Brian Simmons shows his disappointment as he walks off the field. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        The Bengals guaranteed an 11th consecutive non-winning season Sunday, losing 14-10 to Jacksonville before the season's smallest crowd, 44,920.

        The loss was the Bengals' fifth in a row and eighth in 10 games since a 2-0 start, dropping them to 4-8 and into last place in the AFC Central.

        The Bengals defense played a fourth impressive game in a row, limiting the Jaguars to 255 yards and tying a franchise record with eight sacks.

        But the offense, playing against a Jacksonville defense missing four starters, had just 200 yards. The Bengals have scored 43 points in their losing streak, an average of 8.6 a game.

Justin Smith gets one of his three sacks on Mark Brunell. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        The string of losses, after such a promising start, is wearing down defensive captain Takeo Spikes.

        “It's bull, man. Print it how you want to print it,” he said. “Put stars and Xs on it. It's sickening.”

        Spikes indicated he's tired of hearing his offensive teammates complain about the play- calling of coordinator Bob Bratkowski.

        “It's driving me crazy,” Spikes said. “I don't give a damn what the coach calls. I don't care how stupid a call may be. Before you even get put in that situation where you think a call is stupid, make the play before it so it don't even have to come down to that ... It's not criticism. It's constructive criticism.”

Fan's sign says it all. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        Since scoring 13 points in the first half Nov.11 at Jacksonville — the first loss of the five — the Bengals have scored three offensive touchdowns in the past 19 quarters, counting the overtime period against Tampa Bay.

        “We just have to find a way to get more points,” coach Dick LeBeau said.

        The Bengals are the NFL's lowest-scoring team at 13.6 points a game. Their only touchdown Sunday, a 9-yard Corey Dillon run in the second quarter, was set up by a 29-yard return of an interception by cornerback Kevin Kaesviharn to Jacksonville's 38-yard line.

        The Bengals went 38 yards in six plays to tie the score, 7-7. Jacksonville had taken the lead in the first quarter on Mark Brunell's 17-yard pass to Jimmy Smith, who had 119 yards on nine receptions.

        The Bengals led 10-7 in the third quarter when Neil Rackers made a 47-yard field goal.

        But the Jaguars scored the game's final points early in the fourth quarter when Brunell hit Keenan McCardell on an 11-yard scoring pass.

Justin Smith and teammates gang-tackle Stacey Mack. (Brandi Stafford photo) | ZOOM |

        The Bengals had three possessions after falling behind 14-10, but the offense gained 28 yards on 16 plays and had just two first downs.

        The defense provided good field position. The Bengals' last three drives started on their 35-yard line, Jacksonville's 49 and Cincinnati's 46.

        Two of the final three drives ended in punts — the fifth and sixth of the game by Nick Harris — and the Bengals' last gasp was quarterback Jon Kitna's fourth-and-3 pass to running back Brandon Bennett that was incomplete.

        Kitna, who was intercepted once and had no touchdown passes, had a difficult time believing after the game that his team had lost five in a row and was 4-8.

        “I really feel like and still feel like we have so much potential offensively,” he said. “I really throught we were going to be a much more explosive offense than we are.”

Corey Dillon consoles Jon Kitna in the final moments. (Gary Landers photo) | ZOOM |

        LeBeau pulled Kitna at halftime of Game 10 at Cleveland after Kitna had thrown two interceptions in the first half. Backup Scott Mitchell, who threw three, was demoted to third string, and Akili Smith — who played the final series against the Browns — was promoted to No.2.

        LeBeau was asked Sunday if he would consider changing quarterbacks to spark the offense.

        “I think I tried that a couple of weeks ago,” he said.

        Asked to clarify his answer, LeBeau said, “That was a tentative no.”

        “They're playing well. We're not,” running back Corey Dillon said. “We got to find a way to bring ourselves to their level.”

        Other problems exist besides Kitna's play.

        Since running for 184 yards at Detroit, Dillon has been held to under 79 yards in five consecutive games, and the running game has failed to better the 86 it had a week ago against Tampa Bay.

        “I hate to point out any particular unit,” LeBeau said. “Collectively, we're not getting it done. We could have won the game 10-7 if they hadn't scored on the defense.”

        Jacksonville's winning touchdown came after the Bengals had beat up Brunell with eight sacks.

        Rookie end Justin Smith had three sacks to give him a team-best 7.5. Defensive tackle Tony Williams added two.

        The defense has 38 sacks and is eight away from tying the team record set in 1976. While the offense is scoring less than nine points a game in the five-game losing streak, the defense is allowing 16.8 points a game.

        The Bengals dropped below the 300-yard mark on yards allowed a game, and after 12 games have an average of 298.

        The loss was the fourth in a row at home after the Bengals had won their first three.

        “All that hope, all that wishing,” Spikes said. “You're just playing for pride once again.”

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