Takeo Spikes and Brian Simmons are the heart and soul of the best Bengals defense in quite awhile. They are brothers in arms, locker-mate buddies on a team destined to go nowhere ... or everywhere, if you believe what you saw Sunday in the Bengals' shocking 26-23 overtime victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

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Takeo Spikes and Brian Simmons celebrate Simmons' TD Sunday. (Ernest Coleman photo)

        One thing's for sure: There's no way the Bengals are going anywhere if they can't keep these two guys together. And if the Bengals can't keep them together, Spikes and Simmons will be a footnote rather than the opening chapter in the book of great Cincinnati teammates.

        Next year is the last year of their current contracts.

        They're the twins of NFL linebackers, both first-round draftees in 1998 (Spikes the 13th overall pick, Simmons the 17th) after distinguished college careers (Spikes at Auburn, Simmons a first-team All-American at North Carolina).

        “I'm one of his biggest fans,” Spikes said. “I get a lot of the hype, but I think he's just as good as I am. We don't try to compete against each other (for attention). But he makes me the player I am, and I think I make him the player that he is.”

        Last Sunday, when Simmons received a fumble-recovery lateral from Robert Bean and raced 56 yards for the touchdown that put the Bengals back in the game late in the second quarter, Spikes raced just behind him, providing the escort — and the dive-on in the end-zone celebration — that brought half of Paul Brown Stadium to its feet. (The other half were Steelers fans.)

        “I wanted to be the first one with him,” Spikes explained.

        “All year long, he has been saying, “Spikes, if I ever get one (a turnover) in the open, I promise you I won't get caught,'” Spikes said. “And I'd tell him, "I got mine (a 66-yard interception-return for a TD vs. Baltimore to make the Bengals 2-0), now you go ahead and get yours.'”

        As good as Spikes is, he wishes he had more of Simmons' speed.

        “If we'd have been running side by side (on Simmons' 56-yard TD romp),” Spikes said, “I'd have stuck right in there with him the first 30 (yards). After that, I'd be behind him, keeping the good pitch relationship.”

        Simmons said he was going to score because there were no yellow-and-black jerseys in front of him.

        And because of something else.

        “It flashed through my mind: This is their field goal team,” Simmons said. “All they've got out here is linemen and linebacker types. I like my chances on this one.”

        It's testimony to how lean the times have been for the Bengals that Spikes and Simmons are wrapping up their fourth pro seasons, yet Spikes described Sunday's victory as the biggest of his career.

        “I've been through a lot of stuff,” Spikes said. “Even through all my days through Washington County — Sandersville, Ga., small town — this might be the biggest one. No, it is the biggest one.”

        And consider this:

        When it comes to Cincinnati sports figures, Spikes and Simmons could wind up being like Frank and Vada, Big “O” and Boozer, Barry and Eric, their pro careers inextricably intertwined.

        Spikes and Simmons may wind up being the greatest pairing of them all.

        But they're going to need the chance to prove it.

        The Reds' Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson, the Royals' Oscar Robertson and Bob Boozer, and the Reds' Barry Larkin and Eric Davis were contemporaries who got their teams headed in the right direction and ultimately into big postseason games. It's up to the Bengals to find a way to keep them together.

        The way the NFL works these days, it can be as hard to keep great contemporaries together — and happy — as it is in baseball. In some ways, it's even harder. Consider the NFL's so-called "franchise tag.”

        Does anybody like having that slapped on him?

        What if the Bengals were to slap the franchise tag on one of their two prize linebackers? How's that going to sit with them? They were asked this question two weeks ago before the Baltimore game.

        Spikes: “I hope that doesn't happen. That wouldn't be good.”

        Simmons: “It's too far away for me. When the time comes, I'll talk about that. Right now, I'm just trying to make plays, and when you make your plays, they'll pay you like whoever you want to be paid like.”

        Next year is going to be interesting to watch.

        And this year isn't even over yet.

        Mark Curnutte contributed to this story.

Spikes, Simmons enjoy big win Bengals Q&A with Mark Curnutte

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