Sky Hasn't Fallen on Bengals after Jets' Pasting

37-0.

On national TV, the Bengals got whupped. Beaten to a bloody pulp. The only positive from this game is that a bomb didn't go off in the locker room.

Chad Ochocinco played less than a half and was held without a catch, ending a string of 120 straight games played with at least one. He hurt his knee in warmups (though the MRI on his knee today was negative).

He said he would change his name back to Johnson if he got shut down, but after the game he responded to the question with an emphatic "child please."

Overall, the offense set a team record for fewest net yards in a game (72). Carson Palmer was an outrageous 1/11 for zero net yards and an INT. WOOOF.

Valuable defensive tackle Pat Sims broke his arm and is done for the season. Backup safety Tom Nelson, whom was filling in for the injured Chris Crocker, suffered a left knee injury after getting burned by the Jets on seemingly 20 plays in a row. The Jets found the weakness in the D (Nelson) and abused him as much as humanly possible.

37-0 seems like quite possibly the worst way to head into the playoffs.

But all is not lost.

Knowing his team needs to get healthy, coach Marvin Lewis chose to rest five starters— LDT Domata Peko (knee), LE Robert Geathers (knee) and FS Crocker (ankle) on defense, and RB Cedric Benson (hip) and TE J.P. Foschi (neck) on offense.

That's five key guys (OK, maybe four...Foschi stinks) that will be well-rested in the rematch this Saturday at 4:30. As much as you wanted to believe coach Lewis and the players that said they were "in it to win," once the inactive list had that many key cogs on it, it was obvious Lewis didn't feel the urge to win this one.

If anything, this is a credit to the Houston Texans and a message to the Jets. The Texans beat the Bengals at home early in the season, and Matt Schaub and Co. would have been back in Cincinnati for the franchise's first-ever playoff game with a Bengals win.

The Bengals want to play the Jets and their rookie QB Mark Sanchez.

While the final score clearly indicated dominance, Sanchez was a paltry 8/16 for 63 yards. Yes, the Jets didn't need to throw the ball, as the running game provided all the scoring necessary. However, any time Sanchez had to drop back and throw the ball, he seemed uncomfortable and hesitant against two of the best corners in the league in Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph.

The Bengals know Braylon Edwards as well as any reciever in the league from his days with division rival Cleveland. Jerricho Cotchery is not a deep threat and doesn't need anything more than single coverage, and there isn't much of a tight end presence.

The key will be if the top-five run defense of the Bengals that got abused for 257 rushing yards can fix it against the No. 1 rated run offense.

Two starters on the line will be back. Peko is one of the best at stopping the run in the NFL, and is certainly the best on the Bengals. The exotic schemes that defensive coordinator has been dialing up for most of the year will be back. I don't expect the Jets O-line to handle the Bengals D-line again.

After only allowing one 100-yard rusher all year up to Week 12, the Bengals have allowed a 100-yard rusher in three of the past four games (1-3). Peko has been out for the past four games—go figure.

The playbook for the Bengals was as vanilla as could be. No reason to open it up in a meaningless game. The Jets, on the other hand, busted out the Wildcat, and now you can bet the Bengals will be ready to defend it next week.

“There isn’t much more they can do,” said Ochocinco of the Jets offense. “There is no trickery. They can add to their game plan.”

In the meantime, the Bengals have been hatching up schemes for over a week and will be eager to show the world that the passing game is still there. Palmer will not let his ballboy in college beat him like that twice in a row. No way does the veteran not give it his all in virtually his first playoff game.

The one matchup that still is a concern is Chad Ochocinco vs. Darrelle Revis. Chad might be banged up, and Revis is the real deal. He is a shutdown corner that can be left alone on the "Revis Island." Chad needs to stop talking trash to that guy.

Overall, the reaction to this game has been predictable; a lot of it has to do with the time slot. But Bengal fans are all gloom and doom, and think the sky is in the process of falling.

37-0. And it wasn't even that close.

But take heart; the Bengals have opened as three-point favorites at home against the Jets, a week after being 10-point dogs and a day after 37-0. Vegas knows something, and it's simple: The biggest turd of the season will mean nothing come Saturday.