By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The expansion Houston Texans are favored next week to win a game for the first time in franchise history. Their opponent? The Bengals.

The Bengals lost for the seventh consecutive time Sunday, 30-24, to the Tennessee Titans at Paul Brown Stadium.

Not only are the Bengals the only winless team in the NFL, but every other NFL club has won at least two games. Including Houston.

Only 52,822 fans, the smallest of four home crowds, watched Sunday's loss. But they did see the Bengals play their best game and actually hold the lead for more than 38 minutes. That's saying something. Coming in, in the previous six games, the Bengals had been ahead just two minutes and 30 seconds. No lie.

"We had every opportunity to win, and next week we will win," said Bengals coach Dick LeBeau, whose team has won just twice in the last 16 games dating back a year.

The hometown fans appreciated the Bengals' good start. Many stood and applauded the team when the first quarter ended with a 7-0 Cincinnati lead.

"It's a humongous turnaround," said Dan Rassche, 49, of Taylor Mill. "It took them two weeks' practice. Maybe that's what they needed."

The Bengals were off last week.

While some fans liked the better effort, other long-suffering Bengals followers couldn't mask their disappointment.

Four days before Halloween, some fans showed up at the game wearing T-shirts that on the front read, "The Nightmare on Elm Street."

The back of the T-shirts were reserved for club president Mike Brown, son of Bengals' founder and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Paul Brown.

"Dear Mike. Please take my name off the stadium. Love, Dad."

The Bengals, including Sunday's loss, are 53-130 since Mike Brown assumed control of the team from his late father at the start of the 1991 season. The Bengals are the only NFL team not to make the playoffs in the past 11 seasons.

The 2002 Bengals were supposed to be the team that broke the streak. Mr. Brown talked at training camp of an urgency to win.

The high expectations, coupled with the fifth 0-7 start in franchise history, have brought anger and frustration with the Bengals to an all-time high.

Two weeks ago, Hamilton County commissioners asked the county prosecutor to review the Bengals stadium lease to see if the team was in breach of contract for failing to field a "competitive" team. It might be a legal lark, but the move taps into the community's disenchantment with the Bengals.

The Bengals have been the butt of jokes all season. They're an embarrassment to a city that can afford no more dents to its image.

National radio talk show host Jim Rome is following the Bengals closely in the hopes they become the first team to go winless in a 16-game schedule. Jay Leno is always hammering the Bengals in his late-night monologue.

ESPN on Sunday morning became the latest national media outlet to rip the Bengals. The Los Angeles Times and New York Times took their shots within the past 10 days.

But the Bengals weren't a joke Sunday. They looked good at times, especially on offense, although the defense struggled all day.

They came into the Titans game having scored just 51 points, an 8.5 average. They "exploded" for 24, upping their average to 10.7, which is still three points a game worse than any other NFL team.

The defense gave up 30 points for the fifth time, but instead of losing 30-9 - the average in the first six games - the Bengals lost 30-24.

And they lost by about three inches.

On their last offensive play, with 1:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, running back Corey Dillon was tackled shy of the end zone. He had tripped over his pulling left guard, Matt O'Dwyer, who had stumbled over quarterback Jon Kitna. A touchdown would have won the game.

"We're going to fight now," Mr. Dillon said when asked if he saw something different from his teammates. "I bet (the Titans) ain't over there calling us sorry. They're over there checking their pants."

Titans running back Eddie George agreed with Mr. Dillon's assessment.

"Let me be the first to say this: They're not bad," Mr. George said. "They're not the team everybody keeps making jokes about.

"Another inch and they're talking about how bad we are, and how we're the laughingstock."

The close loss actually hurt more than the blowouts.

"Well, yeah, sure it does," Mr. LeBeau said.

"Our guys fought hard and did a lot of good things and showed some resiliency."

Few people have showed more resiliency than Bengals' fans.

Liza Sizemore wore an orange wig and Bengals' glasses to the game.

"Just because they (stink), you've got to stay loyal," said Ms. Sizemore, 22, of Columbia-Tusculum.

John P. Clarke, 55, of Anderson Township, has been a season-ticket holder since 1979.

"I'm a Cincinnati fan," he said. "I don't like the way they're playing, but they're my team."

Enquirer reporter Cindy Kranz contributed to this report.

RECORD

The Bengals are the NFL's only winless team at 0-7. It is the fifth 0-7 start in the franchise's 35-year history and fourth since 1991 (0-8, 1994; 0-10, 1993; 0-8, 1991; and 0-8, 1978).

LEADING

The Bengals led Sunday's 60-minute game for 35 minutes, 37 seconds. They had led for just two minutes, 30 seconds in all of the first six games.

In 420 minutes of play this season, the Bengals have had the lead for just 38 minutes, seven seconds.

LOST DECADE

Since their last playoff game after the 1990 season, the Bengals are a combined 53-130.

POINTS

The Bengals enjoyed their biggest offensive day of the season, 24 points, but remained the NFL's lowest-scoring team at 10.7 points a game.

Dallas is 31st at 13.5 points.

FAVORED

The Bengals are a 3-point underdog for Sunday's game against the first-year Texans at Houston. The Texans are 2-5 after winning Sunday at Jacksonville. It is the first time the Texans have been favored.

BLOWOUTS

The Bengals came into Sunday's game ranked 28th in the 32-team league in points allowed.

They didn't help themselves Sunday. In seven games, they've yielded 211 points, an average of 30.1 points a game.

The final score of the typical Bengals game this season is 30.1-10.7.

DEFENSE YIELDS

Tennessee's 30-point game was the fifth time in seven games the Bengals have allowed 30 or more points.

STAT PACK

The Bengals entered Sunday's game ranked last in points scored per game, passing average and interceptions thrown; 31st in total yards and passing yards a game; and 30th in kickoff return average and net punting average.

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