GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NFL: BALTIMORE (0-0) at CINCINNATI (0-0)

NFL: BALTIMORE at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
BALTIMORE 0 10 0 10 20
CINCINNATI 9 3 7 8 27 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

6:29 CIN - TD, DEXTER JACKSON 39 YD PASS FROM CARSON PALMER (PAT BLOCKED).
Drive: 1 plays, 39 yards in 0:07.
Key plays: Geathers recovery of McNair fumble on Baltimore 39.
CINCINNATI 6-0.
10:56 CIN - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 23 YD.
Drive: 7 plays, 41 yards in 2:49.
Key plays: R Johnson 9-yard run plus 15-yard unnecessary roughness
penalty on Ravens' Lewis to Baltimore 21; Palmer 10-yard pass to
Houshmandzadeh to Baltimore 11. CINCINNATI 9-0.

2ND QUARTER:

3:08 BAL - TD, MUSA SMITH 6 YD RUN (MATT STOVER KICK).
Drive: 8 plays, 88 yards in 4:38.
Key plays: McNair 15-yard pass to Mason to Baltimore 27; McGahee
11-yard run to Baltimore 38; McNair 12-yard pass to Mason to midfield;
Smith 17-yard rush to Cincinnati 25; McNair 19-yard pass to Williams to
Cincinnati 6. CINCINNATI 9-7.
13:57 CIN - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 40 YD.
Drive: 7 plays, 31 yards in 2:47.
Key plays: Palmer 13-yard pass to C Johnson to Baltimore 28.
CINCINNATI 12-7.
14:58 BAL - FG, MATT STOVER 36 YD.
Drive: 4 plays, 33 yards in 1:01.
Key plays: Sams 47-yard kick return to Cincinatti 41; M Smith
11-yard run to Cincinatti 30. CINCINNATI 12-10.

3RD QUARTER:

6:13 CIN - TD, LANDON JOHNSON 34 YD FUMBLE RETURN (SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK).
CINCINNATI 19-10.

4TH QUARTER:

0:58 BAL - FG, MATT STOVER 23 YD.
Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards in 5:22.
Key plays: M Smith 4-yard run on 3rd-and-3 to Cincinnati 35; McNair
17-yard pass to McGahee to Cincinnati 11. CINCINNATI 19-13.
2:53 BAL - TD, ED REED 63 YD PUNT RETURN (MATT STOVER KICK).
BALTIMORE 20-19.
6:12 CIN - TD, T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH 7 YD PASS FROM CARSON PALMER (RUDI JOHNSON RUN FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION).
Drive: 2 plays, 22 yards in 0:44.
Key plays: Geathers 30-yard interception return to Baltimore 22; R
Johnson 15-yard run to Baltimore 7. CINCINNATI 27-20.

BALTIMORE - CINCINNATI Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS BALTIMORE CINCINNATI

FIRST DOWNS 20 13
Rushing 7 3
Passing 11 9
Penalty 2 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 2-13-15% 3-13-23%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-1-100% 0-0-0%
TOTAL NET YARDS 314 236
Total offensive plays 67 56
Average gain per play 4.7 4.2
NET YARDS RUSHING 107 55
Rushing attempts 25 23
Average gain per rush 4.3 2.4
Tackles for loss-yards 1-4 4-9
NET YARDS PASSING 207 181
Times sacked: Number-Yards 2-15 1-13
Gross passing yards 222 194
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 40-22-2 32-20-0
Avg gain per pass play 4.9 5.5
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 5-3-1 6-2-1
PUNTS: Number and Average 5-44.6 7-44.9
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 23.6 43.6
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 105 39
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 6-105 1-9
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 5-140 4-94
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 0-0 2-30
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 10-86 5-41
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 5-4 2-2
TOUCHDOWNS 2 3
Rushing 1 0
Passing 0 2
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 1 1
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 2-2 2-3
Kicking: Made-Attempts 2-2 1-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 2-2 2-3
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-1
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 1-4-25% 1-2-50%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 1-2-50% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 32:21 27:06


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

BALTIMORE CINCINNATI

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
W MCGAHEE 19 77 4.1 13 0 R JOHNSON 18 50 2.8 15 0
M SMITH 5 30 6.0 17 1 J JOHNSON 1 3 3.0 3 0
S MCNAIR 1 0 0.0 0 0 C JOHNSON 1 2 2.0 2 0
C PALMER 3 0 0.0 2 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
S MCNAIR 20-34-203 1 0 21 C PALMER 20-32-194 0 2 39
K BOLLER 2- 6- 19 1 0 14

