By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Former UC tailback Ray Jackson took another step toward his dream of playing in the NFL on Sunday.

In the Bengals first preseason game, a 28-13 loss to the New York Jets, Jackson was the team's leading rusher with 54 yards on 14 carries.

He scored the Bengals first touchdown on a 7-yard run, but did lose one fumble.

"I've just got to go and do better on special teams," said Jackson, a non-drafted rookie free agent. "I just need to go back to camp and play hard, which I have been doing."

Jackson missed a year of football, and he went to work at the Westwood Wal-Mart and the Cincinnati Recreation Commission.

"It felt good being in the end zone, any end zone," Jackson said. "It's been a long time."

MISSING: Rookie wide receiver Kelley Washington did not play, though he made the trip. He was excused for personal reasons.

"Kelley chose to obtain a second medical opinion on the condition of his neck for final clearance to play," Bengals media relations director Jack Brennan said.

Washington, whose college career ended Nov. 19 when he had surgery to fuse two vertebrae in his neck, flew to Dallas after flying with the Bengals to New Jersey.

SHORT AT WR: Besides Washington, the Bengals also were missing wide receivers Kwazeon Leverette, Ron Dugans and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

The Bengals played with only three veteran wide receivers - Chad Johnson, Peter Warrick and Danny Farmer.

SCARY MOMENT: Rookie linebacker Khalid Abdullah thought the worst when he suffered a stinger after making a tackle early in the fourth quarter.

A former teammate at Division II Mars Hill suffered some paralysis in his right arm after sustaining the same type of injury, Abdullah said.

"He ripped his nerves and muscle down (the right side of his neck)," Abdullah said. "That's the only thing that I was thinking about. It scared me. I didn't know what was going on."

He quickly regained mobility and comfort and returned to the game.

CAMEO: Tailback Corey Dillon made a rare first-game start in the preseason and carried one time for five yards.

CAPTAINS: Right tackle Willie Anderson (offense), defensive tackle Tony Williams (defense) and safety JoJuan Armour (special teams) were captains for Sunday's game.

MODEL: In handling rookie quarterback Carson Palmer, the Bengals appear to be following the pattern used by the Jets to bring along Chad Pennington.

Pennington, the 18th overall pick in the 2000 draft from Marshall, played in only one game as a rookie and two in his second year.

Pennington even opened his breakout third season behind Vinny Testaverde before becoming the starter in Game 5.

COMING UP: Coach Marvin Lewis has canceled the morning practice on Aug. 18 and moved it to Aug. 21 from 8:45-11 a.m. Camp had originally been closed on Aug. 21, but it will now be open to fans.

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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