After a big 4th down stop the Bengals got a good punt return, however it was quickly 3rd and 18 but Carson delivered with a pass to Henry, 1st & goal at the 4. A short pass to Coats made it 7-0 Bengals, early. However a tough Rams pass defense and a good Rams pass offense makes it 7-7 just 4 minutes later.
The 2nd quarter started good, with big runs by Rudi Johnson, however it stalled out at the 14 where Shayne Graham kicked a 31 yd FG to make it 10-7 Bengals. However it didn't last long, Stephen Jackson preceded to tear up the Bengals line and run in for a touchdown to make it 14-10 Rams.
A big Rudi Johnson fumble at their own 20 lead to a FG to make it 17-10, after the Bengals Defense forced them to a FG after 4 straight stops at the 1. However after a few runs, Carson threw a big pass to CJ to get inside Rams territory. With 54 seconds to go, the Bengals tied it 17-17 with a Rudi Johnson TD run. A late drive for the Rams nearly led them into the endzone except one problem - Jonathon Joseph. INT and returned for a TD to make it 24-17 Bengals at half-time.
After a long 3rd and 18 to start off the half another big pass was thrown to CJ, to get into Rams territory, next play however gets Palmer injured. But CJ is CJ, Fitzgerald throws a deep one and a big 53 yard TD to make it 31-17, however Palmer was ruled out for the game due to a sprained ankle.
Although they started well in the drive, the pass defense again give up a big 3rd down pass to Isaac Bruce, however the next 3rd down from just inside Bengals territory, the defense gets a big sack. The resulting punt is downed at the 1. When the Bengals get it back they run it for nothing and on 3rd down Kenny Watson fumbles it, Steelers pick it up and return it for a short TD to make it 31-24 Bengals.
After the Bengals fizzled on another drive, the Rams took advantage of the Bengals pass defense and tied it 31-31, 30 seconds left in the 3rd. Mid-4th the Steelers trounced all over the Bengals defense again to go 21-unanswered to make it 38-31, as Marvin Lewis was seen throwing his board to the ground in frustration.
A punt return to within 30 yards of having 28 unanswered points, the Rams however were stopped on a game-breaking 3rd down and preceded to miss the FG, giving the Bengals another chance, however they blow it again, having to punt again. The Bengals however got there last chance after the defense stopped the rams quickly.
However the Bengals pass game with Fitzgerald did not stop struggling and a drop and bad passes, a 6th sack sealed it along with a TD run by Stephen Jackson to make the Bengals Defense 2nd worst game of the year, that is until an INT by Fitzgerald is returned for the last score of the game, make it the bengals 9th lost, 52-31 Rams.
Tune into 12:00 PM EST on FOX to see how the Bengals do in real-life, hopefully much better than this game!. Go Bengals!
