Good Guys Win a Painful Victory 34-17

Sure enough, the Bengals triumphed over an inferior team yesterday, handily defeating the Cleveland Browns in front of a sold-out Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday. Yes, we got the all-important victory, but man oh man did we pay for it.

To wit:

1) Injuries to four Bengals: David Pollack (neck), Rich Braham (knee), Dexter Jackson (ankle), and Tab Perry (ankle). Of the four, Pollack's sounds the most serious, but I'm really bummed out about the loss of Dexter Jackson. All indications point towards him missing at least a week, and we will miss him tremendously next week against the Steelers. Tab, by all accounts, will be fine. Braham is an old dude who's played through numerous injuries before (including his troublesome knees), so I expect him back some time soon. Bummer about Pollack, but I don't think he's emerged enough as a defensive force for us to really notice his absence. Of course, we wish all these guys the speediest recoveries possible.

2) Chad got beat up. Pretty bad. As anyone who is actually reading this probably saw, Chad took a nasty hit from Cleveland safety Brian Russell late in the game. Apparently, Chad was seeing stars and was "a bit loopy" in the locker room after the game. NO ME GUSTA. Being "a bit loopy" usually means minor concussion. Chad's a warrior, so I'm sure he won't miss any time, but what's the deal with passing the ball when we have a big lead late in the game? No need to risk our marquee players to run up the score. And the Browns' defense was definitely feeling frustrated, so why give them a good opportunity to vent on our heavily paid star WR?

3) Tory James got smoked by Braylon Edwards late in the game. Yes, the game was pretty much over, but if there's one fault I'm finding with this Bengals defense this year it's not closing the other team down late in the game. Tory's wheels don't have the same shine they once did, and without Dexter Jackson backing him up, I'm afraid the veteran CB may be outmatched by most WRs in the NFL.

Other game thoughts:

1) No sacks for the Bengals D. Although they did a great job stopping the run (holding Droughns to 32 yards on 14 carries), the Bengals front four didn't get a lot of pressure on Charlie Frye. The Browns' O-line is upgraded from last year, but they are still in the bottom tier of lines in the league. It would have been nice to follow up last week's sackfest with a few against the Browns, but none were to be had.

2) Two interceptions by our linebackers. One for Brian Simmons, one for Landon Johnson, both on tips. These guys are great at creating turnovers, that much we know. And when the ball is tipped in the air, I'm surprised when the Bengals D doesn't come down with it.

3) Two interceptions by Carson Palmer. One off a tip, one straight up mistake thrown to Leigh Bodden on the aforementioned play where Chad got jacked. On the tails of 352 yards passing and 2 TDs, this isn't much to worry about. Still, it's important to note that the Bengals did not win the turnover battle in this game. Hopefully, not a sign of things to come.

4) Big game from Chris Henry (5 receptions for 113 yards). Although he dropped a couple of very catchable balls (including one that could have gone for a TD), Henry came through in the absence of Housh. I'm glad Chris had a good game, but we really do need Housh back.

5) We got a win when we should have. For now, that is all that is important. We have a huge game next week against the defending champs, and we're going to have to be near perfect in order to escape week three with an undefeated record. Let's get everyone healthy!

WHO DEY!