By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. - The 2002 Bengals reached new lows, even for a franchise accustomed to them.

Jon Kitna walks off the field after throwing an interception in the fourth quarter. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

Sunday's 27-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills makes this Bengals team the first to lose 14 games in a season. They finished 2-14.

The Bengals also won the booby prize given to the NFL team with the worst record - the first overall pick in the 2003 college draft.

Quarterback Jon Kitna threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. His poor performance down the stretch might push the Bengals toward using their No. 1 pick on University of Southern California quarterback Carson Palmer, winner of the Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football.

Coach Dick LeBeau's Bengals lost for the 21st time in the past 25 games, and club president Mike Brown is expected to announce organizational changes as early as today.

Asked after the game if he had any thoughts on what might happen to him, LeBeau said, "No, I have none."

On finishing 2-14, LeBeau said, "I could have done without that question. We're not happy about it."

Kitna finished six plays short of earning an additional $1.625 million next season. He needed to play in 80 percent of the offensive snaps, but finished at 79.886 percent.

Kitna didn't help his own cause - he threw two interceptions and lost a fumble - although he did run 6 yards for his fourth rushing touchdown of the season.

Bills quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who three times said he did not want to be traded from New England to the Bengals, ran for one touchdown and threw for another.

Offensive tackle Willie Anderson is the Bengals player with the most Bengals starts and games played with the franchise.

"It's disappointing," he said. "It's bad, man."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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