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FINAL: New England 34, Cincinnati 13

The New England Patriots ran their record to 4-0 tonight with a 34-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The storylines are much the same as they have been through the first three games: Tom Brady and Randy Moss continued their show, and Moss continued to get his shine on on Monday nights: in 12 career MNF games, Moss now has 68 catches for 1,166 yards and 13 touchdowns.

The defense kept the vaunted Bengals' defense out of the red zone, allowing them one touchdown in their two chances inside the 20, and the special teams helped out with good field position.

The Bengals fall to 1-3 with the loss, having lost three straight.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 11:33 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

The Pats' first red zone stop

Asante Samuel's interception of Carson Palmer with Cincinnati at the Pats' 20 was the first time that New England has stopped a team in the red zone this season.

The Bengals had made it 6-for-6 on opponent red-zone scores with their earlier touchdown.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:59 PM to Asante Samuel | Permalink | Comments 0

Vrabel: nine catches, nine TDs

Mike Vrabel's one-yard touchdown catch was his ninth score of his career and put New England up 10-0.

Vrabel has nine catches, and every one has been a score.

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 9:19 PM to Mike Vrabel | Permalink | Comments 0

Paul Brown Stadium

CINCINNATI -- Paul Brown Stadium, the eight-year-old home of the Bengals, is located on the shore of the Ohio River and is named in honor of an NFL coaching legend.
An Ohio native, the late Paul Brown founded not only the Cincinnati franchise, but also the Cleveland Browns. Elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1967, he was the first head coach in the history of both the Browns and Bengals.
Brown, who died in 1991 at the age of 82, created an Ohio high school dynasty at Massillon, where he grew up, then moved on to Ohio State, where he led the Buckeyes to a national championship in 1942. He coached the Browns to seven league championships in 12 seasons, first in the All-American Football League, then in the NFL, featuring such stars as quarterback Otto Graham, running back Marion Motley, and the incomparable Jimmy Brown.
After leaving the Browns following the 1962 season, Brown wanted to get back into pro football and, in 1967, was awarded an AFL franchise in Cincinnati in 1967. He was coach of the team for its first eight seasons -- 1968 through '75 -- and continued to serve as general manager until his death. The Bengals, who won two division titles under Brown, were 11-3 in his last year as coach.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 7:50 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Maroney OUT; Wright to play

Running back Laurence Maroney, listed as questionable with a groin injury, will not play in tonight's game. A report on ESPN had said the running back would play, returning to the site of his first career 100-yard rushing game.

Mike Wright is not listed among the Patriots' inactives, leading the way for him to get his first game action of the season.

The rest of the inactives for New England:

QB Matt Gutierrez, third quarterback
WR Kelley Washington
RB Laurence Maroney
G Stephen Neal
T Ryan O'Callaghan
DL Santonio Thomas
DL Kareem Brown
LB Chad Brown

**Also, New England today waived linebacker Corey Mays and signed fullback Kyle Eckel off the practice squad.

For the Bengals:

QB Jeff Rowe, third quarterback
RB Rudi Johnson
S Ethan Kilmer
LB Ahmad Brooks
LB Caleb Miller
C Dan Santucci
WR Tab Perry
LB Rashad Jeanty

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 7:16 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

AFC East outlook

CINCINNATI -- With each passing week, it becomes more obvious that the Patriots are in a class by themselves in the AFC East.
The Bills, clearly overmatched a week ago at New England, and with their defense riddled by injuries, and with a rookie, Trent Edwards, starting at quarterback, won their first game by beating the Jets, 17-14, in Buffalo.
Edwards had to step in for J.P. Losman, who suffered a knee injury on the first play from scrimmage against the Patriots when he was hit low by Vince Wilfork, who was flagged for roughing the passer, and later was fined $12,500.
Edwards completed 22 of 28 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown, with one interception. Jets QB Chad Pennington completed 32 of 39 passes, but threw two fourth-quarter interceptions as N.Y. dropped to 1-3.
Miami, meanwhile, fell to 0-4, losing at home to Oakland, 35-17. Particularly galling to the Dolphins, who were playing without defensive standouts Vonnie Holiday and Zach Thomas, was that Daunte Culpepper had a huge day for the Raiders, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for two more. Culpepper was dumped by the Dolphins in favor of Trent Green, who was brought in from Kansas City by Miami's new coach, Cam Cameron. Judging by Culpepper's post-TD celebrations, clearly felt he had a score to settle. Having accounted for five scores, he'd seem to have done that.
The Dolphins looked helpless against Oakland's running game. Even though LaMont Jordan, the Raiders' top back, was injured in the second quarter, his backup, Justin Fargas, racked up 179 yards on 22 carries. In his fifth NFL season, Fargas never before had rushed for 100 yards in a game.
It was the first road win for the Raiders in almost two years, since they won at Washington, 16-13, on Nov. 20, 2005.
None of which bodes well for the winless Dolphins.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 6:54 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Come, Watson, the game is afoot