Sacked-Yards Lost: S MCNAIR 2-15. Sacked-Yards Lost: C PALMER 1-13.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D MASON 7 76 10.9 15 0 T HOUSHMAN 9 50 5.6 12 1
T HEAP 4 29 7.3 10 0 C JOHNSON 5 95 19.0 39 0
D WILLIAMS 3 55 18.3 21 0 R JOHNSON 3 26 8.7 18 0
W MCGAHEE 3 34 11.3 17 0 R KELLY 1 13 13.0 13 0
L MCCLAIN 3 13 4.3 5 0 D COATS 1 9 9.0 9 0
M SMITH 1 9 9.0 9 0 J JOHNSON 1 1 1.0 1 0
J GREEN 1 6 6.0 6 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
R GEATHERS 1 30 30.0 30 0
M MYERS 1 0 0.0 0 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
S KOCH 5 223 44.6 1 2 51 K LARSON 7 314 44.9 1 0 54

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B SAMS 4 37 9.3 16 0 S GREEN 1 9 9.0 9 0
E REED 2 68 34.0 63 1

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B SAMS 5 140 28.0 47 0 T PERRY 4 94 23.5 26 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M STOVER 2/2 2/2 S GRAHAM 1/1 2/3
Dist.: 36 23 Dist.: (53) 23 40
K LARSON 0/1 0/0


O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
S MCNAIR 3 3 0 0-0 R JOHNSON 1 1 0 0-0
L MCCLAIN 1 1 0 0-0 T PERRY 1 1 0 0-0
M SMITH 1 0 0 0-0 A BROOKS 0 0 1 0-0
H NGATA 0 0 1 0-0 L MARSHALL 0 0 1 0-0
E REED 0 0 0 0-1 R GEATHERS 0 0 1 0-1
J BROWN 0 0 0 1-0 M WILLIAMS 0 0 1 0-1
L JOHNSON 0 0 0 0-2

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
R LEWIS 11 7 4 0-0 L JOHNSON 11 5 6 0-0
D LANDRY 7 6 1 0-0 M WILLIAMS 9 7 2 0-0
S ROLLE 5 5 0 0-0 D JACKSON 8 3 5 0-0
J JOHNSON 4 4 0 1-13 A BROOKS 6 5 1 1-7
C MCALISTER 3 2 1 0-0 L HALL 4 4 0 0-0
B SCOTT 3 2 1 0-0 R GEATHERS 4 3 1 1-8
T PRYCE 3 1 2 0-0 D O'NEAL 3 2 1 0-0
T SUGGS 3 0 3 0-0 M MYERS 3 1 2 0-0
H NGATA 2 1 1 0-0 D PEKO 3 1 2 0-0
- TEAM 1 1 0 0-0 C NDUKWE 2 2 0 0-0
D EDWARDS 1 1 0 0-0 L MARSHALL 2 1 1 0-0
E REED 1 1 0 0-0 J JOSEPH 2 1 1 0-0
G SAPP 1 1 0 0-0 C MILLER 1 1 0 0-0
K GREGG 1 0 1 0-0 J THORNTON 1 0 1 0-0
J SMITH 1 0 1 0-0

Att: 66,092</div>

 

NFL: BALTIMORE at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">CORRECTION

NFL
BALTIMORE 20
CINCINNATI 27 FINAL</div>

 

NFL: BALTIMORE at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
BALTIMORE 0 10 0 10 20
CINCINNATI 9 3 7 8 27 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

6:29 CIN - TD, CHAD JOHNSON 39 YD PASS FROM CARSON PALMER (PAT BLOCKED).
Drive: 1 plays, 39 yards in 0:07.
Key plays: Geathers recovery of McNair fumble on Baltimore 39.
CINCINNATI 6-0.
10:56 CIN - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 23 YD.
Drive: 7 plays, 41 yards in 2:49.
Key plays: R Johnson 9-yard run plus 15-yard unnecessary roughness
penalty on Ravens' Lewis to Baltimore 21; Palmer 10-yard pass to
Houshmandzadeh to Baltimore 11. CINCINNATI 9-0.

2ND QUARTER:

3:08 BAL - TD, MUSA SMITH 6 YD RUN (MATT STOVER KICK).
Drive: 8 plays, 88 yards in 4:38.
Key plays: McNair 15-yard pass to Mason to Baltimore 27; McGahee
11-yard run to Baltimore 38; McNair 12-yard pass to Mason to midfield;
Smith 17-yard rush to Cincinnati 25; McNair 19-yard pass to Williams to
Cincinnati 6. CINCINNATI 9-7.
13:57 CIN - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 40 YD.
Drive: 7 plays, 31 yards in 2:47.
Key plays: Palmer 13-yard pass to C Johnson to Baltimore 28.
CINCINNATI 12-7.
14:58 BAL - FG, MATT STOVER 36 YD.
Drive: 4 plays, 33 yards in 1:01.
Key plays: Sams 47-yard kick return to Cincinatti 41; M Smith
11-yard run to Cincinatti 30. CINCINNATI 12-10.

3RD QUARTER:

6:13 CIN - TD, LANDON JOHNSON 34 YD FUMBLE RETURN (SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK).
CINCINNATI 19-10.

