Final

Bengals 17

(1-4, 0-3 away)

Browns 34

(3-3, 3-0 home)

1:00 PM ET, October 17, 2004

 

1 2 3 4 T
CIN 0 17 0 017
CLE 7 14 3 1034

Garcia tosses four TDs

CLEVELAND (AP) -- Chad Johnson better still have a few bottles of that pink stomach medicine. His Cincinnati Bengals look pretty sick.

Eric Allen's Analysis
Eric Allen Is it time for Marvin Lewis to go back to Jon Kitna?

I don't think it's a good idea to make the switch now for a couple of reasons. One, it'll be hard to make the change because Coach Lewis was so public about his support of Carson Palmer. To make the switch now would be blaming Palmer for the team's lack of production, which isn't his fault. Right now, the running game is hurting the Bengals and they're playing good defenses that are ready for RB Rudi Johnson. The Bengals don't seem to have the right players around Palmer and until they do, he will struggle.

Eric Allen played cornerback for 14 NFL seasons with the Eagles, Saints and Raiders. He's a regular contributor to Insider.

Jeff Garcia threw four touchdown passes -- one a 99-yarder to Andre' Davis to tie an NFL record -- and the Cleveland Browns overcame their own sloppiness for a 34-17 win over the inept Bengals on Sunday.

William Green rushed for 115 yards, Lee Suggs caught a 59-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter and the Browns (3-3) moved to 3-0 at home for the first time since 1973.

"Since when?" Browns defensive end Kenard Lang asked. "That's a big step for us. We need to take care of things at home."

The Browns took care of Johnson, Cincinnati's brash wide receiver. He had shipped each of Cleveland's four defensive backs a bottle of Pepto-Bismol and a note last week, implying they would get sick trying to cover him.

Instead, Johnson was the one feeling ill.

"This is my most frustrating game ever," he said. "I made the challenge. I didn't perform."

Browns safety Earl Little didn't let Johnson off easy.

"I told him, 'Hey, I'm going to FedEx that stuff back to you, because you really need it," Little said. "He didn't have much to say after that."

Garcia, called "skittish" by Browns coach Butch Davis after a loss in Pittsburgh last week, overcame two interceptions in the first half and finished 16-of-23 for 310 yards in his eighth career four-TD game.

99 Yard Plays
Receptions
Jeff Garcia to Andre' Davis
Cleveland vs. Cincinnati
Oct. 17, 2004
Trent Green to Marc Boerigter
Kansas City vs. San Diego
Dec. 22, 2002
Brett Favre to Robert Brooks
Green Bay vs. Chicago
Sept. 11, 1995
Stan Humphries to Tony Martin
San Diego vs. Seattle
Sept. 18, 1994
Ron Jaworski to Mike Quick
Philadelphia vs. Atlanta
Nov. 10, 1985
Jim Plunkett to Cliff Branch
Los Angeles Raiders vs. Washington
Oct. 2, 1983
Sonny Jurgensen to Gerry Allen
Washington vs. Chicago
Sept. 15, 1968
Karl Sweetan to Pat Studstill
Detroit vs. Baltimore Colts
Oct. 16, 1966
George Izo to Bobby Mitchell
Washington vs. Cleveland
Sept. 15, 1963
Frank Filchock to Andy Farkas
Washington vs. Pittsburgh
Oct. 15, 1939
Rushing
Tony Dorsett
Dallas vs. Minnesota
Jan. 3, 1983

He and Andre' Davis hooked up for just the 10th 99-yard pass play in the NFL, giving Cleveland a 7-0 lead.

"We made a great call," said Garcia. "I got the ball out to Dre', he made an adjustment on it and it was off to the races."

Andre' Davis injured his left big toe early in the second half and didn't return.

Garcia's best throw came on a 5-yarder to tight end Aaron Shea for a TD on the final play of the first half when the Browns gambled after squandering a 14-point lead with three quick turnovers.

Garcia's clutch toss was a reprieve for Butch Davis, who miscalculated the clock in the closing seconds and nearly ended up costing the Browns points.

But Garcia waited as long as he could and lofted his pass to Shea, who made a diving grab.

"I almost screwed it up," Davis said. "Aaron made a great catch. Jeff made a great throw. The players bailed me out there. We would have looked foolish if we didn't score."

Phil Dawson kicked two second-half field goals, extending the NFL's longest current streak to 23. But the Browns didn't clinch the win until Suggs' TD catch put them up 31-17 with 10:15 left.

