Cincinnati Bengals self-destruct in second half
An epic collapse from the Cincinnati Bengals allowed the Buffalo Bills to come in at Paul Brown Stadium and steal a victory from the hometown team on Sunday 21 November. The Bills scored 35 unanswered
points in the second half to pull a 49-31 come from behind victory over the Bengals on Sunday.
"We are terrible," receiver Terrell Owens said. "And I don't blame the fans for booing us. I don't blame people for not wanting to come and see the performance we've put up the last (seven) ballgames."
The Bengals got off to a fast start struck first with Chad Ochocinco scoring on a two-yard touchdown and Owens got his 155th touchdown on a four-yard toss from Carson Palmer to open the second
quarter. While Owens and Ochocinco were lighting up the score board, Johnathan Joseph was contributing on the defensive side of the ball.
Joseph made Bills’ quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick regret throwing the ball in his direction. Joseph intercepted Fitzpatrick early in the game and then had a pick six that gave Cincinnati a 28-7 lead in the
second quarter.
Bills running-back Fred Jackson provided some sparks on offence for his team rushing for 121 yards and two scores. Buffalo looked determined to keep the game close in the first quarter with the Bengals’
defence getting a heavy dose of Jackson. He carried the ball on four consecutive times and found the end zone on a seven-yard run to put his team on the board.
But Fitzpatrick’s poor play left the Bills’ offence one-dimensional and needing to score points in bunches. Trailing 31-14 at half, the Bills were forced to abandon the running game.
“We talked at halftime about finding a way to win and they did it," said Buffalo head Coach Chan Gailey. "They believed that they could do that. We don't have a lot of superstars or prima donnas. What
we do have is a lot of guys who fight every time they are on the field."
Fitzpatrick did manage to regain his composure and gave the Bills new life in the second half. His 28-yard touchdown pass to Steve Johnson in the third quarter made it 31-21 for the Bengals. Then a familiar
sight occurred as Cedric Benson fumbled the ball which was scooped and returned 27yards for the score. Benson has had issues holding on to the ball and has fumbled four times this season.
"It was two different games out there today," said Palmer. "We didn't finish, obviously. In this league it's about finishing football games because that's how you win."
The Bengals’ offence turned the ball over again and the Bills scored
on an 11-yard touchdown grab by Johnson.
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