Sunday, October 31, 2004
Bengals facing familiar situation
Turned around '03 season with win following an upset
By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A year ago, the Bengals followed their upset of first-place Baltimore with another upset of first-place Seattle.
The Bengals improved to 3-4 and changed the direction of their season with the consecutive victories. They kick-started a 7-2 run that put them in playoff contention until the last game.
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FIRST DOWN
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Monday night hangover
Since the start of the 2003 season, winning Monday night teams are 8-12 when playing six days later. Two winning teams in 2003 had byes.
In the past 10 games, winning Monday night teams are 3-7 when playing the next Sunday.
The Bengals, who defeated Denver 23-10 Monday night, will play today at Tennessee.
Quote
"There's a drain that comes with it. We've prepared for it and talked about it." - Bengals coach Marvin Lewis, on playing Sunday after a Monday night game
Stop, thief
The Bengals lead the AFC with nine fumble takeaways. Arizona leads the NFL with 10 fumble takeaways, and Detroit also has nine. The Bengals have six interception takeaways. Baltimore and Seattle lead the NFL with 10 interception takeaways.
Durable men
Right guard Willie Anderson started his 70th consecutive game Monday night. Defensive end Justin Smith started his 48th game in a row.
28.7
Passer rating for Titans quarterback Billy Volek, who played in relief of injured Steve McNair last week at Minnesota. Volek threw three interceptions and lost one fumble, and his single-game passer rating was the worst for a Tennessee quarterback since McNair in 1997.
Fisher king
Titans coach Jeff Fisher has a 95-71 overall record since becoming franchise coach midway through 1994. He is 11-4 against the Bengals. Fisher is 2-1 against Dave Shula, 5-2 against Bruce Coslet and 4-1 against Dick LeBeau. The game today will be the first for Fisher against Marvin Lewis as Bengals coach. At 46 years, 228 days, Fisher on Oct. 11 became the fifth-youngest coach to reach 90 regular-season victories - older only than John Madden, Don Shula, Bill Cowher and Hank Stram.
The list
Fisher has the most coaching victories since the start of 1999 (total includes this season):
| Coach | Team(s) | Wins | | Fisher | Oilers-Titans | 58 | | Tony Dungy | Bucs, Colts | 57 | | Andy Reid | Eagles | 55 | | Jon Gruden | Raiders, Bucs | 50 | | Brian Billick | Ravens | 50 | | Mike Shanahan | Broncos | 49 | | Bill Cowher | Steelers | 48 |
2 X 100
In the victory against Denver, Chad Johnson had 149 receiving yards and Rudi Johnson 119 rushing yards. It was the first time in 11 games that the Bengals had a double 100-yard game. On Nov. 23, Chad Johnson had 107 receiving yards and Corey Dillon 108 rushing yards in a victory at San Diego. The 100-yard rushing game was Rudi's sixth. Chad had 11 100-yard receiving games.
SERIES HISTORY
• The Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers have a 37-29-1 regular-season edge in the series against the
Bengals.
• The Bengals are 11-21-1 on the road.
• The Bengals are 2-9 overall against the franchise since it moved from Houston before the 1997
season.
• The Bengals won their last visit to Nashville, 23-21, in the 2001 season finale.
• The Bengals won the only playoff game, 41-14, in a wild-card matchup after the 1990 season.
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They will try to do the same today. The Bengals are looking to follow their 23-10 upset of Denver on Monday with a victory against nemesis Tennessee.
The trouble is this game - unlike the seventh game in 2003 - is on the road, at The Coliseum in Nashville. The Bengals won a meaningless game here at the end of 2001 but otherwise have lost four times in Tennessee since the original Houston franchise moved in 1997.
Bengals coach Marvin Lewis - as he pushes his team toward a possible turnaround - continues to put an intense focus on process over product as the means to win.
"It gives the guys the credence for everything they're doing, the payoff for how hard they're working, and the fact that you do things right, good things will happen," he said when asked what a second consecutive victory would accomplish.
With 10 games remaining, the Bengals need to answer these questions positively to have any chance of breaking the franchise's 13-year playoff drought:
• Can the defense prove that its strong performance Monday night, limiting the Broncos to 10 points, was not an aberration?
• Can quarterback Carson Palmer further mature and eliminate more costly mistakes?
• Can the improving special teams provide a couple of game-changing big plays?
"We've improved a lot since the New York (season opener)," said Lewis, who has his own wish list.
"We have to do better on third down (both offensively and defensively)," Lewis said. "We can't stall drives at the (opposing) 40-yard line, like we did in Pittsburgh.
"And we can't erode on special teams. We're one of the best in the league at covering kickoffs. Our turnover ratio (plus-3) is getting back to where we need it."
And the Bengals will need to continue to have young, inexperienced players play well in significant positions.
Langston Moore - the team's sixth-round pick in the 2003 draft - will start at defensive tackle in place of injured Tony Williams, who is out for the season.
Rookie tackle Matthias Askew, who has played in just one game and undergone knee surgery since the season started, will join the defensive line rotation.
Rookie Landon Johnson is likely to get a second start at middle linebacker. Fellow rookie linebacker Caleb Miller will see action, too.
The goal, said wide receiver Chad Johnson, remains the Super Bowl.
"Every game from this point on would be big," Johnson said.
"Everyone sets goals to get to Jacksonville, and this is where it starts."
On the other side, Tennessee is 2-5 and winless at home. It is one NFL team that has been more harmed by injuries than the Bengals. Co-MVP quarterback Steve McNair (bruised sternum) is not expected to play.
But the Bengals need to match Tennessee's desperate intensity. The Titans are 2-5 and in much the same position as the Bengals: last place in their division, and one more loss would virtually kill their slim playoff hopes.
"Right now, we're 53 guys, nailed up in a box with no room to move," wide receiver Derrick Mason said after losing 20-3 at Minnesota. "Each man has got to grab a hammer and find a way to get up and out of this box quickly. Every situation right now is a must-win for us. We cannot lose the rest of the season."
Looking ahead
The Bengals (2-4) have 10 games remaining. Their 1-4 start leaves them little room for error. Beating Denver was a major achievement. The Bengals especially can't afford to stumble in the next three weeks, beginning today at Tennessee.
