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Bills beat Bengals to reach .500

Nov 4, 2007 - 11:27 PM ORCHARD PARK, New York (Ticker) -- The Buffalo Bills seemed to be playing for a field goal as quarterback J.P Losman kept handing the ball off to rookie running back Marshawn Lynch. Then, they caught the Cincinnati Bengals' defense off guard.

Instead of using his legs, Lynch used his right arm, tossing an 8-yard touchdown pass to Robert Royal with 5:57 remaining as the Bills rallied for a 33-21 victory over the Bengals on Sunday.

"We practiced it in practice, so I got a couple reps during the week," Lynch said. "I just want to execute on that play."

The game featured a scary moment as Bengals' receiver Chad Johnson suffered an apparent head injury when he was hit by Bills' safety Donte Whitner with 1:59 remaining.

Johnson had to carted off the field on a stretcher, but did have movement in all his extremities, according to Bengals coach Marvin Lewis.

"He's going to undergo an X-ray as a precaution because he was having some pain in his neck," Lewis said. "They did immobilize him. Everything was moving. He never lost consciousness."

The Bills (4-4) have recovered from an 0-3 start, reaching .500 with their third straight victory. It is Buffalo's first three-game winning streak since a six-game run late in the 2004 season.

"It (winning streak) is big," said Bills wide receiver Lee Evans, who caught nine passes for 165 yards and a touchdown. "It's big for everyone in this locker room. The mistakes we made early in the season we're not making now."

In the process, they may have found another offensive weapon, as Lynch rushed for 153 yards on 29 carries, in addition to throwing the first pass and touchdown of his career.

Lynch put the finishing touches on the Bills' victory by ripping off a 56-yard touchdown run with 2:33 remaining in which he broke several tackles.

"It (the break-outgame) feels great, but the win feels better," Lynch said. "I give big ups to my offensive linemen, carrying me all the way and I want to congratulate myself."

Cincinnati allows an NFL-worst 410 yards per game, and the Bills took advantage of the Bengals' porous defense, gaining 479 yards.

But after scoring a touchdown on their first possession, the Bills had to settle for four field goals, including a 23-yarder in the second quarter, when they had a 1st-and-goal inside the 1.

Despite outgaining Cincinnati (2-6) by nearly 200 yards, the Bills trailed, 21-19, when they took over at the Bengals' 32-yard yard line with 10 minutes remaining.

Buffalo coach Dick Jauron played it safe, giving the ball to Lynch on six plays as the Bills took four minutes off the clock.

With the Bills facing a 2nd-and-goal from the 8, the Bengals crowded the line, expecting a run.

But Jauron went against his conservative nature as Losman pitched to Lynch, who hit a wide-open Royal in the middle of the end zone to give the Bills a 26-21 lead.

"We didn't necessarily think about tricking them," Jauron said. "It's (half-back option pass) certainly not a new play in the league."

After Buffalo forced a three-and-out, Lynch's touchdown run four plays later put away the contest.

Back in as the Bills' starter, Losman became the latest quarterback to take advantage of the Bengals' defense, completing 24-of-34 passes for 295 yards and a touchdowns.

Losman may have solidified the starting he lost earlier in the season to rookie Trent Edwards, who suffered a sprained right wrist in last week's 13-3 win over the New York Jets.

"As the game went on, I felt I was getting into a groove and getting used to throwing hot reads," Losman said.

Carson Palmer completed 26-of-39 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns for the Bengals, including a 1-yard TD toss to Jeremi Johnson that gave Cincinnati a 21-16 lead with 3:07 left in the third quarter.

Tthe Bengals rushed for 28 yards on 17 carries.

Rian Lindell's 38-yard field goal pulled the Bills within 21-19 with 13:54 remaining in the contest.

"We're just not a good football team and it's frustrating," Palmer said. "There's nothing more you can say about it."

After the teams traded touchdowns on their opening possessions, the defenses settled in.

In the second quarter, the Bills put together a 15-play, 76-yard drive that consumed nearly nine minutes. But they had to settle for Lindell's 23-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead.

The Bengals answered on Glenn Holt's 100-yard kickoff return before Lindell kicked a 21-yard field goal with three seconds left in the first half to pull Buffalo within 14-13.