4TH QUARTER:

0:58 BAL - FG, MATT STOVER 23 YD.
Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards in 5:22.
Key plays: M Smith 4-yard run on 3rd-and-3 to Cincinnati 35; McNair
17-yard pass to McGahee to Cincinnati 11. CINCINNATI 19-13.
2:53 BAL - TD, ED REED 63 YD PUNT RETURN (MATT STOVER KICK).
BALTIMORE 20-19.
6:12 CIN - TD, T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH 7 YD PASS FROM CARSON PALMER (RUDI JOHNSON RUN FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION).
Drive: 2 plays, 22 yards in 0:44.
Key plays: Geathers 30-yard interception return to Baltimore 22; R
Johnson 15-yard run to Baltimore 7. CINCINNATI 27-20.

BALTIMORE - CINCINNATI Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS BALTIMORE CINCINNATI

FIRST DOWNS 20 13
Rushing 7 3
Passing 11 9
Penalty 2 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 2-13-15% 3-13-23%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-1-100% 0-0-0%
TOTAL NET YARDS 314 236
Total offensive plays 67 56
Average gain per play 4.7 4.2
NET YARDS RUSHING 107 55
Rushing attempts 25 23
Average gain per rush 4.3 2.4
Tackles for loss-yards 1-4 4-9
NET YARDS PASSING 207 181
Times sacked: Number-Yards 2-15 1-13
Gross passing yards 222 194
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 40-22-2 32-20-0
Avg gain per pass play 4.9 5.5
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 5-3-1 6-2-1
PUNTS: Number and Average 5-44.6 7-44.9
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 23.6 43.6
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 105 39
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 6-105 1-9
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 5-140 4-94
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 0-0 2-30
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 10-86 5-41
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 5-4 2-2
TOUCHDOWNS 2 3
Rushing 1 0
Passing 0 2
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 1 1
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 2-2 2-3
Kicking: Made-Attempts 2-2 1-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 2-2 2-3
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-1
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 1-4-25% 1-2-50%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 1-2-50% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 32:21 27:39


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

BALTIMORE CINCINNATI

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
W MCGAHEE 19 77 4.1 13 0 R JOHNSON 18 50 2.8 15 0
M SMITH 5 30 6.0 17 1 J JOHNSON 1 3 3.0 3 0
S MCNAIR 1 0 0.0 0 0 C JOHNSON 1 2 2.0 2 0
C PALMER 3 0 0.0 2 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
S MCNAIR 20-34-203 1 0 21 C PALMER 20-32-194 0 2 39
K BOLLER 2- 6- 19 1 0 14

Sacked-Yards Lost: S MCNAIR 2-15. Sacked-Yards Lost: C PALMER 1-13.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D MASON 7 76 10.9 15 0 T HOUSHMAN 9 50 5.6 12 1
T HEAP 4 29 7.3 10 0 C JOHNSON 5 95 19.0 39 1
D WILLIAMS 3 55 18.3 21 0 R JOHNSON 3 26 8.7 18 0
W MCGAHEE 3 34 11.3 17 0 R KELLY 1 13 13.0 13 0
L MCCLAIN 3 13 4.3 5 0 D COATS 1 9 9.0 9 0
M SMITH 1 9 9.0 9 0 J JOHNSON 1 1 1.0 1 0
J GREEN 1 6 6.0 6 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
R GEATHERS 1 30 30.0 30 0
M MYERS 1 0 0.0 0 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
S KOCH 5 223 44.6 1 2 51 K LARSON 7 314 44.9 1 0 54

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B SAMS 4 37 9.3 16 0 S GREEN 1 9 9.0 9 0
E REED 2 68 34.0 63 1

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B SAMS 5 140 28.0 47 0 T PERRY 4 94 23.5 26 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M STOVER 2/2 2/2 S GRAHAM 1/1 2/3
Dist.: 36 23 Dist.: (53) 23 40
K LARSON 0/1 0/0


O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
S MCNAIR 3 3 0 0-0 R JOHNSON 1 1 0 0-0
L MCCLAIN 1 1 0 0-0 T PERRY 1 1 0 0-0
M SMITH 1 0 0 0-0 A BROOKS 0 0 1 0-0
H NGATA 0 0 1 0-0 L MARSHALL 0 0 1 0-0
E REED 0 0 0 0-1 R GEATHERS 0 0 1 0-1
J BROWN 0 0 0 1-0 M WILLIAMS 0 0 1 0-1
L JOHNSON 0 0 0 0-2

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
R LEWIS 11 7 4 0-0 L JOHNSON 11 5 6 0-0
D LANDRY 7 6 1 0-0 M WILLIAMS 9 7 2 0-0
S ROLLE 5 5 0 0-0 D JACKSON 8 3 5 0-0
J JOHNSON 4 4 0 1-13 A BROOKS 6 5 1 1-7
C MCALISTER 3 2 1 0-0 L HALL 4 4 0 0-0
B SCOTT 3 2 1 0-0 R GEATHERS 4 3 1 1-8
T PRYCE 3 1 2 0-0 D O'NEAL 3 2 1 0-0
T SUGGS 3 0 3 0-0 M MYERS 3 1 2 0-0
H NGATA 2 1 1 0-0 D PEKO 3 1 2 0-0
- TEAM 1 1 0 0-0 C NDUKWE 2 2 0 0-0
D EDWARDS 1 1 0 0-0 L MARSHALL 2 1 1 0-0
E REED 1 1 0 0-0 J JOSEPH 2 1 1 0-0
G SAPP 1 1 0 0-0 C MILLER 1 1 0 0-0
K GREGG 1 0 1 0-0 J THORNTON 1 0 1 0-0
J SMITH 1 0 1 0-0

Att: 66,092</div>

 

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- The Baltimore Ravens' defense managed tocontain the Cincinnati Bengals, but they couldn't stop their ownoffense.


