By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The fact he had missed 13 days of training camp because of a hamstring injury didn't show in T.J. Houshmandzadeh's game Saturday night.

He led all Bengals receivers with four receptions for 51 yards, including a 30-yard touchdown from quarterback Carson Palmer, and contributed another 49 yards on three punt returns.

"This was the first time I really played since last year," Houshmandzadeh said after the Bengals 23-10 victory against Detroit. "It was fun just to be out there. I don't want to disrespect those guys (Lions players), but I'm supposed to perform the way I did. The players I faced weren't starters, so I don't think it's a big deal."

Coach Marvin Lewis thought it was.

"Great to see T.J. play," said Lewis, who had excused starting wide receiver Peter Warrick to attend his grandfather's funeral in Florida. "T.J. had more of an opportunity tonight."

Houshmandzadeh had more plays on offense and returned punts in Warrick's absence. Houshmandzadeh's 39-yard punt return in the first quarter set up the first of three Neil Rackers field goals.

Houshmandzadeh's last two receptions, coming in the fourth quarter from Shane Matthews, were on third down and good for first downs.

"The third down catches were hard catches, and he ran with the football after he caught it and got positive yardage," Lewis said.

Houshmandzadeh made five starts last season and played in all 16 games. He, like fellow wide receiver Danny Farmer, is productive when healthy.

Farmer had two receptions for 44 yards Saturday, including a 29-yarder, and has four for 93 yards in the preseason.

If the Bengals again keep six wide receivers on the 53-man roster, Houshmandzadeh and Farmer are good bets to be there. They would join Chad Johnson, Peter Warrick, rookie Kelley Washington and Ron Dugans.

Farmer started Saturday night in place of Warrick.

SMALL CROWD: Despite the public enthusiasm surrounding Lewis, the number of tickets distributed for the Bengals preseason game Saturday night were the fewest of the seven played by the team since moving into Paul Brown Stadium.

The announced attendance for the preseason game against the Lions was 39,956 - the first time the Bengals have fallen beneath the 40,000 mark in the preseason at the taxpayer-funded stadium.

The previous low came in the 2002 preseason home finale, 40,530, against Atlanta.

CUTS ON HORIZON: The Bengals are carrying 79 players on the preseason roster.

NFL rules mandate that rosters must be down to 65 players by 4 p.m. Aug. 26. The 53-man active list must be met by 4 p.m. Aug. 31 - one week before the opener.

Lewis and his coaches and the front office get one more look at players - Tennessee will play at Paul Brown Stadium for preseason Game 3 Saturday night - before being forced to trim the roster.

The Bengals used 71 players Saturday night. Five were scratched because of injury, including wide receiver Dugans and cornerback Jeff Burris (Achilles tendinitis)

Fourth-string quarterback Tommy Jones and rookie free agent linebacker Rodney Thomas were the only two healthy players held out, besides Warrick.

---

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

Return to Bengals front page...