Atlanta Falcons vs Cincinnati Bengals (10/29/06)



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Chad Johnson did a lot of trash talking before this football game. He said he would score a touchdown, and if he didn’t he would shave his mohawk. The Bengals needed a win to keep pace with the Ravens, but were facing the red hot Michael Vick. As well as he played last week, he might have been even better today.

The Falcons got on the scoreboard first with a Morten Andersen field goal. Then came the moment of truth. On the Bengals first play, Carson Palmer hit Chad Johnson for a 3 yard gain. After the play, Chris Crocker drilled Chad, and got a 15 yard penalty. The Bengals marched down the football field and scored on a 1 yard Rudi Johnson touchdown. Rudi would not be a factor after the first quarter.

The Falcons answered that score by driving down the field, but having to settle for another field goal. In the second quarter, Chad Johnson got his wish. Carson Palmer hit him for a 12 yard touchdown, and he did a dance. Since he didn’t catch two touchdowns, he will lose the mohawk. Oh great. It was up to Michael Vick now to beat the Bengals with his arm. He did just that. The Falcons scored when Vick hit Alge Crumpler for a 16 yard touchdown. Crumpler has been on fire the last two games. Where has this offense been all season long? The Bengals added a field goal to go up 17-13 at halftime.

In the second half, Michael Vick continued to beat the Bengals with his arm. Vick ended with the day with 291 passing yards. When does he do that? Vick hit Michael Jenkins for a 26 yard touchdown to give the Falcons the lead. The Bengals offense could only muster a field goal. They didn’t play well in the second half. I guess after the Chad Johnson touchdown, they felt they had accomplished their mission.

The Falcons get a big penalty after the Bengals’ field goal. After a big play to Crumpler, the Bengals were called for Roughing the Passer. It was a ticky tick foul. That’s twice this year the Bengals have been doomed by bad calls. Three plays after the foul, Vick hit Justin Griffith for his third touchdown pass of the afternoon. The extra point was botched. Not good.

In the fourth quarter, Morten Andersen kicked another field goal, to give the Falcons a 9 point lead. With under 4 minutes to go, Carson Palmer hit Chris Henry for a 55 yard touchdown. The Bengals defense forced the Falcons to punt, but there was only 19 seconds to go in the football game. Carson Palmer was sacked and fumbled the football, and the Falcons recovered to seal the victory. The Falcons win 29-27.