Laveranues Coles News

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis appeared to be on the hot seat prior to the start of the 2009 season.

Early in the season, he was known for putting together late come-from-behind drives, but during the last four weeks Carson Palmer has shown an all-around game that also has started to pay dividends for the Bengals.

Nine Cincinnati starters were sent packing by their previous teams. And boy, are the Bengals glad.

Situation: The Bengals face a third-and-7 on the Bears ' 8-yard line in the second quarter, already leading 21-0. Another touchdown and the Bears are done.

Admit it, you had your doubts. So they stole one from the Steelers in Cincinnati.

Earlier this week Bengals special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons said he was waiting for that one game when all three phases - offense, defense and special teams - would be firing on all cylinders at the same time.

There were some unusual heroes on Sunday. There always are. Leta TMs take a look at them and see if they are worthy of your fantasy rosters.

OK folks we're back now for week #5 of our Cincinnati Bengals player pick 'em contest.

The Bengals got no points out of the no-huddle offense last Sunday, but dona t expect offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski to put it into mothballs for very long.

It didn't come down to the final minute nor was it another thrilling Bengals comeback.

The Bengals defense is for real. They have been very impressive. Jonathan Joseph and Leon Hall form an excellent cornerback duo as the Bengals have shut down the opponent's top wide receiver in almost every game.

Updated: 10:30 p.m. Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons is calling this stretch of games against Cleveland, Baltimore, Houston, and Chicago a oeMurderera s Row,a and if you thought the Brownsa Josh Cribbs killed enough yards, the Texans may be even more dangerous.

Drew Pearson. Michael Irvin. T.O. None of them ever delivered a performance quite like the one Miles Austin had in Week 5. Austin set a Cowboys record with 250 yards on 10 catches, including two TDs.

Half Time for the Bengals-Ravens game and what have we learned so far? The most obvious is that the dominant Ravensa TM defense looks to be vulnerable to the pass game the Bengals have thrown at them.

Wide receiver Andre Caldwell gave the Bengals a lift twice Wednesday. First, he practiced after leaving Sundaya s game in the fourth quarter with an injured shoulder.

There was disappointment throughout the city of Cincinnati when WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh signed with the Seattle Seahawks in the offseason.

In the city of Cincinnatia 'a Republican hotbed where the radio broadcasts of sports events are often preceded by the voice of the second most popular conservative talk show host in the countrya 'a sense of conservativism seems to have rubbed off on the citya TMs professional football team.

The Bengal banner means Bengals coverage Who Dey! In back-to back weeks, the Cincinnati Bengals have escaped losing with close wins over division rivals Pittsburgh and Cleveland.

The last-minute Cincinnati Bengals pulled one out in extra time. Shayne Graham's 31-yard field goal - set up by Carson Palmer's 15-yard run on fourth down - on the last play of overtime gave the Bengals a 23-20 win over the winless Cleveland Browns on Sunday.

Marvin Lewis is a Pittsburgh guy. A stubborn, strong, single-minded grinder. So naturally in his 100th game as Bengals head coach his team gave the Pittsburgh native his first Paul Brown Stadium victory over the Steelers in seven seasons with a Pittsburgh victory of perseverance, toughness and good old-fashioned grinding that stunned the Super Bowl ...