals.  He delivered 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 2 QB hits.  The Steelers finished up with a paltry 226 total yards on offense (80 rushing, 146 passing) in this game as the Bengals’ D dominated them! 

Carson Palmer was a game manager this week for the Bengals as he completed 18 of 30 passes for 178 yards today.  Cedric Benson only rushed for 22 yards on 7 carries (3.1 ypc) before leaving the game with a injury.  Rookie RB Bernard Scott emerged as a star in this game for the Bengals.  He carried the ball 13 times for 33 yards (2.5 ypc) and he caught 1 pass for 21 yards.  But, he also returned 5 kickoffs for 206 yards (41.2 avg) including one that went for a 96 yard TD.  Laveranues Coles pitched in with 5 catches for 67 yards (13.4 avg) to lead the way in the passing game for the Bengals today.  The Bengals finished up with 218 total yards on offense (61 rushing, 157 passing) in this game but it was all that they needed to sweep the Steelers.  The Bengals are now sitting atop the AFC North with a 7-2 record.