Monday, November 26, 2001
Browns 18, Bengals 0
7 turnovers, 2 missed FG tries add up to 3rd loss in row
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CLEVELAND — The slow unraveling of the Bengals' season hit warp speed Sunday. Just about everything that went wrong in 2000 resurfaced in the 18-0 loss to the Browns, and the Bengals' luck was no better when they departed Cleveland Browns Stadium.
The Bengals had to abandon their charter jet at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport because of mechanical problems and ride buses back to Cincinnati. They were expected to arrive at Paul Brown Stadium at about 1:30 a.m.
The plane wasn't the only thing that couldn't get off the ground Sunday.
Bengals quarterbacks Jon Kitna and Scott Mitchell combined for five interceptions, tying a single-game franchise record previously done five times and most recently in 1978.
The Browns, who lead the NFL with 25 interceptions, had 118 yards in interception returns, 11 more than the Bengals' 107 net passing yards.
The Bengals are 2-6 in their last eight games, spoiling their 2-0 start, and have lost three games in a row by a composite 68-20 score since their Nov.4 bye. They've been outscored 39-0 in the second halves of those three games.
The Bengals have lost 35 games in a row to winning teams on the road since defeating a 6-5 Steelers team in Pittsburgh on Dec.2, 1990 and are an NFL-worst 20-73 on the road since the start of the '90 season.
The Bengals finished their second consecutive winless November and, at 4-6, are in a fourth-place tie with Tennessee in the AFC
Central, one game ahead of last-place Jacksonville.
They were shut out for the second time in 10 games and turned over the ball a season-high seven times. Thirteen of their 15 interceptions have come in the six losses.
“You can't win a game with seven turnovers,” coach Dick LeBeau said.
Kitna will start Sunday, almost by default, against Tampa Bay.
“We needed a spark,” tackle and offensive captain Willie Anderson said. “A lot of things broke down. You can't just blame one guy.”
Said Kitna, “If (LeBeau) felt that was going to help us get a win, I'm all for it because I'm all about winning.”
LeBeau put Mitchell in for the first time this season, to start the second half, and he completed four passes to the Bengals and three to Browns defenders.
Emergency third quarterback Akili Smith, who hadn't thrown a pass since Nov.26, 2000, was put in for the final series and was 1-for-2 passing for two yards.
Cleveland kept Bengals tailback Corey Dillon in check, holding him to 63 yards on 20 attempts. In their six games against the expansion Browns, the Bengals have won their four games in which Dillon gained 100 or more yards and lost the two in which he didn't.
It's not that the Browns played all that well on offense. They turned over the ball three times, two on Tim Couch interceptions and one on a fumble by running back Benjamin Gay.
The Bengals started four drives in Cleveland territory. Cincinnati's two longest drives of the day — 55 and 32 yards — ended in Neil Rackers' missed field goal attempts, from 43 and 47 yards.
The Bengals trailed 12-0 early in the fourth quarter when they had their best chance to score. Rookie wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh returned a punt 86 yards to the Cleveland 5-yard line.
Mitchell's first pass was incomplete to Ron Dugans. Dillon ran twice for a total of three yards to set up fourth down on the 2.
The Bengals called a timeout because the play clock wound down to 1 second. They came back and ran a naked bootleg quarterback option to the left. All Bengals receivers were covered, and Mitchell was sacked by Courtney Brown and Dwayne Rudd for a 9-yard loss.
“A field goal really wouldn't help us because we were getting to the point where we were running out of possessions,” LeBeau said.
The stand sealed the game for Cleveland.
“Keeping them out of the end zone on four plays inside the 5-yard line was a huge momentum swing,” said Browns first-year coach Butch Davis.
The Browns, who went 5-27 in their first two seasons under Chris Palmer, are alone in third place in the division, only a half a game behind Baltimore and in the thick of the playoff hunt.
The Bengals are struggling to get past win No.4.
Team leaders and the veteran free agents who signed in Cincinnati in the offseason are faced with leading the Bengals back into contention. The first step is a respectable performance. Tampa Bay will visit Sunday.
“It's now or never,” fullback Lorenzo Neal said. “I mean, if we've got any shot or any hope of salvaging our year and it's about not giving up and playing hard, the time is now. I'd just like to see us as a team play a good game on both sides of the ball and show people what we can really do.”
Linebacker Takeo Spikes repeated LeBeau's words. A productive defensive unit won't criticize a struggling offense.
“One thing we've got to do is stay together as a whole,” said Spikes, whose eight tackles were second only to middle linebacker Brian Simmons' 10 for the team lead. “You can't be pointing fingers. The only thing that's going to get the nasty feeling out of you is going out and outworking the next man.
“What makes it do hard is we've dug our own ditch right now, and it's up to us right now to stay out of it or jump in it.”
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