The flip side of Sunday's 407-yard rushing game, the fifth best in NFL history, was Cincinnati's poor passing.

        Bengals quarterbacks Akili Smith and Scott Mitchell completed only 2 of 14 passes for 34 gross yards in a 31-21 win over Denver. The net yardage was 14 after accounting for 20 yards in sacks.

        Offensive lineman John Jackson thinks the big rushing game could have a positive effect on the Bengals' passing this Sunday at Cleveland.

        “We definitely have to pass the ball,” he said. “Our play action should be pretty much set up. They (the Browns) will definitely be waiting for us to run the ball. There should be some corners sticking their heads in where they're not supposed to be. We should get some big plays.”

        The Bengals are 31st in the NFL in passing yards, averaging 118.3 yards a game. The league average is 209.3.

        “We have to have more balance,” said Bengals coach Dick LeBeau. “We can't run the ball for 400 yards and throw it for 16 or 17. The bottom line is 31 points, and I don't think we've been scoring quite that many. We don't care if the returners get it all or the defense scores it all. Thirty one points is a step in the right direction.”

        FAME BOUND: Corey Dillon is making another contribution to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

        Dillon, who set the NFL's all-time single game rushing mark of 278 yards Sunday, will present the uniform he wore to a Hall of Fame official here Thursday.

        The equipment will join in Canton the jersey Dillon wore in 1997 when he set the rookie single-game rushing record of 246 yards.

        “It's going to be a wonderful moment when I actually get the chance to go up there and take a look,” Dillon said. “I don't know what I'm going to do. Probably shed a tear. I don't know. It will be something special. I can actually take my kids up there and let them know Daddy was a pretty good football player.”

        PAYTON'S PLACE: LeBeau was the defensive backs coach in Green Bay from 1976 through '79, which meant his team played against Walter Payton and NFC Central rival Chicago twice each year.

        It was Payton's 275-yard record that Dillon broke Sunday.

        “Payton was a great back, a little different style than Corey,” LeBeau said. “They used him outside a little bit more. ... He was a quick, cut-back guy who just kept driving. I think you saw (Sunday) a pretty powerful cutback runner who refused to go down.”

        LINE CHANGE: LeBeau also praised left tackle Jackson, who started Sunday for the first time, in place of Rod Jones.

        Right tackle Willie Anderson was the lead blocker on many of Dillon's runs, but it was Jackson's back-side blocks that kept cut-back lanes open for Dillon.

        “It's something I'm proud of,” said Jackson, who is in his 13th season. “But you humble yourself and say, "That was a good job, but Sunday is another challenge.'”

        Jackson, 35, was in bed at 9 p.m. Sunday. “I was running a long way Sunday,” said Jackson, a Woodward High graduate.

        FIRST WIN: Lost in the record-setting day was LeBeau's first victory in four games as an NFL head coach.

        “It was appropriately lost in the shuffle,” LeBeau said. “It was a point of joy. With such a game we had rushing and with Corey, the emphasis was on the players who won the game.”

        Dillon and linebacker Takeo Spikes said Monday that LeBeau has had a positive influence.

        “He's a no-nonsense guy,” Dillon said. “If you're not performing to his standards, you're not going to be in there. I think that kind of got everybody shook up and got everybody motivated and go out there and handle their responsibilities.”

        Said Spikes, “It's the respect factor. He played in the league. He knows what it takes to win.”

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