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Bengals need to revive offense against Titans

Sep 10, 2008 - 2:45 AM TENNESSEE (1-0) at CINCINNATI (0-1), 1 pm EDT

CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Coming off their worst offensive performance in six seasons under Marvin Lewis, the Cincinnati Bengals will not get much of a respite.

The Bengals take on the Tennessee Titans in their home opener Sunday, making it back-to-back games against two of the AFC's best defenses.

Cincinnati (0-1) was limited to just eight first downs and 154 total yards in a dreadful 17-10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last weekend.

The only touchdown for the Bengals came courtesy of the defense, when Johnathan Joseph returned a fumble 65 yards in the fourth quarter.

Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who tied for the league lead with 112 receptions last season, summed up the performance rather succinctly.

"We can't move the ball. We can't get a first down," Houshmandzadeh said. "We can't run. We can't throw."

Nor can the Bengals defend. With their top two quarterbacks sidelined by injury and starting running back Willis McGahee recovering from arthroscopic surgery, rookie quarterback Joe Flacco guided the Ravens to the victory.

"We've got to go back and start from scratch," Lewis said.

The thought of the physical Titans (1-0) coming in can be of little comfort to Lewis and the Bengals. Tennessee rode a superb defensive effort to a 17-10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Titans recorded seven sacks and two interceptions while holding the league's best rushing attack in 2007 to 33 yards on 17 carries.

"We stopped their running attack, got a lot of pressure on their quarterback and got some sacks and had good coverage downfield," Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said. "It was a complete game."

Tennessee also got a stellar effort from electrifying rookie running back Chris Johnson, who had 93 yards rushing and 34 yards receiving, including a 7-yard scoring pass.

However, the Titans do have problems of their own on offense. Quarterback Vince Young was knocked out of the game with a sprained knee, meaning veteran Kerry Collins will start against the Bengals.

Young, who is expected to miss two to four weeks, also was embroiled in controversy Monday when the team was forced to call police the day after receiving a phone call from family members concerned about the quarterback's emotional state.