The Bengals turned six turnovers into 24 points and held on tobeat the Ravens, 27-20, on Monday night in the season opener forboth teams.


The game ended, appropriately enough, with a turnover by theRavens. Facing a 3rd-and-goal at the 2, backup quarterback KyleBoller drilled a pass into the stomach of tight end Todd Heap.

The ball caromed off Heap's arms and into the air, from whereBengals defensive end Mike Myers made a diving interception inthe end zone to seal the outcome.


Two huge penalties - one to each side - were integral in thefinal two minutes.


The Ravens (0-1) seemingly had tied it when Boller hit Heap inthe back of the end zone on fourth down with 1:54 to play, butHeap was whistled for offensive interference on a questionablecall.


On the ensuing play, Cincinnati's Madieu Williams was flaggedfor holding, giving the Ravens a first down at the 5-yard lineand setting up the dramatic final sequence.


Despite the numerous turnovers, the Ravens went ahead when EdReed returned a punt for 63 yards untouched for a 20-19 leadwith 12:07 to play. It was the first punt return since 2003 forReed, who was subbing for the injured B.J. Sams.


The momentum clearly shifted toward the Ravens, who hadcompleted bottled up the Bengals' high-powered offense, but acurious call by coach Brian Billick gave Cincinnati (1-0)renewed life.


With Baltimore facing a 3rd-and-1 from its own 35, Steve McNairopted to pass but threw too high for a wide-open Derrick Mason.Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers made a superb divinginterception and returned it to the Ravens 22.


The Bengals needed just two plays to take the lead, with CarsonPalmer hitting T.J. Houshmandzadeh on a 7-yard scoring pass.Rudi Johnson ran in for the conversion, extending the lead to27-20 with 8:48 to play.


Just as the Bengals seemingly has seized control of the game,Johnson fumbled at his own 30 and Reed recovered and returned itto the 24 with 4:42 left.


Boller came in at the point in favor of McNair, who left with agroin injury.


Signed to a one-year contract extension last Thursday, Bollerhit a huge 14-yard completion to Mason on 4th-and-3 to the3-yard line - but the Ravens were unable to get the tying score.

McNair finished 20-of-34 for 203 yards but he threw oneinterception and lost three fumbles, including one that LandonJohnson returned 34 yards for a touchdown to give the Bengals a19-10 lead with 8:47 left in the third quarter.


Palmer finished 20-of-32 for 194 yards and two touchdownspasses, including a 39-yarder to Chad Johnson, who had fivereceptions for 95 yards.


The Ravens' inability to hold onto the ball was best exemplifiedby a sequence in the first quarter when they fumbled the ballaway three times in five snaps. Baltimore earned the dubiousdistinction of becoming the first team in nine years to turn theball over three times in the first quarter.


The Bengals failed to capitalize on the first turnover butconverted the next two into a 9-0 lead.

 

NFL: BALTIMORE at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
BALTIMORE 0 10 0 10 20
CINCINNATI 9 3 7 8 27 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER:

6:29 CIN - TD, CHAD JOHNSON 39 YD PASS FROM CARSON PALMER (PAT BLOCKED).
Drive: 1 plays, 39 yards in 0:07.
Key plays: Geathers recovery of McNair fumble on Baltimore 39.
CINCINNATI 6-0.
10:56 CIN - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 23 YD.
Drive: 7 plays, 41 yards in 2:49.
Key plays: R Johnson 9-yard run plus 15-yard unnecessary roughness
penalty on Ravens' Lewis to Baltimore 21; Palmer 10-yard pass to
Houshmandzadeh to Baltimore 11. CINCINNATI 9-0.

2ND QUARTER:

3:08 BAL - TD, MUSA SMITH 6 YD RUN (MATT STOVER KICK).
Drive: 8 plays, 88 yards in 4:38.
Key plays: McNair 15-yard pass to Mason to Baltimore 27; McGahee
11-yard run to Baltimore 38; McNair 12-yard pass to Mason to midfield;
Smith 17-yard rush to Cincinnati 25; McNair 19-yard pass to Williams to
Cincinnati 6. CINCINNATI 9-7.
13:57 CIN - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 40 YD.
Drive: 7 plays, 31 yards in 2:47.
Key plays: Palmer 13-yard pass to C Johnson to Baltimore 28.
CINCINNATI 12-7.
14:58 BAL - FG, MATT STOVER 36 YD.
Drive: 4 plays, 33 yards in 1:01.
Key plays: Sams 47-yard kick return to Cincinatti 41; M Smith
11-yard run to Cincinatti 30. CINCINNATI 12-10.

