By Mark Curnutte, Kevin Kelly and Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

16 game photos

Newcomer Tory James gave the Bengals a solid performance Sunday with one interception and two deflected passes, but said he could have done more.

"It's a team game," the veteran cornerback said. "I didn't do enough. I'm sure a lot of guys could say the same thing, too."

James' interception came at the Bengals 3-yard line on a Jake Plummer pass intended for Ashley Lelie. James got off the ground, avoided Lelie and returned the ball 24 yards.

James also had a key play on the Broncos' first possession, jumping high to knock the ball out of tight end Shannon Sharpe's hands inside the 10. It forced the Broncos to settle for a 51-yard field goal from Jason Elam.

Safety Mark Roman and linebacker Brian Simmons had interceptions, too. The Bengals had only nine interceptions all last season.

SIMMONS OUT: Simmons sat out the second half with a rib-cage injury.

"I'm not sure what it is," he said. "Hopefully, it's something very minimal."

Dwayne Levels replaced Simmons and had two tackles.

GOING LONG: The Bengals' leading receiver Sunday wasn't Chad Johnson or Peter Warrick.

Tight end Matt Schobel, who caught 27 passes last season, caught four for 97 yards.

His 40-yarder early in the fourth quarter was a career best.

"It's good to catch balls," Schobel said, "but not in that type of situation."

BLACK PANTS: The Bengals wore black uniform pants for the first time in their 36-year history.

The team has permission from the NFL, as part of the Bengals' process toward getting new uniforms.

Possible changes for 2004, though, do not include altering the familiar striped helmets.

Coach Marvin Lewis surprised players with the black pants when they arrived Sunday morning at the stadium.

The Bengals can wear the black pants twice this season. Lewis said they would probably wear them for the home finale Dec. 28 against Cleveland.

INACTIVES: Carson Palmer spent his first NFL game as the emergency third quarterback. Other inactive players were cornerbacks Dennis Weathersby and Terrell Roberts, tailback Rudi Johnson, linebacker Keyon Whiteside, guard Victor Leyva, wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh and defensive end Elton Patterson.

PLUMMER'S BUMMER: The ballyhooed Denver debut of quarterback Jake Plummer was a dud. He finished with a 21.7 passer rating.

"Jake really wanted to do well," Sharpe said. "He was maybe too pumped up. You could see his ball was sailing on him a little bit in warmups."

Plummer was 12-of-25 for 115 yards and three interceptions.

ODDS AND ENDS: The Bengals are 3-6 in debut games for the nine coaches in franchise history. ... The Bengals challenged two plays and won one Sunday. A 14-yard pass to Broncos wideout Rod Smith was overturned in the third quarter. ... Although Corey Dillon was shut down, fans still got to witness a star tailback in bloom. That was Clinton Portis, who rushed for 120 yards on 24 carries.

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