By Mark Curnutte and Kevin Kelly
Enquirer staff writers

Center Jerry Fontenot, the 16th-year veteran signed Thursday, made his Bengals debut in the starting lineup Sunday night.

Rich Braham, who is trying to return from knee surgery Sept. 1, could not go.

PHOTO GALLERY

Photos of Sunday's game

The Bengals played with eight offensive linemen. Not all of them were entirely healthy.

Rookie tackle Stacy Andrews and backup guard-center Larry Moore were inactive because of injuries.

The line struggled early. The Dolphins sacked Carson Palmer once on each of the first two Bengals offensive possessions.

The Dolphins pressured Palmer throughout the half, collecting a third sack and an interception - both by defensive end Jason Taylor - in the second quarter.

The Bengals had flashes of offensive production in the first half.

They had a 4.1-yard average on the ground, with Rudi Johnson running for 54 yards on 11 carries.

Still, the offense could not sustain a drive against Miami's defense, and the Bengals had just five first downs in the first half.

CARSON, WEEK 2: After a strong debut in Week 1 against the Jets, Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer looked more like an inexperienced NFL starter

Palmer struggled in the first half against a good, but undermanned Miami defense Sunday night.

The Dolphins, playing without starting cornerback Patrick Surtain and backup Reggie Howard, still bottled up the Bengals' offense.

Palmer was just 9-for-18 passing for 59 yards in the first half. He threw one interception, on a tipped ball, and was sacked three times for 16 yards in losses.

His first-half passer rating was 34.3, considerably lower than his rating of 105.2 in Week 1.

WIDE RIGHT: The Bengals had the first scoring chance of the game but came away empty.

Kicker Shayne Graham, who was 15-for-15 on field goals shorter than 40 yards last season, missed wide right on a 38-yard attempt with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter.

Graham made a 48-yard field goal with 5:11 left in the third quarter to stretch the Bengals' lead to 10-3. He was 7-of-8 from 40-49 feet in 2003.

TOOK A WHILE: The game's initial first down came under the six-minute mark of the first quarter on a 16-yard pass from Palmer to Chad Johnson at the Miami 29-yard line.

The Dolphins recorded their initial first down with 3:50 left in the first quarter when quarterback A.J. Feeley completed a 20-yard pass to wide receiver Chris Chambers.

NEW LOOK: The wall separating the stands from the field at Paul Brown Stadium has undergone a considerable makeover. Jungle-themed banners ringed the wall Sunday.

Interspersed between bright green tropical foliage were a bengal's eyes, the team's name and its ticket hotline number.

CALL OF THE NIGHT: Miami was penalized five yards for illegal motion on its first offensive play.

The call came from referee Walt Anderson, "False start, everybody but the center."

INACTIVE LIST: Seven Bengals players - safety Kim Herring, safety Rogers Beckett, offensive lineman Larry Moore, linebacker Caleb Miller, offensive tackle Stacy Andrews, defensive end Robert Geathers and defensive tackle Matthias Askew - were inactive Sunday.

Cornerback Deltha O'Neal started and Madieu Williams, who started at cornerback against the Jets, filled Beckett's spot at free safety.

Of the seven Dolphins players listed as inactive, two were defensive starters: defensive tackle Tim Bowens (back) and cornerback Patrick Surtain (groin).

The Dolphins' other starting defensive tackle, Larry Chester, was injured and left the game on the Bengals' second offensive series.

Miami defensive end Taylor left in the third quarter with a foot injury.

BUTTER FINGERS: Lamont Brightful, Miami's kickoff and punt returner, fumbled four times through the third quarter and lost one of them.

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com, kkelly@enquirer.com

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