Rush offense, F: The Bengals ran 12 times for 35 yards. As a result, Jon Kitna was forced to throw 46 passes. Bears defensive tackles Ted Washington and Keith Traylor controlled the line of scrimmage, pushing the interior of the Bengals offensive line into the backfield. Eight of Corey Dillon's 16 rush attempts gained 1 or fewer yards. It was the Bengals' lowest rushing total since Baltimore held them to 4 yards in Game 3 of 2000.

        Pass offense, C: Considering the complete breakdown of the run game, the pass offense did well. Kitna was sacked just two times. But Kitna and the pass offense failed their biggest test early in the second quarter. He was sacked and then intercepted after they had moved to the Bears 6. The four consecutive incompletions from the Bears 2 in the fourth quarter weren't pretty, either. The Bengals won't win many games when they call 48 pass plays.

        Rush defense, F: The Bears gained 6.3 yards a carry. Rookie Anthony Thomas' 188 yards were the sixth most by a running back against a Bengals defense (Baltimore's Priest Holmes had 227 in 1998). Bears center Olin Kreutz and left tackle Blake Brockermeyer dominated the middle of Cincinnati's line and right defensive end Justin Smith.

        Pass defense, D: The Bears over-sized corps of wide receivers had their way with the Bengals secondary, and quarterback Jim Miller was 23-for-30 passing for 232 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn't sacked and rarely pressured. Ligarius Jennings, signed Tuesday off the Lions' scout team, was pressed into service by Robert Bean's hamstring injury and nickel back Tom Carter's benching. Bears rookie WR David Terrell had Jennings one-on-one and had seven catches.

        Special teams, C: For the second consecutive game, a short Nick Harris punt led directly to a score. Last week it was 18 yards; Sunday it was 29, and the Bears scored first on a field goal. Neil Rackers missed his only field goal attempt, from 39 yards. Curtis Keaton averaged less than 20 yards a kickoff return.

        Coaching, D: Dick Jauron's Bears were ready to play. Dick LeBeau's Bengals were flat at home. Chicago's defense looked like it had read a copy of the Bengals' offensive game plan.

Bears 24, Bengals 0 Cynicism rears its ugly head Bengals notebook Ground game never got going Pickoff ticks off Kitna Rackers still struggling Report card Game statistics

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