Defensive Rebound Wasted In Loss

From Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati

At the end of the first half, the Cincinnati Bengals offense that features Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco and Cedric Benson had gained just 53 yards and only 10 net passing yards.

That’s how good the Chiefs defense started Sunday’s game. It was quite likely their best half of play this season. Too bad they had to play the second half. Benson got loose on the first offensive play of the third quarter for 32 yards and from there the Bengals scored a pair of touchdowns and that was enough for a 17-10 Cincinnati victory.

“We were critical of ourselves after last week,” said OLB Mike Vrabel, as he spoke about how the K.C. defense could improve after their poor performance against Cleveland last week, including allowing 351 rushing yards.

“It comes down to playing better, everybody understanding where they are supposed to be and being there and doing their jobs, not trying to do somebody else’s job and leaving your gap alone. It was better, but obviously not good enough. The end result was a loss.”

In that first half, Benson had 34 yards on nine carries. Larry Johnson had 11 yards on four carries. Palmer was four of nine for 19 yards and he was sacked once by DE Wallace Gilberry. The Bengals had just three first downs and they were one of six on third down conversions.

There was pressure on Palmer, there was good coverage by the Chiefs secondary and Benson and Johnson had minimal running room. Everything was coming together.

“I thought our guys did a very good job against a very good run team and a very good p ass team,” said Todd Haley. “Cincinnati can clearly run the football and we only gave up the one big run to start the second half. Other than that run …”

That run seemed to provide a bit of a spark for the Bengals offense, and Palmer drove them down the field where they scored the game’s first touchdown on an 11-yard pass to WR Laveranues Coles.

The first half had been a tough one for Palmer and the Bengals passing game.

“You have to be smart with him and 85 (Ochocinco),” said Vrabel. “The reasons they are winning games is that they are more balanced than Bengals teams before were. Carson used to throw the ball 50 times and if he completed 30 or 40 passes, they would win. If he didn’t they would lose. They are a lot more balanced now. They are able to dictate the flow of the game.

“We were able to hang in there for a few quarters.”

But in the end, the Chiefs defense couldn’t stop Carson and the Bengals offense, even with the help of the K.C. special teams. When a Dustin Colquitt punt was downed at the Cincinnati two-yard line, the Chiefs had 98 yards to protect and just over nine minutes to play.

And they had them third-and-seven at the Bengals five-yard line. Turns out they didn’t have them. Working out of the shotgun, Palmer dumped a shovel pass to RB Brian Leonard who got eight yards and a first down.

“They made a good call,” said Vrabel. “It’s one of those things that you have to rally to stop. You’re not counting on a shovel pass on third-and-eight.”

Masterfully, Palmer moved his team in most short chunks, getting 21 yards on a pass to Coles and then 20 on a run by Benson. It all ended when he connected with Ochocinco for a six-yard TD pass on third down with 2:03 to play.

Ochocinco beat CB Brandon Flowers on the play, as those two went head-to-head most of the game. Flowers won his share of those battles, but gave up the winner.

“It was an all-out blitz,” said Flowers of the touchdown play. “Cincinnati had a great call coming out I n a stacked receiver set. It was one-on-one with a blitz coming. Chad won that matchup.

“He is a great receiver, if not the best in the NFL. I enjoy playing against the best receivers in the league. I try to get better and better each time I play against a receiver like him.”

Said Haley: “We challenged Brandon Flowers, who has been battling through injury and I thought that kid showed a lot of heart playing against one of the better players in the league. Unfortunately, at the end they were able to get one on him. I thought overall he really showed something to me and his teammates.”

At the end, the Chiefs defense allowed 274 yards to the Bengals, one of their top five performances of the season and 113 yards less than their season average. FS Jon McGraw had an interception, DE Wallace Gilberry picked up a sack and Mike Brown led all the tacklers with 13.

It was better than the previous Sunday as they total yards they allowed was less than the rushing yards they gave up to the Browns.

But it wasn’t good enough.