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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Corey Dillon right. Corey Dillon left. Corey
Dillon up the middle.
|  | | Corey Dillon gets pushed out of bounds at the 1-yard line by Cleveland's Marquis Smith. |
The Bengals have found a simple winning formula, and until
somebody else stops Dillon, Cincinnati is going to keep handing him
the football.
And why not?
Dillon, who set an NFL record with 278 yards a week ago, rushed
for 137 yards and one touchdown Sunday as the Bengals won their
second straight with a 12-3 victory over the banged-up Cleveland
Browns.
"That was like old-time football and for an old defensive coach
this was a very pretty game," said Bengals throwback coach Dick
LeBeau, who considers the forward pass an evil act. "We ran the
ball well. It doesn't get any better than this."
Dillon didn't break any rushing records, and this time Akili
Smith didn't even taunt the Dawg Pound. Of course, the Bengals
didn't have to do much to beat the Browns.
The Bengals (2-6), who hadn't scored in any of their first three
road games this season, did just enough to send Cleveland (2-7) to
its sixth straight loss.
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TOM DONAHOE'S BREAKDOWN |
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Corey Dillon followed up his
record-breaking, 278-yard performance last week with another outstanding
effort this week (137 yards and a touchdown).
Dillon is showing that he may be the type of player you could build an
offense around.
The Browns were absolutely inept in this game. They tried to play two
quarterbacks, and both were ineffective. With the loss of quarterback Tim
Couch for the season, Cleveland has major offensive problems.
For the second consecutive week, the Bengals had a major inbalance between
rushing yards and passing yards -- but they still found a way to win.
Quarterback Akili Smith
(7-for-20) struggled again.
Dick LeBeau, the Bengals' new head coach, is now 2-2 with a two-game winning
streak.
The Bengals have to be encouraged about what they've been able to do with
the running game, but they have lots of work to do on the passing game to
bring it up to an NFL level.
The Browns, meanwhile, may not have a quarterback on their roster who's
capable of making plays for them.
Tom Donahoe, ESPN.com's NFL analyst, was formerly the Steelers' director
of football operations.
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Dillon scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter, Neil
Rackers kicked a 39-yard field goal in the third and the Bengals
were credited with a safety in the fourth when the Browns were
penalized for holding in their own end zone.
Dillon's two-game total of 415 yards is the third highest in NFL
history. Only O.J. Simpson (476 yards in 1976) and Walter Payton
(467 in 1977) rushed for more yards in a two-game span than Dillon.
"It was a lot tougher this week," said Dillon. "They were set
up to stop the run. But we executed and won. I'm not interested in
records. Just getting the win is what it's all about."
With Smith's left knee aching after being hit in the first half,
the Bengals' passing game was nearly nonexistent. So Cincinnati
counted on Dillon to carry the load, and for the second straight
week he delivered.
Afterward, Dillon shot down any theories that the Bengals are a
one-man team.
"Let's get this clear," he said, "I am not the whole show. We
got people blocking, linemen and receivers. The other backs did
their jobs, too."
Smith was only 7-for-20 for 84 yards, but improved to 2-0
against the Browns in Cleveland. Last season, Smith, who was passed
over in the draft by the Browns for Tim Couch, celebrated
Cincinnati's comeback win here by gesturing toward the fans
and the Cleveland owner's suite.
As the clock expired Sunday, the few Browns fans remaining
couldn't have cared less what Smith was doing.
"They were on me all game long just heckling me," said Smith,
who received a cortisone injection at halftime. "I heard nothing
good at all."
LeBeau and several of the Bengals praised Smith for refusing to
come out although he was hurting badly.
"It was important for me to do that," Smith said. "I wanted
to make a statement that I wasn't going to quit and this team isn't
going to quit."
With Couch watching from the sideline with a broken thumb,
Browns coach Chris Palmer used a two-quarterback rotation of Doug
Pederson and rookie Spergon Wynn. But neither could get the offense
moving and Cleveland finished with just 182 total yards -- 45 more
than Dillon.
Pederson was 6-for-16 for 65 yards, and Wynn went 7-for-16 for
82 yards and one interception.
"It was tough," said Wynn. "A quarterback needs to get into a
rhythm. But you have to do what you have to do. If the coach wants
to rotate, then you rotate."
Not too long ago, the Bengals were wondering if they would get a
single victory in 2000. But despite gaining just 240 yards on
offense, Cincinnati looked like a powerhouse compared to the
Browns, who were not only bad but boring.
The Browns' longest offensive play was a 38-yard gain on a pass
interference call in the third quarter, giving them first-and-goal
at the Bengals' 1. But rookie Travis Prentice was stopped on three
straight runs up the middle and Cleveland had to settle for Phil
Dawson's 18-yard field goal that cut it to 10-3.
Those were Cleveland's first points in nearly 129 minutes after
being shut out last week in Pittsburgh.
"It's hard to just keep losing," said linebacker Wali Rainer.
"We're down, but we won't be down forever."
Game notes
The Browns' four sacks give them 24 this season, one shy of
their 1999 season total. ... Smith was disappointed in his
performance. "Everyone in this room is happy, but I'm not," he
said. "I'm glad we won, but it wasn't pretty. Corey and the line
did a great job, but one of these weeks I have to come through."
... The teams combined for 16 punts. ... Browns WR Kevin Johnson
had six catches for 102 yards.
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ALSO SEE
NFL Scoreboard
Cincinnati Clubhouse
Cleveland Clubhouse
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