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Quick take: Bengals keep playoff hopes alive, beat Browns 45-22

T.J. Houshmandzadeh pays no heed to the fat Dawg gnawing at his ankles

It was over when...

Backup HB Chris Perry scored from 14 yards out to give Cincinnati a 38-22 lead with just over 3 minutes left in the fourth quarter. On the drive, the Bengals ran the ball 8 consecutive times for a total of 77 yards. Adding insult to injury, CB Jonathan Joseph intercepted Derek Anderson a few plays later and ran the ball back for a TD (his second of the season) to put the final nail in the Browns’ coffin.

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Pro Bowl WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh had another spectacular game, catching 9 balls for 154 yards and 2 TDs. He is now among the top 3 in the NFL in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TDs.

Key stat

With the Bengals’playoff hopes on the line, the notoriously vulnerable pass defense played well under pressure, limiting Derek Anderson to a 39% completion rate and only 140 passing yards.

Noteworthy

The Bengals played a very sloppy first two quarters, and went into halftime with only a very slim 17-16 lead... Jamal Lewis broke through the middle and ran for a 78 yard TD in the second quarter, but was held in check for most of the rest of the day... Cedric Benson rushed for over 100 yards, but he also had another costly fumble deep in Bengals territory (his ninth of the season)... Despite some hiccups, Cincinnati’s offense was a model of efficiency, accumulating 24 first downs, a 75% conversion rate on third down, and scoring TDs on all 5 red zone appearances.

Quick Take: Rams lose thriller in OT - Good bye playoffs???

Adam Carriker is in the Pro Bowl beeing controlled by Moose911 the whole season. The 2 points for a safety instead of a nice tackle of loss would have been more valuable for the team...

It was over when...

Steelers kicker Jeff Reed showed how good he is converting the game winning FG with 2:50 left in OT.

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goes to... "Big Ben" burning the Rams secondary for 470!!! yards, 2TD`s with a 74% completion rate and a 124 QB rating. Ouch!!!

Key stat

The rams pass defense was not on the field, despite the Rams big time pass rush. Big Ben was sacked 7 times but as usual was his coolness himself. Santonio Holmes caught 9 passes for 210 yards including the 46 yarder to set up the game winning FG. He also had a 78 yard catch and run TD shortly before half time. Willie Parker also had a 100 yard plus receiving game with only 2 catches one for a 81 yard TD.

Noteworthy

The Rams were not able to use Steven Jacksons 204 total yards to win the game. A questionable audible by coach Moose on the Steelers 4 yard line, had them pass the ball on 3rd and goal, instead of running it with their best player within the last two minutes of the game. The pass was nearly intercepted and they had to settle for a short FG. That decision left more time on the clock for the Steelers and on the next possession they drove the length of the field. They nearly lost time out of sight but connected on a short FG while time was running out to tie the game at 27:27. The Rams had two chances in overtime to win the game by themself but had a critical holding penalty which ended their first drive at midfield. After two defensive pass collapses in a row the Rams playoff hopes are still there, but hope is the realistic word to describe them.