3RD QUARTER:

6:13 CIN - TD, LANDON JOHNSON 34 YD FUMBLE RETURN (SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK).
CINCINNATI 19-10.

4TH QUARTER:

0:58 BAL - FG, MATT STOVER 23 YD.
Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards in 5:22.
Key plays: M Smith 4-yard run on 3rd-and-3 to Cincinnati 35; McNair
17-yard pass to McGahee to Cincinnati 11. CINCINNATI 19-13.
2:53 BAL - TD, ED REED 63 YD PUNT RETURN (MATT STOVER KICK).
BALTIMORE 20-19.
6:12 CIN - TD, T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH 7 YD PASS FROM CARSON PALMER (RUDI JOHNSON RUN FOR TWO-POINT CONVERSION).
Drive: 2 plays, 22 yards in 0:44.
Key plays: Geathers 30-yard interception return to Baltimore 22; R
Johnson 15-yard run to Baltimore 7. CINCINNATI 27-20.

BALTIMORE - CINCINNATI Final Statistics

TEAM STATISTICS BALTIMORE CINCINNATI

FIRST DOWNS 20 13
Rushing 7 3
Passing 11 9
Penalty 2 1
THIRD DOWN EFFICIENCY 2-13-15% 3-13-23%
FOURTH DOWN EFFICIENCY 1-1-100% 0-0-0%
TOTAL NET YARDS 314 236
Total offensive plays 67 56
Average gain per play 4.7 4.2
NET YARDS RUSHING 107 55
Rushing attempts 25 23
Average gain per rush 4.3 2.4
Tackles for loss-yards 1-4 4-9
NET YARDS PASSING 207 181
Times sacked: Number-Yards 2-15 1-13
Gross passing yards 222 194
PASS ATTEMPTS-COMPLETIONS-HAD INTERCEPTED 40-22-2 32-20-0
Avg gain per pass play 4.9 5.5
KICKOFFS: Number-In End Zone-Touchbacks 5-3-1 6-2-1
PUNTS: Number and Average 5-44.6 7-44.9
Had blocked 0 0
Net punting average 23.6 43.6
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE (Not including kickoffs) 105 39
Number-Yards: Punt Returns 6-105 1-9
Number-Yards: Kickoff Returns 5-140 4-94
Number-Yards: Interception Returns 0-0 2-30
PENALTIES: Number-Yards 10-86 5-41
FUMBLES: Number-Lost 5-4 2-2
TOUCHDOWNS 2 3
Rushing 1 0
Passing 0 2
Interceptions 0 0
Other (blocked kicks, etc.) 1 1
EXTRA POINTS: Made-Attempts 2-2 2-3
Kicking: Made-Attempts 2-2 1-2
Passing: Made-Attempts 0-0 0-0
Rushing: Made-Attempts 0-0 1-1
FIELD GOALS: Made-Attempts 2-2 2-3
FGs - PATs had blocked 0-0 0-1
RED ZONE EFFICIENCY 1-4-25% 1-2-50%
GOAL TO GO EFFICIENCY 1-2-50% 1-1-100%
SAFETIES 0 0
TIME OF POSSESSION 32:21 27:39


INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

BALTIMORE CINCINNATI

RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD RUSHING ATT YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
W MCGAHEE 19 77 4.1 13 0 R JOHNSON 18 50 2.8 15 0
M SMITH 5 30 6.0 17 1 J JOHNSON 1 3 3.0 3 0
S MCNAIR 1 0 0.0 0 0 C JOHNSON 1 2 2.0 2 0
C PALMER 3 0 0.0 2 0

PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG PASSING CM-AT-YDS IN TD LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
S MCNAIR 20-34-203 1 0 21 C PALMER 20-32-194 0 2 39
K BOLLER 2- 6- 19 1 0 14

Sacked-Yards Lost: S MCNAIR 2-15. Sacked-Yards Lost: C PALMER 1-13.

RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD RECEIVING NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
D MASON 7 76 10.9 15 0 T HOUSHMAN 9 50 5.6 12 1
T HEAP 4 29 7.3 10 0 C JOHNSON 5 95 19.0 39 1
D WILLIAMS 3 55 18.3 21 0 R JOHNSON 3 26 8.7 18 0
W MCGAHEE 3 34 11.3 17 0 R KELLY 1 13 13.0 13 0
L MCCLAIN 3 13 4.3 5 0 D COATS 1 9 9.0 9 0
M SMITH 1 9 9.0 9 0 J JOHNSON 1 1 1.0 1 0
J GREEN 1 6 6.0 6 0

INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD INTERCEPTIONS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
R GEATHERS 1 30 30.0 30 0
M MYERS 1 0 0.0 0 0

PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG PUNTING NO YDS AVG T I LG
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
S KOCH 5 223 44.6 1 2 51 K LARSON 7 314 44.9 1 0 54

