By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Sunday's game

CLEVELAND - Marvin Lewis almost outran linebackers Kevin Hardy and Brian Simmons, who had chased him onto the field.

But other Bengals players cut off Lewis, and Hardy and Simmons delivered their Gatorade shower to mark the rookie head coach's first victory after three losses.

"You start to wonder when you are going to get one," Lewis said after the Bengals' 21-14 upset of the Browns on Sunday. "To me, it is more important to our team. It means a lot to our city. We've got to go get another one."

Jon Kitna threw three touchdown passes, including two in the first half to wide receiver Chad Johnson. The third one came with 9:01 left in the third quarter to tight end Reggie Kelly, which gave the Bengals their first lead of the season. Browns linebackers bit on a running fake.

The defense made the lead stick, shutting out the Browns over the last 39 minutes and limiting Cleveland to 69 yards rushing.

"There's been a lot of talk, a lot of hype," Hardy said. "We started 0-3, and to get the first win is big for the organization, but it's got to be huge for Coach Lewis because of all his hard work."

From the outside, Lewis seemed to make all the right moves Sunday.

With star tailback Corey Dillon ailing, Lewis made sure to activate 220-pound back Rudi Johnson for the first time this season. Dillon was limited to four carries for 20 yards, and at the half, Lewis told offensive coaches to run Johnson in the second half. Johnson ran for 51 yards, a career high, and helped the Bengals control the ball for 17 minutes in the second half.

Lewis also talked to game officials before halftime, pointing out finger movements by Browns quarterback Tim Couch while under center that had accounted for six Bengals defensive line-of-scrimmage penalties in the first half. The Bengals had only one defensive offside penalty in the second half, while the Browns were flagged for four false starts.

Lewis also decided to turn the Bengals loose offensively late in the second quarter. Trailing 14-7 with just 1:05 remaining, Lewis initially wanted to run out the clock.

"The defensive coach in me," Lewis said. "I sometimes think we're going to run for more yardage than we run for."

After a 1-yard Brandon Bennett run, Kitna went to the air with Lewis' blessing. He hit tight end Tony Stewart for 15 yards, then Peter Warrick for nine. With a first and 10 on their own 45-yard line, Kitna went deep for Chad Johnson. He beat strong safety Robert Griffith, and Kitna hit Johnson in stride at about the 10.

"We knew it was coming," Browns coach Butch Davis said. "We didn't make the play."

Johnson ran into the end zone at the notorious Dawg Pound section of Cleveland Browns Stadium.

"They threw French fries at me," Johnson said of Browns fans. "That's very rude. I started to pick some up and eat them, which would have been a good end-zone celebration."

Kitna credited the offensive line, which allowed no sacks after giving up 10 in the first three games.

"That play was a testament to how well the offensive line played all day," said Kitna, who was 23-for-31 passing for 215 yards. "That play takes some time. And for them to give me the time, that was huge."

Kitna's passer rating Sunday was 125.1, lifting him to 83.5 for the season.

Lewis also yelled at the defense in the first half after the Browns took a 14-7 lead on Couch's 4-yard pass to Jamel White with 9:36 left in the second quarter.

"He was really upset," said defensive end Justin Smith, who had his first sack and knocked down two passes. "He said, 'Just have poise, don't overreact, stay in your gap.' "

Smith's sack of Couch came with 1:29 left in the game when the Browns had a first down on their own 42. The Browns were forced to take their final timeout, and one play later, Jeff Burris intercepted Couch's pass intended for Kevin Johnson.

The Bengals gave up just one touchdown in the final 59 minutes. The Browns scored on their second play, a 71-yard touchdown on a wide receiver screen to Quincy Morgan.

The Bengals scored on their first possession, answering Cleveland's quick touchdown by driving 76 yards on 14 plays. Dillon had his longest run of the day, 8 yards, on a third-and-1 from the Cleveland 46. Tight end Tony Stewart had two catches for 26 yards on the drive.

On third and goal from the Browns 3, Kitna faced an unblocked Browns rusher and had to loft the ball in Chad Johnson's direction. Johnson jumped over cornerback Anthony Henry, who had inside position.

Right tackle Willie Anderson said the team has responded to Lewis' mantra of "keep chopping."

"The tree's not going to fall the first couple of chops," Anderson said. "He's trying to give us the mentality that . . . we're not the same old Bengals. Keep chopping, and pretty soon that tree will fall."

The Bengals play Sunday at 2-2 Buffalo, where they will face former coaches Dick LeBeau and Tim Krumrie and linebacker Takeo Spikes. "We have seven days to get ready," Lewis said.

When it happened...

• The Bengals took their first lead of the season with 9:01 remaining in the third quarter on a 1-yard TD pass from Jon Kitna to tight end Reggie Kelly. The amount of time they had not led this season was nearly 216 minutes.

Return to Bengals front page...