Bengals Sweep the AFC North

The Bengals won the battle of Ohio on Sunday by beating Cleveland 16-7. The Bengals swept the AFC North for the first time ever.  Cincinnati didn’t play their best against the Browns but a win is a win.  Larry Johnson, Carson Palmer, and defense all stood out to me on Sunday.

Marvin Lewis made a smart move playing Larry Johnson more.  L. J. ran the ball great.  He had 107 yards with only 22 carries and his average was 4.9 yards a carry.  L. J. is really improving the Bengals offense while Cedric Benson is out with a hip problem.

Carson Palmer ran the offense pretty well.  The tackle by Robert Gathers right before the half was really dirty.  I was afraid that Palmer was hurt.  It was a stupid move on Gathers’ part.  All Palmer was doing was trying to run out-of-bounds to end the half.  When Gathers horse collared Palmer the 15 yard penalty put Cincinnati in field goal range.  Shayne Graham nailed his kick from 53 yards and put three more point on the board before the half.

Palmer moved the ball around well.  But he really needs to step up and take control during these last few games.  Palmer is a one of the top ten quarterbacks in the league and I want to see him dominate the game like I know he can.

Cincinnati’s defense played strong.  But the defensive line has to put more pressure on the quarterback.  The Bengals defensive backs really disrupted Brady Quinn and his wide receivers.  The defense played a huge part in the win by not allowing the Browns to get into a groove the whole game.

The Bengals are in great shape thanks to a Steelers loss against the Ravens on Sunday night.  With a record of 8-3, Cincinnati needs to beat the Chiefs, Lions, Chargers and Jets to have a chance for a bye in week one of the play-offs!

Go Bengals!  Who Dey!