All week long, the Bengals (1-4) talked about this being a "must-win game." But coach Marvin Lewis' team "must" get much better in every area before it can think about winning again.

"I am shocked," said quarterback Carson Palmer. "Not to take anything away from the Browns, but I think that's a team we can beat. I'm shocked to be 1-4."

Cincinnati's offense didn't cross midfield until the final play of the third quarter and moved into Cleveland territory just twice. The Bengals gained only 189 yards, committed 10 penalties and went 1-for-13 on third downs.

Johnson, who stirred up the Browns with his shipment, had three catches for 37 yards and four drops.

"I stunk it up today," he said. "This loss is really on my shoulders."

Johnson, though, had no regrets about his stunt and said he'd do it again.

"No one stopped me," he said. "I stopped myself."

The Browns, who came in with the league's 30th-ranked offense, scored their first offensive TD in the first half this season in record-setting fashion.

Pinned at his 1, Garcia rolled right in the end zone, spotted Davis in single coverage and hit him in stride at the Cleveland 38. Davis, who anchored Virginia Tech's 400-meter relay team, pulled away from cornerback Deltha O'Neal and scored the longest play in Cleveland history untouched.

The play eclipsed Bernie Kosar's 92-yard pass to Webster Slaughter in 1989 as the longest in Cleveland history.

"Easiest call of the day," Butch Davis said. "It was either a home run or an incomplete pass."

Game notes


Browns G Kelvin Garmon sustained a mild concussion in the first half. "I was out cold," he said. He left with a leg injury in the third quarter. Garmon will have an MRI on Monday. ... Bengals LB Landon Johnson did not return after being flattened by Browns FB Terrelle Smith in the second quarter. ... Suggs had 100 yards receiving, the first Cleveland back to have 100 since Eric Metcalf (101) in 1993.

Copyright by STATS LLC and The Associated Press

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Team Stat Comparison

 
Cincinnati
Cleveland
1st Downs1121
3rd down efficiency
1-136-14
4th down efficiency
1-20-0
Total Yards189449
Yards per play3.36.4
Total Drives22
Passing131310
Comp-Att
20-3616-23
Yards per pass
3.613.5
Interceptions thrown
12
Sacks-Yards Lost
3-171-0
Rushing58139
Rushing Attempts
1846
Yards per rush
3.23.0
Penalties10-756-50
Turnovers14
Fumbles lost
02
Interceptions thrown
12
Possession23:4136:19

Passing Leaders

CINC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTSACKS
Palmer20/361484.1113-17
CLEC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTSACKS
Garcia16/2331013.5421-0

Rushing Leaders

CINCARYDSAVGTDLG
Johnson16573.6010
Perry210.501
CLECARYDSAVGTDLG
Green251154.6026
Suggs13191.507

Receiving Leaders

CINRECYDSAVGTDLG
Johnson33712.3018
Watson5285.609
CLERECYDSAVGTDLG
Suggs510020.0159
Davis19999.0199

Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTERCINCLE
TD7:21ANDRE DAVIS 99 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (PHIL DAWSON KICK)
Drive: 1 plays, 99 yds, :13
07
SECOND QUARTERCINCLE
TD0:09QUINCY MORGAN 10 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (PHIL DAWSON KICK)
Drive: 10 plays, 56 yds, 5:36
014
TD1:41KEVIN KAESVIHARN 3 YD FUMBLE RETURN (SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK) 714
TD5:32MATT SCHOBEL 6 YD PASS FROM CARSON PALMER (SHAYNE GRAHAM KICK)
Drive: 5 plays, 26 yds, 2:19
1414
FG8:50SHAYNE GRAHAM 32 YD
Drive: 6 plays, 6 yds, 2:42
1714
TD15:00AARON SHEA 5 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (PHIL DAWSON KICK)
Drive: 13 plays, 79 yds, 6:10
1721
THIRD QUARTERCINCLE
FG14:02PHIL DAWSON 23 YD
Drive: 7 plays, 35 yds, 3:02
1724
FOURTH QUARTERCINCLE
TD4:45LEE SUGGS 59 YD PASS FROM JEFF GARCIA (PHIL DAWSON KICK)
Drive: 3 plays, 66 yds, 1:11
1731
FG12:11PHIL DAWSON 33 YD
Drive: 10 plays, 62 yds, 4:40
1734