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Cincinnati Bengals

Notes: Texans screens kill Bengals

By Staff Report, CNATI.com Posted October 18, 2009 5:00 PM ET

Leon Hall covered Andre Johnson like a blanket for most of the day Sunday, allowing only a few short completions along the sidelines. It did not matter, though, because Johnson piled up enough yards against the rest of the Bengals defensive backs, and the rest of the Texans' receivers consistently came open in the middle of the field.

Houston gained 392 yards through the air and 472 total, far more than any opponent had previously gained against the Cincinnati defense and more than enough to lead the Texans to a 28-17 win. Most of the damage was done on screen passes and dump-off passes.

Johnson gained 59 yards on a wide-receiver screen on Houston's first play from scrimmage. He ran through an attempted tackle by cornerback Johnathan Joseph and down the sideline. He also caught multiple passes when lined up in the slot, opposite one of the Bengals' reserve defensive backs.

Houston running back Steve Slaton gained 38 yards on a similar screen pass, and he finished with 102 receiving yards. Tight end Owen Daniels had 78 yards and two touchdowns. Third-string receiver Jacoby Jones got wide open in the middle of the field and caught a 23-yard TD pass.

"We didn't do a very good job of playing the check-downs," coach Marvin Lewis said. "We were able to keep them from getting the ball over the top. We'll have to check the tape to see where our errors were. We were making some errors, obviously."

Safety Chris Crocker said it was "the worst tackling we've had all season." It was only the third time since the start of last season that an opponent topped 400 yards against the Bengals.

A few of the short completions in the middle of the field came against the blitz, which made the middle of the defense vulnerable.

"They dialed up some good plays," Crocker said. "By no means will we change what we do. Knowing what (defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer) thinks and Marvin thinks, we won't change what we do, we'll be better at what we do. We're not going to change our mentality."

When the Bengals were not caught in a blitz, they were caught flat-footed in the secondary. Having two good cornerbacks on the edge meant little when players were running free through the middle of the field.

"Guys have to run to the ball," Crocker said. "It's so simple. Guys have to run. Gotta run, gotta run, gotta run. That's pretty much the only solution to it. You've got to make sure you get the guy to the ground."

NICE HOMECOMING - Former UC star Connor Barwin picked up his first career sack Sunday, throwing Carson Palmer for a nine-yard loss in the third quarter.

Barwin, Houston's second-round pick this year, has played mostly on special teams. He had a tackle on special teams in addition to the sack.

"I'm glad I finally got that monkey off my back," Barwin said of the sack.

Barwin said in the excitement he forgot to celebrate like he'd planned - by doing the popular UC chant, complete with the rolling motion of his arms and then making a "U" and a "C" with his arms.

"Cincinnati is a special place for me," said Barwin, a Detroit native. "It's weird that it happened here; it's a blessing that it did. More importantly, it felt good for me to make a play for my teammates and to help our team win."

Barwin said he had about 70 friends and family in the stands for the game, although he didn't have to buy all those tickets.

CIEN FOR OCHOCINCO - Chad Ochocinco had his first 100-yard receiving game of the season, catching five passes for 103 yards, but he was shut out of the end zone.

Ochocinco had a 50-yard catch to set up Cedric Benson's second-quarter touchdown, but had just one catch in the fourth quarter.

Despite not having a 100-yard game, Ochocinco has been bright and happy as long as the team was winning. He wasn't pleased with his performance or his team's performance in the losing effort Sunday.

"The way we've been winning the past four weeks is not going to work the entire season," Ochocinco said. "At some point we have to put together consistent football, four quarters straight. It's not going to be perfect, but that's the way it goes. We have to do better than how we're doing now."

Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson said allowing the short catches but not the big plays is one of the tenets of the Texans' defense and contributed to Bengals receivers picking up big yards, if not points.

"In past years, on defense I was subject to make every single play, but in our new defense they tell you to not give up the big ones, but give up the short ones," Robinson said. "It's new for me, but I'm getting used to it and as long as we're winning, I'm fine with it."

Robinson gave Ochocinco credit for his long play.

"We were in a certain coverage and they ran a play to beat that coverage," Robinson said. "It's a play I should have made, and Chad made a great catch. We battled all day and he won some and I won some."

CED SHUT DOWN -- Benson managed only 44 yards on 16 carries. He had only 10 yards in the second half, as the Texans pulled away.

"Obviously the running game wasn't very succesful, and that hurts us because that leaves the defense out there," center Kyle Cook said.

The Texans held the ball for 22:06 of the second half, compared to 7:54 for the Bengals.

"We made this team a one-dimensional team," Robinson said, "and when you do that, it's easier on the back end to go out there and make plays, and that's what we did."

Benson entered the game as the leading rusher in the NFL. He had gained at least 73 yards in the previous eight games, and the Bengals won seven.

DRAMA-FREE SNAPS - On his first snap, new long snapper Clark Harris put the ball a little high and inside to holder Kevin Huber, but it was down in time and didn't effect the Bengals' extra point attempt. Though it wasn't pretty, it was what the Bengals needed after several bad snaps this season from Brad St. Louis.

St. Louis was released last Tuesday and replaced by Harris, a former Texan.

"I think as we go along, Clark will begin to relax and continue to do better," Lewis said. "It was a good start for him, but you just have to get over some of the emotion. I'm sure it was a very emotional day for him - he was here replacing someone else for a reason and he was playing against his old team. There was probably just a lot going on in his mind."

REMEMBERING ZIMMER - There was a moment of silence before Sunday's game for Vikki Zimmer, the wife of Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, who died suddenly more than a week ago.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Saints gave a game ball to their linebackers coach, Adam Zimmer, Mike and Vikki's son.

THIS AND THAT - Palmer once again played with a glove on his left hand and carried out handoffs with his right after suffering a sprained thumb on his left hand last week in Baltimore. At his post-game news conference, Palmer had a brace on the hand. ... Dennis Roland made his first start of the season at right tackle, replacing Anthony Collins, and played every offensive snap. Chinedum Ndukwe started at strong safety for Roy Williams, who was inactive with a forearm injury. ... Also inactive for the game were HB Brian Leonard (groin), OT Andre Smith (foot), OL Scott Kooistra, TE Chase Coffman, WR Jerome Simpson and DE Frostee Rucker (ankle). ... The Bengals have now scored 51 points in the final two minutes of a half this season, including 10 on Sunday - a touchdown and field goal in the last two minutes of the first half.

Categories: Cincinnati Bengals, News

Tags: Adam Zimmer, Andre Smith, Anthony Collins, Brad St. Louis, Brian Leonard, Carson Palmer, Chad Ochocinco, Chase Coffman, Chinedum Ndukwe, Clark Harris, Connor Barwin, Dennis Roland, Dunta Robinson, Frostee Rucker, Jerome Simpson, Marvin Lewis, Mike Zimmer, Roy Williams, Scott Kooistra, Vikki Zimmer