T = Touchbacks, I = Inside 20

PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD PUNT RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B SAMS 4 37 9.3 16 0 S GREEN 1 9 9.0 9 0
E REED 2 68 34.0 63 1

KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD KICKOFF RETURNS NO YDS AVG LG TD
-------------------------------------- --------------------------------------
B SAMS 5 140 28.0 47 0 T PERRY 4 94 23.5 26 0

KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA KICKING XP/XPA FG/FGA
---------------------------------- ----------------------------------
M STOVER 2/2 2/2 S GRAHAM 1/1 2/3
Dist.: 36 23 Dist.: (53) 23 40
K LARSON 0/1 0/0


O-D O-D
FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC FUMBLES NO LOST FF REC
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
S MCNAIR 3 3 0 0-0 R JOHNSON 1 1 0 0-0
L MCCLAIN 1 1 0 0-0 T PERRY 1 1 0 0-0
M SMITH 1 0 0 0-0 A BROOKS 0 0 1 0-0
H NGATA 0 0 1 0-0 L MARSHALL 0 0 1 0-0
D MARTIN 0 0 0 0-1 R GEATHERS 0 0 1 0-1
E REED 0 0 0 0-1 M WILLIAMS 0 0 1 0-1
J BROWN 0 0 0 1-0 L JOHNSON 0 0 0 0-2

DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD DEFENSE TK SO AS SK-YD
------------------------------------ ------------------------------------
R LEWIS 11 7 4 0-0 L JOHNSON 11 5 6 0-0
D LANDRY 7 6 1 0-0 M WILLIAMS 9 7 2 0-0
S ROLLE 5 5 0 0-0 D JACKSON 8 3 5 0-0
J JOHNSON 4 4 0 1-13 A BROOKS 6 5 1 1-7
C MCALISTER 3 2 1 0-0 L HALL 4 4 0 0-0
B SCOTT 3 2 1 0-0 R GEATHERS 4 3 1 1-8
T PRYCE 3 1 2 0-0 D O'NEAL 3 2 1 0-0
T SUGGS 3 0 3 0-0 M MYERS 3 1 2 0-0
H NGATA 2 1 1 0-0 D PEKO 3 1 2 0-0
- TEAM 1 1 0 0-0 C NDUKWE 2 2 0 0-0
D EDWARDS 1 1 0 0-0 L MARSHALL 2 1 1 0-0
E REED 1 1 0 0-0 J JOSEPH 2 1 1 0-0
G SAPP 1 1 0 0-0 C MILLER 1 1 0 0-0
K GREGG 1 0 1 0-0 J THORNTON 1 0 1 0-0
J SMITH 1 0 1 0-0

Officials: Referee-Terry Mcaulay, Umpire-Bruce Stritesky, Head
Linesman-Jim Mello, Line Judge-Mark Steinkerchner, Field Judge-Greg
Gautreaux, Side Judge-Michael Banks, Back Judge-Steve Freeman.

Att: 66,092 Time of Game: 3:18</div>

 

NFL: BALTIMORE at CINCINNATI

<div class="pre">NFL FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
BALTIMORE 0 10 0 10 20
CINCINNATI 9 3 7 8 27 FINAL

SCORING SUMMARY

1ST QUARTER: CIN - TD, CHAD JOHNSON 39 YD PASS FROM CARSON
PALMER (PAT BLOCKED), 6:29. Drive:
1 plays, 39 yards in 0:07. Key
plays: Geathers recovery of McNair
fumble on Baltimore 39. CINCINNATI
6-0
CIN - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 23 YD, 10:56. Drive:
7 plays, 41 yards in 2:49. Key
plays: R Johnson 9-yard run plus
15-yard unnecessary roughness
penalty on Ravens' Lewis to
Baltimore 21; Palmer 10-yard pass
to Houshmandzadeh to Baltimore 11.
CINCINNATI 9-0
2ND QUARTER: BAL - TD, MUSA SMITH 6 YD RUN (MATT STOVER
KICK), 3:08. Drive: 8 plays, 88
yards in 4:38. Key plays: McNair
15-yard pass to Mason to Baltimore
27; McGahee 11-yard run to
Baltimore 38; McNair 12-yard pass
to Mason to midfield; Smith 17-yard
rush to Cincinnati 25; McNair
19-yard pass to Williams to
Cincinnati 6. CINCINNATI 9-7
CIN - FG, SHAYNE GRAHAM 40 YD, 13:57. Drive:
7 plays, 31 yards in 2:47. Key
plays: Palmer 13-yard pass to C
Johnson to Baltimore 28. CINCINNATI
12-7
BAL - FG, MATT STOVER 36 YD, 14:58. Drive: 4
plays, 33 yards in 1:01. Key plays:
Sams 47-yard kick return to
Cincinatti 41; M Smith 11-yard run
to Cincinatti 30. CINCINNATI 12-10
3RD QUARTER: CIN - TD, LANDON JOHNSON 34 YD FUMBLE RETURN
(SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK), 6:13.
CINCINNATI 19-10
4TH QUARTER: BAL - FG, MATT STOVER 23 YD, 0:58. Drive: 10
plays, 68 yards in 5:22. Key plays:
M Smith 4-yard run on 3rd-and-3 to
Cincinnati 35; McNair 17-yard pass
to McGahee to Cincinnati 11.
CINCINNATI 19-13
BAL - TD, ED REED 63 YD PUNT RETURN (MATT
STOVER KICK), 2:53. BALTIMORE 20-19
CIN - TD, T.J. HOUSHMANDZADEH 7 YD PASS FROM
CARSON PALMER (RUDI JOHNSON RUN FOR
TWO-POINT CONVERSION), 6:12. Drive:
2 plays, 22 yards in 0:44. Key
plays: Geathers 30-yard
interception return to Baltimore
22; R Johnson 15-yard run to
Baltimore 7. CINCINNATI 27-20