CINCINNATI _ With regular running back Rudi Johnson sidelined by a hamstring pull, Kenny Watson will start a game for the first time since 2002, when he was playing for the Redskins.
''We lose some things without Rudi being in there,'' Bengals QB Carson Palmer said last week, ''but I think we also gain some things with Kenny. He's not as bulky as Rudi is, but he's a little bit quicker. He's not going to run people over like Rudi does and break through every arm tackle. But what he lacks in size and power, he makes up for in quickness and speed and great hands out of the backfield.''
Johnson, a fourth-round pick out of Auburn in 2001, became the starter in Cincinnati in '04, after Corey Dillon was traded to New England. He rushed for 1,454 yards and 12 TDs that season on a career-high, 361 carries.
A true workhorse, Johnson carried 337 times in 2005, for 1,458 yards and 12 TDs, and 341 times last year, for 1,309 yards and 12 TDs.
So far this season, he has 177 yards on 58 carries and has not scored a rushing touchdown, although he does have a TD reception among his 8 catches, for 92 yards.
Rudi is one of four players named Johnson on the Cincinnati roster. The Bengals also have loquacious wide receiver Chad Johnson, fullback Jeremi Johnson, and linebacker Landon Johnson.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 6:38 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Welcome to Cincinnati

Hey all --

We're settled in at Paul Brown Stadium, where we believe it rained earlier in the day; a weather report we saw last night said there was a chance of showers early tonight. But we're looking at blue skies almost as far as the eye can see, and it was warm walking here from the parking area.

The usual warm-ups are happening down on the field -- Eric Alexander, Pierre Woods and Kyle Brady are doing some stretching, Matt Gutierrez and Matt Cassel are throwing the ball near midfield.

On the plus side for New England, Randall Gay is out there, headphones on. Gay was listed as questionable for the game with a thigh injury; he isn't in uniform pants, but he does have his uniform socks on as he walks around the field. Kevin Faulk, who was on the injury report after missing practice Friday (listed as a team decision) and then taken off yesterday, is in his cleats running on the field.

The ESPN tent is set up on the concourse of what we'd guess is the south end zone; the PTI guys broadcast from there, and now the pre-game show is going on.

We'll be back with more throughout the night.

shalise

Posted by Shalise Manza Young  at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

Queen City Culinary Treat

CINCINNATI -- No visit here is complete without enjoying a plate of ``5-way'' chili -- a Cincinnati specialty.
The delectable dish is called ``5-way'' because it has five ingredients -- spaghetti, beans, chili, and onions, topped with mild Wisconsin cheddar cheese.
The are two popular ``5-way'' chains in town -- Subway and Gold Star -- and visitors should sample both so they can debate the merits of each with the locals.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 4:42 PM | Permalink | Comments 0

By The Numbers

CINCINNATI -- The numbers don't add up for the Bengals heading into tonight's Prime Time matchup with the Patriots.
Start with the fact that the Bengals are 1-2, having lost their last two games, while New England is 3-0.
The Patriots lead the NFL in both total offense (441 yards per game) and total defense, allowing just 207 yards per game. Although Cincinnati ranks fourth in the league in total offense, the Bengals are 30th defensively.
New England is averaging a league-high, 38 points per game. The Bengals are next-to-last in scoring defense, yielding an average of 31.7 points per game.
The Bengals have finished over .500 just once in the last 16 years. The Patriots have played in the AFC championship game in four of the last six years, and won three Super Bowls in four years from 2001 through 2004.
The numbers aren't all bad for the Bengals, however. They are 6-2 when playing at home on Monday Night Football, and are 4-0 in night games at home under coach Marvin Lewis since 2003.
That said, the Patriots have won four of their last five MNF road games, and 10 of their last 11 road games overall.
All of which helps explain why New England is favored by 7-1/2 points tonight.

Posted by Jim Donaldson  at 4:22 PM | Permalink | Comments 0