Perhaps his numbers Sunday don't reflect it, but Falcons quarterback Michael Vick was adamant after Atlanta's 29-27 win that his team still favors the run.
Yeah, maybe when you're completing 52.4 percent of your passes, fourth-worst in the NFL, and you have a mediocre passer rating of 73.2 coming into the game, the team you play for can be considered a running team.
But what happens when you, like Vick on Sunday, complete 20-of-28 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns for a quarterback rating of 140.6? You become a passing team with a quarterback who can run, right? Not, apparently, if you're the Falcons.
Troubled wide receiver Chris Henry returned to the Bengals' lineup Sunday for the first time in more than a month. He was cheered by the sold-out crowd at Paul Brown Stadium and hooked up with quarterback Carson Palmer to produce the longest play for the team this season, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Atlanta Falcons, who beat the Bengals 29-27.
Henry had five catches for 81 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown from Palmer with 3:41 remaining that breathed life into the Bengals and gave them a shot at a second consecutive come-from-behind win in the fourth quarter. That touchdown cut Atlanta's lead to two points, but the Bengals were unable to get the ball back until there were just 19 seconds remaining in the game and they had used all of their timeouts.
Despite all the trash talking directed toward Atlanta cornerback DeAngelo Hall this week and the promise by Bengals receiver Chad Johnson to shave his Mohawk if the Falcons won, the two remained healthy friends leading into Sunday's game.
They still talked on the phone this week, and on Saturday, Johnson infiltrated Atlanta's team hotel to drop off tickets for Joan Hall, DeAngelo's mother, and her best friend.
All the talking, Hall said after the Falcons' 29-27 win Sunday, was a ruse for the fans and for the media. Johnson entertained Hall as well, but in the end, he - and his mother - had the final say.
He celebrated his newfound, self-dubbed Spanish nickname with creative flair before the game against Atlanta and then enjoyed the competition with Falcons defensive back DeAngelo Hall.
But Johnson didn't get to enjoy what would have been a crucial Bengals victory. Instead, the receiver who has taken to calling himself Ocho Cinco, in recognition of the NFL's Hispanic Heritage Month, was left to figure out why the Bengals' passing game seemed so out of sync in the 29-27 loss.
Bengals air some complaints about abandoning the run
Running back Rudi Johnson carried the football five times for 32 yards and capped it off with a 1-yard touchdown run on the Bengals' opening drive Sunday.
But the most important stat regarding Johnson in the Bengals' 29-27 loss to the Falcons was what happened the rest of the game. And it's a problematic trend, according to Johnson, that is causing the Bengals to lose winnable games.
After that first drive, Johnson carried just seven more times, gaining 14 yards. The Bengals offense sputtered throughout the second half, scoring just 10 points after halftime and moving the ball inconsistently.
In the beginning, Michael Vick created offense. And behold, it was very good.
He created it on land, he created it through the air, and it was so good that, until late in the fourth quarter when he was finished creating and was looking forward to spending the rest of Sunday resting, the Atlanta Falcons had to punt only once all day. That was in the second quarter when, proving he wasn't perfect, Vick fumbled. Of course, the Falcons recovered.
But if Vick wasn't quite perfect, he has never come closer. And never, perhaps, has any quarterback the Bengals have ever come across.
Is there any doubt they hit that play last year? A sideline bomb to start the second half, Carson Palmer to Chad Johnson, Pro Bowler to Pro Bowler, subtle and polite to loud and outrageous? Of course not.
Last year Johnson jukes D'Angelo Hall the way he did Sunday, and he is as alone as Secretariat at the Belmont. Palmer floats the ball in there like he's a stork delivering a baby. It's a touchdown, a dance and a psychological beat-down. No doubt about it.
Only this year isn't last year. Palmer's back from a wrecked knee. Everyone's gunning for Johnson. The offense that used to be a bomb in your hand is just as often a popgun. The year after their breakout year, the Bengals are discovering that staying in the big time is every bit as hard as getting there.
Falcons coach Jim Mora and defensive coordinator Ed Donatell walked off the field together at halftime of Sunday's 29-27 victory over Cincinnati, talking in rapid football jargon, trying to figure out the Bengals' no-huddle offense.
They weren't surprised by Cincinnati's strategy, just temporarily stumped by an offense that had more emphatic answers for every big play and impressive drive the Falcons put together. Once inside the locker room at Paul Brown Stadium, they devised a new series of blitzes to pressure red-hot quarterback Carson Palmer.
Domata Peko thought the quarterback had nowhere to go except to the turf.
The Bengals defensive tackle and his teammate, cornerback Keiwan Ratliff, zipped past the line of scrimmage on a third-and-5 in the fourth quarter Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium and found themselves alone in the Falcons backfield with Michael Vick.
"I thought we had him," Peko said. "But he's got quick feet. He just backed up and threw off his back foot.
Cincinnati Bengals news 10/30
Cincinnati Bengals news 10/30
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