Even after the Bengals 31-24 first-day loss to the New York Jets, it was possible to be seduced by the man with the golden gun. Carson Palmer's debut in the city that never sleeps, before 77,230 raving insomniacs, spoke of better days ahead. Given the regrettable play of the defense, better days may take a while. But you don't win if you don't have a quarterback. Palmer is a quarterback, the real deal in Cincinnati for the first time since Boomer Esiason left for good.

He made only one glaring mistake. One bad throw. With two minutes left and the Bengals threatening a tying touchdown, Palmer trusted his arm a little too much. He threw into triple coverage, to the obvious receiver.

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Photos of Sunday's game

Palmer said he didn't see the New York Jets' rookie safety Erik Coleman, who nudged in front of Chad Johnson to make the game-sealing steal. But you wonder, given the touch and the confidence - and the fastballs Palmer had thrown for strikes all afternoon - if he might not have let it fly, regardless. "He came out of nowhere," Palmer said of Coleman. "I should have checked down."

That didn't lose it. The defense that piled up some gaudy negative numbers did the losing. And if those players don't get a whole lot better in a very short amount of time, Palmer will be forced to wear the hero suit much too often.

You don't always win when the other team's running back has 100 yards with four minutes left in the third quarter, as Curtis Martin had, or their QB finishes with a passer rating of 123.1. Chad Pennington did as he pleased against the Cincinnati secondary and linebackers. The Bengals sacked him once and bothered him not at all.

Two glaring notions emerged from Sunday's game: (1) Palmer and his wide receivers are good enough that the Bengals are never out of the game; and (2) the defense is leaky enough, neither is the opponent.

But back to Palmer. Back to his ability to throw a 25-yard bolt between three defenders, as he did to T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the second quarter. Back to his knack for offering some loft on the same distance throw, as he did to Peter Warrick, between two Jets, on the Bengals last drive.

Back to the chemistry Palmer already has with Chad Johnson. Each seems destined to make the other great. With 6:28 left, Bengals down 17-31, ball at their 47-yard line, Palmer brought to the Bengals huddle these words: "Keep the (defensive) ends off me. Give me time and it's going to be a touchdown."

Palmer got the time. He lofted a 53-yard ball that was also 53 yards high. Johnson stepped in front of Coleman near the Jets' goal line, swiped the catch and scored. "It was the best catch I've ever seen," Palmer said.

"It's all about trust," said Johnson, aka Grandmaster Quote. "Either I made a play or no one was going to."

Palmer already owns the huddle. "He knows" was how Houshmandzadeh put it. "He knows where (receivers) are going to be. He knows the check-offs. It's natural for him. He has been a quarterback his whole life. He's going to be good, man. He's not afraid to make any throw. If we can execute a little better, he's going to the Pro Bowl."

Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Of course.

But there was no way to ignore the good vibrations coming from the Bengals dressing room after the game. That had some to do with the spin Marvin Lewis put on the loss - "we played to the end," the coach said - but more from the show Palmer put on in his first real game.

There is a sense inside that Palmer will lead the Bengals out of the tunnel permanently. If that were more a hope than a fact before Sunday, it isn't any more.

"I felt good. I felt confident. You get that first play out of the way, all the nerves settle," Palmer said. When I asked if anything fazed him on Day 1, Palmer said "the helicopters" that flew over the stadium as part of the pre-game festivities. "It was all what I expected," he said.

For some of us, it was a pleasant revelation.

The Carson Palmer Era won't be like any we've seen in the last 10 years.

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E-mail pdaugherty@enquirer.com

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