By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Bengals won the type of game Sunday that they usually lose. In defeating division rival Baltimore 34-26, the Bengals moved one game off the Ravens' lead in the AFC North.

The Ravens had more total yards of offense but committed three turnovers that led to 17 Bengals first-half points.

The Bengals committed no turnovers for the second time this season and are 2-0 in those games. They also improved to 2-1 in the division after finishing the first season of realignment 0-6 against AFC North teams.

At 2-4 overall, the Bengals are tied for third with the Steelers, a half-game behind the 3-4 Browns. The first-place Ravens are 3-3.

"We stay (on) pace in the division, and now we go back to work," coach Marvin Lewis said.

Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna threw touchdown passes of 45 yards to tight end Matt Schobel, 82 yards to Chad Johnson and 21 yards to Peter Warrick. Tailback Corey Dillon, playing despite a groin strain, ran for 39 tough yards, including a 2-yard touchdown play.

Ravens quarterback Kyle Boller lost two fumbles and was intercepted by cornerback Tory James. All of the Baltimore miscues came in the first half.

"When you get turnovers and good field position, you're going to build a pretty big lead," said Kitna, who has six touchdowns and no interceptions in his team's two victories and three touchdowns and six interceptions in its four losses.

The 34 points are the most scored by a Bengals team since they moved into Paul Brown Stadium in 2000.

The victory against the Ravens was the Bengals' first at home this season after losses to Denver and Pittsburgh.

"We hadn't done good things at home, and it was nice to show the fans what we'd been doing on the road," right offensive tackle Willie Anderson said.

The Bengals also played well on special teams and against the Ravens' No. 1-ranked rushing attack.

They held tailback Jamal Lewis to 101 rushing yards, 47 below his average. The Ravens had just 113 rushing yards as a team, 86 under their average.

"He got the two big runs - the 35-yarder and the (23-yarder) - but for the most part, it was good today," Marvin Lewis said.

The Bengals opened with a defense that featured four linebackers - Dwayne Levels ended up with three tackles. Strong safety Rogers Beckett was removed.

By containing the Baltimore rushing game and getting a big lead, the Bengals forced Boller to throw 27 times. The rookie from Cal ended up with 302 yards, but he was sacked four times, threw the interception and was called for one intentional grounding penalty.

"That was our plan," said Bengals safety Kevin Kaesviharn, who had one of the sacks. "We wanted to show them some looks that would make them think we were blitzing, then back off."

The Bengals' plan didn't work well on the first Ravens possession.

With the Bengals stacking the line, Boller was 3-for-3 passing for 61 yards on the drive, which produced a touchdown on a 19-yard pass to wide receiver Travis Taylor. James was in single coverage.

The Bengals went three-and-out on their first possession, and Baltimore drove to the Bengals' 43-yard line before Boller lost his first fumble, when Bengals linebacker Brian Simmons wrestled it away.

"You just keep going until they blow the whistle," Simmons said.

On third-and-8 from the Baltimore 45, Kitna passed to Schobel running in the middle. Schobel broke a tackle and ran into the end zone to tie the score.

Baltimore next had a second-and-8 on its 20-yard line. Beckett and defensive end Carl Powell got to Boller for the sack, and Powell stripped the ball loose and fell on it. The Bengals, who forced seven fumbles but did not recover any through five games, now had two recoveries in two consecutive series. Dillon eventually scored from two yards out.

After forcing a Baltimore punt, the Bengals had a first down on their 18-yard line. Chad Johnson beat the secondary on a deep pattern, and Kitna's pass was slightly under-thrown. Safety Ed Reed caught up to it, but the ball bounced off his hands and chest and into Johnson's arms. He ran the final 30 yards for the score.

It was the backbreaker, stretching the Bengals' lead out far enough to withstand a 16-point Baltimore surge in the fourth quarter.

"His angle was wrong for the way the ball was falling," Johnson said of Reed. "He was not going to catch it, but he was going to get a hand on it. I was just wanting to play the bounce, whether it went to the left or the right."

A James interception set up up a 44-yard field goal by Shayne Graham in the second quarter.

Three Baltimore turnovers led directly to 17 Bengals points. In their first five games, the Bengals converted two interceptions into field goals for just six points.

"They put us in a hell of a hole in the first half, and we couldn't overcome it," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "We almost did, but not quite."