ATT: 66,093</div>

 

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- The Baltimore Ravens' defense managed tocontain the Cincinnati Bengals, but they couldn't stop their ownoffense.


The Bengals turned six turnovers into 24 points and held on tobeat the Ravens, 27-20, on Monday night in the season opener forboth teams.


The game ended, appropriately enough, with a turnover by theRavens. Facing a 3rd-and-goal at the 2, backup quarterback KyleBoller drilled a pass into the stomach of tight end Todd Heap.

The ball caromed off Heap's arms and into the air, from whereBengals defensive end Mike Myers made a diving interception inthe end zone to seal the outcome.


"It was my first interception," Myers said. "We talked to eachother on defense before the play. We didn't want to go toovertime. We kept telling each other to make a play."

Two huge penalties - one to each side - were integral in thefinal two minutes.


The Ravens (0-1) seemingly had tied it when Boller hit Heap inthe back of the end zone on fourth down with 1:54 to play, butHeap was whistled for offensive interference on a questionablecall.


"To be called upon to step up in the circumstances he did istough," Baltimore coach Brian Billick said of Boller, whoreplaced an injured Steve McNair with 4:42 to play. "To comeinto the game cold and make crucial plays is hard. It looked tome like he made a couple touchdown passes."


On the ensuing play, Cincinnati's Madieu Williams was flaggedfor holding, giving the Ravens a first down at the 5-yard lineand setting up the dramatic final sequence.


"I showed our guys a statistic this week," Cincinnati coachMarvin Lewis said. "The team that won the turnover battle wonthe last six meetings between us (Baltimore). We knew coming init would be a hard fought game. It was physical. You need towin that type of game because you put so much into it."

Despite the numerous turnovers, the Ravens went ahead when EdReed returned a punt for 63 yards untouched for a 20-19 leadwith 12:07 to play. It was the first punt return since 2003 forReed, who was subbing for the injured B.J. Sams.


The momentum clearly had shifted toward the Ravens, who hadcompleted bottled up the Bengals' high-powered offense, but acurious call by Billick gave Cincinnati (1-0)
renewed life.


With Baltimore facing a 3rd-and-1 from its own 35, McNair optedto pass but threw too high for a wide-open Derrick Mason.Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers made a superb divinginterception and returned it to the Ravens 22.


"I knew I got under it, It was our focus to make plays andcause turnovers," Geathers said. "We looked each other in theeye and said it's time for each of us to be accountable.

The Bengals needed just two plays to take the lead, with CarsonPalmer hitting T.J. Houshmandzadeh on a 7-yard scoring pass.Rudi Johnson ran in for the conversion, extending the lead to27-20 with 8:48 to play.


Just as the Bengals seemingly has seized control of the game,Johnson fumbled at his own 30 and Reed recovered and returned itto the 24 with 4:42 left.


Boller came in at the point in favor of McNair, who left with agroin injury.


Signed to a one-year contract extension last Thursday, Bollerhit a huge 14-yard completion to Mason on 4th-and-3 to the3-yard line - but the Ravens were unable to get the tying score.

McNair finished 20-of-34 for 203 yards but he threw oneinterception and lost three fumbles, including one that LandonJohnson returned 34 yards for a touchdown to give the Bengals a19-10 lead with 8:47 left in the third quarter.


Palmer finished 20-of-32 for 194 yards and two touchdownspasses, including a 39-yarder to Chad Johnson, who had fivereceptions for 95 yards. Houshmandzadeh added nine catches for50 yards.


"A win is a win against that team, that defense," Palmer said."When you don't play great and you don't play your bestfootball, you just say a thankful prayer for being able to get awin. The defense won the game.


"Every time I looked up the crowd got loud and I just figurethey got another turnover."


Willis McGahee rushed for 77 yards on 19 carries in his debutwith the Ravens, but he was stopped at the 1-yard line on thefinal sequence.


The Ravens' inability to hold onto the ball was best exemplifiedby a sequence in the first quarter when they fumbled the ballaway three times in five snaps. Baltimore earned the dubiousdistinction of becoming the first team in nine years to turn theball over three times in the first quarter.


