By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Corey Dillon joined elite company Sunday, reaching 1,000 rushing yards for the sixth consecutive season to start his NFL career.

But the Bengals' running back had a game he'd rather forget. He was involved in three pivotal plays that proved fatal in a 27-23 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Dillon ran for 70 yards on 23 carries, bringing his season total to 1,018 yards. He joins Eric Dickerson, Barry Sanders and Curtis Martin as the only four players to run for 1,000 in each of their first six NFL seasons.

Dillon reached 1,000 on his last attempt of the first half, a 7-yard run. He now has 7,227 rushing yards in his career.

But two plays after hitting the 1,000 mark, Dillon was the intended receiver on a Jon Kitna pass that was intercepted and returned 98 yards for a touchdown by Ravens rookie safety Chad Williams. The Bengals trailed 14-13 instead of getting at least three more points.

Dillon hasn't talked to reporters since the end of October, but Kitna said he expected Dillon to cut the other way on the pass route.

"Y'all can forget about it," Dillon said when approached by reporters after the game.

Dillon and Kitna also had a problem on a pass play in the fourth quarter, with the Bengals holding a 23-21 lead. On a third-and-6 from the Baltimore 26, Kitna dropped to pass, but Dillon's shoulder bumped the ball when he tried to slide past Kitna and into pass protection.

Baltimore's Adalius Thomas recovered, and the Ravens drove 69 yards for the winning touchdown.

Thomas, Dillon and Kitna were united once more on the Bengals' last offensive play.

Dillon returned after missing three plays because he had taken a shot to the head and was feeling light-headed. Rudi Johnson replaced Dillon and ran for a first down on a fourth-and-1 play and caught a 3-yard dump pass.

On fourth-and-7 from the Ravens' 10, Dillon was Kitna's intended receiver, but Thomas slapped the ball down to the ground.

Dillon did have six receptions for 28 yards, giving him a career-high 36 catches for 243 yards, his third-highest total.

Dillon is on pace for 1,357 rushing yards this season.

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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