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Chad Johnson leads Bengals' rout of slumping Titans

Nov 25, 2007 - 11:02 PM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- The Cincinnati Bengals have been waiting for Chad Johnson to make a difference. He finally did.

Johnson caught three touchdown passes and became the franchise's all-time leader in receptions as the Bengals routed the reeling Tennessee Titans, 35-6, on Sunday.

"I think that is obviously the best football we've played this season," Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. "I thought we made good football plays in all three phases."

Johnson, who did not talk to the media after the game, broke Carl Pickens' team record of 530 career receptions when he hauled in a 10-yard pass from Carson Palmer with 4:36 remaining in the second quarter.

It was Johnson's first touchdown since Week Two and gave the Bengals (4-7) a 14-3 lead.

After the touchdown, Johnson mugged in front of a television camera, picking up a 15-yard penalty for excessive celebration. The improved field position ended up leading to a field goal by the Titans.

"It was good to see Chad get into the end zone," Lewis said. "It wasn't good to see his celebration penalty. But he said it had been awhile. When I saw him move the camera pedestal, I knew the flag was coming."

But that was the only negative for the Bengals, who amassed 30 first downs by holding the ball for 38-plus minutes.

"We did a great job of executing and avoiding third-and-long plays," Palmer said.

Since losing tackle Albert Haynesworth to a knee injury, the Titans (6-5) have suffered three straight losses.

In the previous two games, Tennessee was burned on the ground, allowing 312 yards rushing in losses to Jacksonville and Denver.

On Sunday, Palmer picked apart the Titans' struggling defense, completing 32-of-38 passes for 283 yards.

"I certainly didn't see that coming," Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher said. "During the week, I thought we rebounded pretty well from the Monday night loss (at Denver)."

Palmer rebounded after throwing four interceptions in last week's 35-27 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

"Jon Kitna taught me the measure of a quarterback is how he responds to a bad play or a bad game," Palmer said. "I took that to heart."

"There wasn't any question that Carson was going to bounce back," Lewis added. "After last week's game, I don't think anybody was in panic."

Tennessee quarterback Vince Young turned the ball over twice in the first half, including a critical fumble on the Bengals' 3-yard line with the Titans trailing, 7-0, early in the second quarter.

A 73-yard completion to wide receiver Justin Gage gave the Titans a 1st-and-goal at the 7-yard line, but one play later, cornerback David Jones forced a critical turnover after sacking Young. Linebacker Rashad Jeanty recovered the fumble.

Rob Bironas kicked two field goals in the second period to pull the Titans within 14-6 at halftime.

The Bengals' offense took over in the second half, however, turning the contest into a rout.

Kenny Watson's 6-yard TD run and Palmer's 2-yard TD pass to Johnson made it 28-6 in the third quarter.

Palmer and Johnson hooked up again in the fourth quarter for a 3-yard score with 13 minutes remaining.

"They ran it, they threw it," Fisher said. "This is uncharacteristic of our defense."

Johnson, who came into the game with just three touchdowns, finished with a career-high 12 receptions for 111 yards, topping his previous best of 11 catches in a 51-45 loss at Cleveland in Week Two.

"This may have been the first time in a long time that we played a complete game on offense, defense and special teams," Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said. "Carson was on the money on every throw."

Young finished just 19-of-31 for 246 yards, while the Titans were held to 61 yards on the ground.

After reaching the midpoint of the season at 6-2, Tennessee is in danger of missing the playoffs. It fell one game behind the surprising Cleveland Browns (7-4) in the battle for the AFC's second wild-card spot.