"It is disappointing to lose a season opener. It was a (heck)of a game. The story is you can't turn the ball over on the roadand hope to win," Billick said. "Guys were called on to stepup and some played through injury. Our players were droppingright and left. I'm proud of what this team did."

The Bengals failed to capitalize on the first turnover butconverted the next two into a 9-0 lead.

 

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- The Baltimore Ravens' defense managed tocontain the Cincinnati Bengals, but they couldn't stop their ownoffense.


The Bengals turned six turnovers into 24 points and held on tobeat the Ravens, 27-20, on Monday night in the season opener forboth teams.


The game ended, appropriately enough, with a turnover by theRavens. Facing a 3rd-and-goal at the 2, backup quarterback KyleBoller drilled a pass into the stomach of tight end Todd Heap.

The ball caromed off Heap's arms and into the air, from whereBengals defensive end Mike Myers made a diving interception inthe end zone to seal the outcome.


"It was my first interception," Myers said. "We talked to eachother on defense before the play. We didn't want to go toovertime. We kept telling each other to make a play."

Two huge penalties - one to each side - were integral in thefinal two minutes.


The Ravens (0-1) seemingly had tied it when Boller hit Heap inthe back of the end zone on fourth down with 1:54 to play, butHeap was whistled for offensive interference on a questionablecall.


"To be called upon to step up in the circumstances he did istough," Baltimore coach Brian Billick said of Boller, whoreplaced an injured Steve McNair with 4:42 to play. "To comeinto the game cold and make crucial plays is hard. It looked tome like he made a couple touchdown passes."


On the ensuing play, Cincinnati's Madieu Williams was flaggedfor holding, giving the Ravens a first down at the 5-yard lineand setting up the dramatic final sequence.


"I showed our guys a statistic this week," Cincinnati coachMarvin Lewis said. "The team that won the turnover battle wonthe last six meetings between us (Baltimore). We knew coming init would be a hard fought game. It was physical. You need towin that type of game because you put so much into it."

Despite the numerous turnovers, the Ravens went ahead when EdReed returned a punt for 63 yards untouched for a 20-19 leadwith 12:07 to play. It was the first punt return since 2003 forReed, who was subbing for the injured B.J. Sams.


The momentum clearly had shifted toward the Ravens, who hadcompleted bottled up the Bengals' high-powered offense, but acurious call by Billick gave Cincinnati (1-0)
renewed life.


With Baltimore facing a 3rd-and-1 from its own 35, McNair optedto pass but threw too high for a wide-open Derrick Mason.Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers made a superb divinginterception and returned it to the Ravens 22.


"I knew I got under it, It was our focus to make plays andcause turnovers," Geathers said. "We looked each other in theeye and said it's time for each of us to be accountable.

The Bengals needed just two plays to take the lead, with CarsonPalmer hitting T.J. Houshmandzadeh on a 7-yard scoring pass.Rudi Johnson ran in for the conversion, extending the lead to27-20 with 8:48 to play.


Just as the Bengals seemingly has seized control of the game,Johnson fumbled at his own 30 and Reed recovered and returned itto the 24 with 4:42 left.


Boller came in at the point in favor of McNair, who left with agroin injury.


Signed to a one-year contract extension last Thursday, Bollerhit a huge 14-yard completion to Mason on 4th-and-3 to the3-yard line - but the Ravens were unable to get the tying score.

McNair finished 20-of-34 for 203 yards but he threw oneinterception and lost three fumbles, including one that LandonJohnson returned 34 yards for a touchdown to give the Bengals a19-10 lead with 8:47 left in the third quarter.


Palmer finished 20-of-32 for 194 yards and two touchdownspasses, including a 39-yarder to Chad Johnson, who had fivereceptions for 95 yards. Houshmandzadeh added nine catches for50 yards.


"A win is a win against that team, that defense," Palmer said."When you don't play great and you don't play your bestfootball, you just say a thankful prayer for being able to get awin. The defense won the game.


"Every time I looked up the crowd got loud and I just figurethey got another turnover."


Willis McGahee rushed for 77 yards on 19 carries in his debutwith the Ravens, but he was stopped at the 1-yard line on thefinal sequence.


The Ravens' inability to hold onto the ball was best exemplifiedby a sequence in the first quarter when they fumbled the ballaway three times in five snaps. Baltimore earned the dubiousdistinction of becoming the first team in nine years to turn theball over three times in the first quarter.


"It is disappointing to lose a season opener. It was a (heck)of a game. The story is you can't turn the ball over on the roadand hope to win," Billick said. "Guys were called on to stepup and some played through injury. Our players were droppingright and left. I'm proud of what this team did."

The Bengals failed to capitalize on the first turnover butconverted the next two into a 9-0 lead.


Baltimore Pro Bowl linebacker Ray Lewis left the game early inthe first quarter with an injury to his right triceps.

The two-time Defensive Player of the Year had his arm tapedbefore returning and leading the team with seven tackles.

After the game, Lewis said he was playing with a torn triceps,telling reporters he heard a pop in the arm.