Cincinnati survives
CINCINNATI – With wounded players shuffling off in waves, what was left of the Cincinnati Bengals rallied for a win that hurt so good.
Steve McNair’s interception – his fourth gaffe of the game – set up Carson Palmer’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass, and Cincinnati’s suspect defense pulled off a goal-line stand Monday night that preserved a 27-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.
In a bruising season opener matching the last two AFC North champs, the Bengals were the last one standing – barely.
“We know it’s going to be a hard-fought game when we play these guys – tough, physical,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. “It’s important to win the physical football games because you put so much into it.”
Kyle Boller took over after McNair strained his groin in the fourth quarter – the last in a nonstop run of injuries for both teams – and led the Ravens to the 1-yard line in the closing seconds.
A pass interference penalty on Todd Heap negated his catch in the end zone, and Boller’s final pass deflected off Heap’s shoulder and was intercepted in the end zone by diving lineman Michael Myers.
The Bengals had to work with a makeshift offensive line that was missing three starters by the second quarter. They also briefly lost kicker Shayne Graham, costing them on an extra-point try.
Even receiver Chad Johnson limped off at one point, evidently suffering from a cramp. The Pro Bowl receiver came up big for the Bengals, catching five passes for 95 yards, including a 39-yard TD.
Safety Ed Reed returned a punt untouched 63 yards for a touchdown that put the Ravens ahead 20-19 early in the fourth quarter and silenced the crowd of 66,093, the second-largest in Paul Brown Stadium’s history. Reed had to return kicks because B.J. Sams sprained a knee.
The emotional lift didn’t last long. McNair had the most to do with that.
In his second season running the Ravens’ offense, he had one of his worst games. McNair fumbled on a sack, muffed a handoff to running back Willis McGahee, and let the ball slip out of his hand on a pass attempt. Linebacker Landon Johnson caught that fumble in mid-air and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown.
Despite all that, the defending division champs had a chance to hold the lead and pull out one of those make-or-break games on the road. McNair let it slip away with his last error.
His high pass deflected off the hands of Derrick Mason, and Robert Geathers made a diving interception that was upheld on review. Two plays later, Palmer threw a 7-yard TD pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh to seal it.
Cincinnati made the 2-point conversion on Rudi Johnson’s run.
McNair strained his groin on the next series and finished the game 20 of 34 for 203 yards.
Baltimore won the division by five games last season with a defense that gave up the fewest points and yards in the NFL. It was poised to assert itself against the Bengals, who won it in ‘05.
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis got himself in the mood for the matchup by hopping and waving his arms in the orange-striped end zone. He was the first one knocked out of the game.
On Cincinnati’s first pass, Lewis lowered his shoulder and leveled Houshmandzadeh. The 32-year-old linebacker got up holding his right arm.
The emotional leader of the NFL’s top defense last year, Lewis jogged to the locker room to have his upper right arm examined and wrapped. He wasn’t around to see the celebration that was meant partly for him.
Chad Johnson, a close friend who talks to Lewis a few times each week, had promised him a special celebration “if” he got into the end zone. Once there, he jogged to the sideline and pulled out a mock blazer for the “Monday Night Football” crowd.
The back of the foam garb was inscribed: Future H.O.F. 20?? – a reference to the Hall of Fame.