The Bengals were literally running on fumes by the time they took the field, after a tough loss in San Diego last week, they had a late flight home, then flew to New Orleans on Tuesday to attend Chris Henry’s funeral. The receiver died from injuries suffered during what police describe as a domestic dispute in North Carolina last week.
They had just enough left in the tank. For only the second time since 1990, the Cincinnati Bengals will make it to the playoffs.
Cedric Benson had 133 yards on 29 carries as the Bengals pounded the Chiefs on the ground. He had a few long runs including a 32-yarder that jump-started the offense in the third quarter.
In an exciting subplot that didn't pan out, ex-Chief Larry Johnson only had four carries for 11 yards.
The first half was uneventful, with both teams deadlocked 3-3, offensively stunted. The Bengals, clearly distracted after just recently burying one of their teammates, were booed off the field after committing a plethora of mistakes and penalties.
Cincinnati had 53 total yards of first-half offense, and Carson Palmer struggled mightily, going four-of-nine for just 19 yards and pick, and getting sacked once (for a nine yard loss). Their offensive game plan was nothing but runs up the gut and short screens and slants.
The 10 total yards of net passing in the half was the worst by a Bengal since the legendary Jeff Blake against the Houston Oilers in 1996.
The Bengals received a late Christmas gift towards the end of the second quarter when the Chiefs long snapper Thomas Gafford sent one over the head of the punter, allowing the Bengals to set up inside the 10 yard line. Yet the Bengals couldn't capitalize, settling for a Shayne Graham 29-yarder with just under two minutes to play.
At the half, the scrappy Chiefs had outplayed the Bengals, and the crowd began buzzing, thinking about the "Bungels" of old; wondering if it was possible that their home team could falter for the third straight week and possibly not clinch a playoff spot. (Little did anyone know at the time that Cincinnati also would have won the AFC North even if they'd lost, thanks to the fact that the Ravens fell against the Steelers later that day).
The offense finally got the wheels in motion at the start of the third quarter on a drive that took 5:50 off the clock, and culminated in a Laveranues Coles 10-yard TD.
But the Chiefs battled back and were able to tie the game at 10-10 early in the fourth.
Later in the fourth, starting at their own two-yard line, the Bengals drove down the field to take the lead on a six-yard touchdown pass to Chad Ochocinco with 2:03 left on the clock. Ochocinco made a beautiful diving catch and then raised one finger on one hand and five on the other, a tribute to Henry's jersey number 15.
The entire Bengals team wore No. 15 decals on their helmets in his memory.
The Bengals' 14-play drive went 98 yards with seven first downs and took 7:18 off the clock. It was their longest drive of the season, and they completed all three of their third down attempts.
The Bengals D would hold the Chiefs in check over the final two minutes, and with the win they were able to crown themselves division champs for the first time since 2005.
But the question marks surrounding the squad were not answered.
Another bad team another week of playing down to the level of competition. I'm assuming that offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski didn't want to bust out much of the playbook against a clearly inferior opponent, but the "Cardiac Cats" cut it too close. There was a real possibility of them losing the game and the vanilla game plan didn't help.
But once again the Bengals offense was able to get a score when they absolutely had to. Credit Palmer for not getting frustrated, and credit the line that blocked wonderfully on the game winning drive.
False start penalties continue to be a concern. Chronic guilty parties LT Andrew Whitworth and RT Dennis Roland both had flags tossed their way. At this point in the season it seems that this is an issue that can't be fixed and will have to be taken into account for the rest of the year.
A key injury will set the Bengals back even more defensively. Rookie linebacker Rey Maualuga broke his ankle and is likely done for the year. He will be sitting next to Antawn Odom, Roy Williams, and Reggie Kelly on injured reserve.
The Bengals' tenth victory of the season allowed coach Marvin Lewis to pass team founder Paul Brown for second place on the team's all-time wins list, with 56.
The Bengals played an ugly game, but they got the win and that's what counts in the end. Next week they travel to New York to play the playoff hungry Jets (8-7) in the final game at the Meadowlands. It will be the first prime time game of the season for the Bengals, who can still get the three seed in the AFC with a win and a Patriots loss to the Texans next week.
The Bengals know that the only thing people will remember is how they perform in the playoffs.
"The AFC North hat is just a hat," Palmer said. "The AFC Championship hat is one you want, but the Super Bowl hat is what we are working for. The title is one of the many goals we set out to achieve. We are not going to pound our chest over this. We don't feel like we have conquered the world. We still have a lot of work to do."
The 2009 Bengals didn't dump Gatorade on coach Lewis after the game. They know that the bigger task at hand has only begun.
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