T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught a 40-yard touchdown pass on a flea-flicker that caught the Baltimore Ravens off-guard, sparking the Cincinnati Bengals to a 13-7 victory in the NFL on Thursday.
Cincinnati would have lost its AFC North title if Baltimore had won, but the result kept the division up for grabs.
"It's huge," Cincinnati quarterback Carson Palmer said. "We're rolling now. Hopefully we'll wind up getting a spot in the playoffs."
PHOTO: AP
A surprisingly stout Bengals defense is keeping the team in contention.
Coming off a 30-0 shutout in Cleveland, the Bengals defense -- one of the NFL's lowest-ranked -- held Baltimore (9-3) scoreless until Steve McNair threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Mason with 1:01 to play. No Cincinnati defense had ever gone seven quarters without allowing a point.
With a chance to win the division outright, Baltimore's offense came apart, crossing midfield only once in the first three quarters. Keiwan Ratliff clinched it by recovering the onside kick after Baltimore's late score.
All of it supported Houshmandzadeh's main point: Right now, Cincinnati (7-5) just might be the better team.
After the Ravens won 26-20 on Nov. 5, the long-haired receiver insisted that everyone knows the Bengals are better.
He repeated it again this week, getting a rise out of some of the Ravens.
Baltimore safety Ed Reed suggested that Houshmandzadeh should just shut up.
But the Ravens found themselves in no position to argue after Houshmandzadeh caught 10 passes for a season-high 106 yards, including the trick-play touchdown that made it 13-0 early in the second half and allowed the defense to dig in on a rainy night.
"I thought we played great in every area tonight," Palmer said. "They didn't do a whole lot different. We just played better."
The Bengals don't usually resort to trick plays -- their offense has enough firepower to beat most teams straight-up. They did something different against one of the league's nastiest defenses.
On their first drive of the second half, Palmer handed off to Rudi Johnson, who then pitched the ball back to him. Houshmandzadeh was well beyond the coverage when Palmer let fly with the flea-flicker pass.
Reed was the only player close to Houshmandzadeh when he caught the ball at the 12-yard line and ran untouched for the score.
Palmer had a solid showing against a defense that led the league in interceptions, ranked second in sacks and was third in points allowed. The Ravens rarely got to Palmer, who was on the mark on a rainy night by completing 21 of 32 passes for 234 yards with only two sacks.
Kicker Shayne Graham connected from 23 and 27 yards in the first half, giving the Bengals an early lead and a chance to relax.
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