Bengals Fall Back to Earth

CINCINNATI â€”  Chad Johnson had nothing to celebrate. The Bengals missed out on that long-awaited winning record. The playoffs vanished too.

One last time, can you say Bungles?

Rookie Lee Suggs ran for 186 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, leading the Cleveland Browns to a 22-14 victory that eliminated Cincinnati from playoff contention.

Instead, the Baltimore Ravens clinched the AFC North title several hours before playing Pittsburgh in the final regular-season game.

A renaissance season ended in a gut-wrenching disappointment for the Bengals (8-8), who reverted to form in their biggest game in 13 years.

“That’s the hardest part,� Pro Bowl offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. “Knowing what’s on the line, we’ve got to find a way to win these games and not come out and play scared and timid. We did it all year.�

With a chance to stay in contention for at least a few more hours and clinch their first winning record since 1990, the Bengals felt the significance of the moment and froze up.

The crowd of 65,362 -- the largest ever for a Bengal game in Cincinnati -- filed out silently after Jon Kitna’s final pass was intercepted by Robert Griffith with 41 seconds left.

The Bengals were in control of the division at 8-6 with two games left, but lost them both.

“We pressed,� Coach Marvin Lewis said. “That’s a growth that we have to go through. Don’t get frustrated about this and that, just keep playing.

“This was a good year. It wasn’t a great year. We’ve got more to do.�

Instead of taking advantage of the down-and-out Browns (5-11), the Bengals were uptight and out of sync. A rookie running back with a lot to prove became the undoing of a team with everything on the line.

Suggs, a fourth-round draft pick getting a chance during William Green’s suspension, had a 78-yard touchdown run in the first half and a 25-yard run that put the Browns ahead to stay with 7:54 left.

“Teams passed on me 114 times,� said Suggs, the 115th overall pick. “I’ve got to prove I’m better than a fourth-round pick, the 11th back taken. I’ll carry that with me the rest of my career. On draft day, I was the most disappointed player out there.�

Cleveland’s makeshift offensive line punched big holes in the Bengals’ defense. The Browns, who lost to Baltimore, 35-0, last week, rushed for a season-high 178 yards in the first half alone.

“We talked about these situations all year long, about guys being ready to play in this type of game,� Bengals linebacker Kevin Hardy said. “Everybody knew the magnitude of today.�

The Bengals’ Rudi Johnson scored two touchdowns on runs of five yards and two yards.