Bengals beat Ravens
CINCINNATI – Playing with a chance to win a title, the Baltimore Ravens crossed midfield once in the first three quarters. Their fearsome defense got caught flat-footed by a sandlot play.
Maybe T.J. Houshmandzadeh is right after all.
Houshmandzadeh caught a 40-yard touchdown pass on a flea-flicker Thursday night, sparking the Cincinnati Bengals (7-5) to a 13-7 victory that kept the AFC North title up for grabs.
“It’s huge,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “We’re rolling now. Hopefully, we’ll wind up getting a spot in the playoffs.”
Coming off a 30-0 shutout over Cleveland, one of the NFL’s lowest-ranked defenses held Baltimore (9-3) scoreless until Steve McNair threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Mason with 1:01 to play.
Even though it missed out on a second straight shutout, the defense did something that no other Cincinnati unit has done – go seven straight quarters without allowing a point.
“We’ve put a couple of complete games together,” coach Marvin Lewis said.
The Ravens had won five in a row and were coming off their most complete game of the season, a 27-0 victory over Pittsburgh. With a chance to win the AFC North title outright, Baltimore’s offense came apart, crossing midfield only once in the first three quarters. Keiwan Ratliff clinched it by recovering the onside kick after Baltimore’s late score.
“It’s a lost opportunity,” said tight end Todd Heap. “We had a chance to come in here and win the division. Give them some credit. A lot of things went their way tonight. We just never got in the groove.”
All of it supported Houshmandzadeh’s main point: Cincinnati might be the better team.
“I still feel the same way,” he said.
After the Ravens won 26-20 on Nov. 5, the long-haired receiver insisted that everyone knows the Bengals are better. He repeated it again this week, getting a rise out of some of the Ravens. Safety Ed Reed suggested that Houshmandzadeh should just shut up.
The Ravens were in no position to argue after Houshmandzadeh caught 10 passes for a season-high 106 yards, including the trick-play touchdown that made it 13-0 early in the second half and allowed the defense to dig in on a rainy night.
“I thought we played great in every area tonight,” Palmer said. “They didn’t do a whole lot different. We just played better.”
Bengals 13, Ravens 7
| Baltimore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | — | 7 |
| Cincinnati | 0 | 6 | 7 | 0 | — | 13 |
Cin—FG Graham 23.
Cin—FG Graham 27.
Cin—Houshmandzadeh 40 pass from Palmer (Graham kick).
Bal—Mason 36 pass from McNair (Stover kick).
A—65,973.
| Bal | Cin | |
| First downs | 15 | 14 |
| Total Net Yards | 316 | 294 |
| Rushes-yards | 20-89 | 23-67 |
| Passing | 227 | 227 |
| Punt Returns | 3-7 | 5-51 |
| Kickoff Returns | 4-82 | 1-24 |
| Interceptions Ret. | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 26-43-0 | 21-32-0 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | 0-0 | 2-7 |
| Punts | 7-47.1 | 6-46.2 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 9-64 | 5-35 |
| Time of Possession | 30:49 | 29:11 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Baltimore, J.Lewis 17-61, McNair 2-27, Mughelli 1-1. Cincinnati, R.Johnson 16-47, J.Johnson 4-23, Palmer 3-(minus 3).
PASSING—Baltimore, McNair 26-43-0-227. Cincinnati, Palmer 21-32-0-234.
RECEIVING—Baltimore, Mason 7-90, Clayton 4-29, Heap 4-29, Mughelli 3-20, J.Lewis 2-26, M.Anderson 2-14, D.Williams 2-12, Mu.Smith 2-7. Cincinnati, Houshmandzadeh 10-106, C.Johnson 8-91, R.Johnson 2-17, Watson 1-20.
MISSED FIELD GOALS—Baltimore, Stover 29 (WL). Cincinnati, Graham 46 (WR).