
10-12-2009, 07:03 AM
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HATE, HATE, HATE, HATE!!!
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Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,331
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The Bengals? Hear 'em roar -- latimes.com
Quote:
The Cincinnati Bengals once felt like this season's unluckiest team.
Now, they're feeling like one of the best.
For the third time in three weeks, the Bengals pulled off a last-minute victory Sunday, winning at Baltimore, 17-14, to claim first place in the AFC North.
The Bengals are 4-1 for the first time since 2006, and they would be 5-0 if not for Denver's fluke touchdown off a deflection in the opener.
The winning touchdown Sunday came with 22 seconds left, when Carson Palmer hit Andre Caldwell on a 20-yard slant.
Palmer, the 2002 Heisman Trophy winner from USC, kept that drive alive with a six-yard scramble on fourth and one. He did the same thing a week earlier against Cleveland, tucking the ball and running in a now-or-never situation.
"They believe they can win, no matter what the circumstances are," Bengals Coach Marvin Lewis said of his team.
"We keep talking about that. Don't worry about it, don't flinch, keep playing."
Cincinnati's victories are anything but "cheapies." The Bengals beat Green Bay at Lambeau Field, knocked off the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and picked up a tough road victory in Baltimore against a team that swept them last season.
The pivotal player has been the cool-headed Palmer, who seemed completely at ease as he directed the winning drive.
"That was Carson in the huddle, being very confident, being very sound, keeping everybody calm," receiver Chad Ochocinco said. "When he talks the way he does in that huddle, with that confidence and that swagger like that, there's no doubt that we're going to go down and score."
The victory was especially meaningful to the Bengals, heavy-hearted in the wake of Vikki Zimmer's death. She's the wife of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, and she died unexpectedly Thursday. Zimmer coached Sunday and, in the emotional aftermath, was presented the game ball.
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