By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Bengals appear to have learned how to finish a game. Led by battering-ram tailback Rudi Johnson, who ran 43 times for 182 yards and two touchdowns, the Bengals rallied in the fourth quarter Sunday to defeat Houston 34-27.

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Photos of Sunday's game

The Bengals outscored the Texans 10-0 in the fourth quarter, running 28 plays to Houston's four that were good for minus-9 yards.

Johnson, in setting a franchise record with the 43 carries, ran 17 times for 33 yards in the fourth quarter alone. Starting for the injured Corey Dillon, who was de-activated before the game, Johnson scored the winning TD with 10:56 remaining on a 1-yard run.

"I just kept fighting," said Johnson, who credited the team's strength and conditioning program for the stamina to finish strong. "The game is 60 minutes, however many carries it takes."

The Bengals are now 4-5, the same record as defending Super Bowl champ Tampa Bay and preseason favorite Buffalo.

Next up is 9-0 Kansas City, who has the NFL's best start since the 1998 Broncos. And wide receiver Chad Johnson, who guaranteed last year's victory against the Texans, was at it again after this Houston game.

"We will win. That's a guarantee," said Johnson, who had nine receptions for 89 yards. "Nothing against the Chiefs, but we're just going to be pumped."

The Bengals ran for 240 yards - equaling their most since the start of the 2001 season. The 57 rushing attempts were the most for a non-strike team in franchise history. And they had possession for 41:15 - 13:28 in the fourth quarter.

"We found a way there at the end to play good enough and win the football game," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said.

The team came back to win in the fourth quarter in Seattle and won in the third quarter at Cleveland.

In 2002, the Bengals lost two leads in the third quarter and three more leads in the fourth and lost all six of those games.

Texans linebacker Steve Foley, released Aug. 31 after five seasons with the Bengals, noticed a difference in his former team.

"I saw some guys that were more in tune and more into it later in the game," he said. "In the latter parts of the game, they kept their heads together and made plays."

Lewis set the aggressive tone in the fourth quarter by deciding against kicking field goals on two fourth-down plays.

On fourth-and-1 from the Houston 7 with 13:04 remaining - and trailing 27-24 - Lewis had Rudi Johnson run right for 4 yards. He scored from the 1 two plays later.

On fourth-and-5 from the Houston 13 with 32 seconds remaining, Lewis rejected a field goal that would have given the Bengals a 10-point lead and gave his blessing to a pass play.

QB Jon Kitna fired a quick out pass to Chad Johnson, who ran 12 yards to the 1. Initially called a touchdown, the play was reviewed by officials upstairs. Kitna took a knee on the next snap to end it.

"I said it from the time I walked in here, I feel our football team needs to be aggressive," Lewis said.

If the pass play had failed, Houston would have had time for a desperation play.

An interception of David Carr by rookie cornerback Terrell Roberts off defensive end Duane Clemons' tip gave the Bengals the ball with 2:17 remaining.

The Texans had run just three plays earlier in the fourth quarter, a drive that netted minus-9 yards and ended when safety Mark Roman and defensive end Justin Smith combined to sack Carr.

Leading 31-27 at the time, the Bengals then drove 56 yards on 15 plays - eating 7:07 - and extended their lead to 34-27 on a 40-yard Shayne Graham field goal.

The Bengals jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 6-yard Kitna pass to Brandon Bennett on the game's first possession. It was the first time the Bengals had scored first in a game this season.

The score was tied at 17 at the half, though the Bengals had dominated in total yards and possession time.

Texans cornerback Kenny Wright intercepted Kitna at the Bengals 44 with 1:12 remaining in the half. Houston then needed just six plays and 53 seconds to tie the score on an 8-yard Carr touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney.

"Everybody was upset at halftime, but they only made two plays in the whole half," Kitna said. "I told everybody that we would go out and do the same thing in the second half and be fine."

The crowd of 50,437 was the smallest of the five home games, but Lewis thanked them.

"What great fans we have here in Cincinnati," said Lewis, who apologized Wednesday on the radio for comments that questioned fans' "investment" in the team. "If we get a team to match our fans, we are going to be something."

Historic day

Rudi Johnson's 182-yard rushing performance was one of the most significant in franchise history.

• The 43 rushing attempts are a single-game high in franchise history, eclipsing Corey Dillon's 39 on Dec. 4, 1997.

• The 182 yards were the most by a Bengals running back in one game since Dillon ran for 184 at Detroit on Oct. 28, 2001.

• They were most by a Bengals running back other than Dillon since Harold Green had 190 on Dec. 20, 1992, against New England.

• In his three starts, Johnson has rushed for 352 yards (117.3 average) and has four rushing touchdowns. He had another touchdown as a reserve at Arizona. He has two 100-yard games in three NFL starts.

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