NFL Recap (Cincinnati-Baltimore)
Posted: Mon September 28, 1998 at 12:56 a.m EDT
BALTIMORE 31, CINCINNATI 24
BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- Jermaine Lewis caught a
73-yard touchdown pass and returned a punt 87 yards for a score as the Baltimore Ravens held on
for a 31-24 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Priest Holmes,
making his first NFL start, rushed for 173 yards and a pair of scores for
the Ravens (2-2), who nearly blew a 21-0 lead. Cornerback Rod Woodson preserved the
victory by knocking away a 4th-and-1 pass from Jeff Blake to Darnay Scott with 1:42 to
play.
"I was happy I was given the opportunity to show that I can play,"
said Holmes, whose family drove from San Antonio, Texas, not knowing he was
going to start. "I'm never frustrated not playing. Any way I can help this
team win, I will do and I will do 100 percent. I think as I play more,
I'll get more comfortable. I wasn't nervous because I know what I was going
to expect."
Lewis has five touchdowns in the first four weeks, all on plays of 64
yards or longer. It was his second punt return for a touchdown this
season, having run one back 69 yards against the New York Jets in Week Two.
Eric Zeier completed
15-of-20 passes for 254 yards, with Lewis hauling in four for 122.
"They kept kicking it to me, and I have to do what I have to do," said
Lewis. "There were a lot of big plays, not just me. I'm just one part of
this team."
Cincinnati (1-3) closed within 28-24 with 11:18 to play after backup
quarterback Jeff Blake hit Carl Pickens with a
67-yard scoring pass. Corey Dillon had 25
carries for 116 yards for the Bengals, who lost starting quarterback Neil O'Donnell to bruised
ribs late in the third quarter.
"We can't put ourselves in that type of hole, we can't give up the big
plays because it makes it harder to come back," said Bengals rookie
linebacker Takeo
Spikes. "We'll look at things and be ready for Pittsburgh."
The Ravens, playing their second game at the Stadium at Camden Yards,
opened the contest with a 13-play, 80-yard drive that consumed almost half
the quarter. Zeier had an eight-yard completion on third down to Michael Jackson, and
Holmes converted a third-down play of his own with a 12-yard gain to the
Cincinnati 13. Three plays later, Holmes raced around left end to paydirt.
The Bengals went three-and-out and Baltimore needed nine plays to go
82 yards. Zeier and Jackson hooked up on a 16-yard completion on third
down, and a 29-yard pass interference penalty on rookie cornerback Artrell Hawkins kept the
drive alive and moved the ball to the Cincinnati 26. Holmes had three
carries on the next four plays and found a hole on the right side, darting
15 yards to make it 14-0.
Baltimore went up 21-0 with 12:27 left in the first half as Lewis
executed a stop-and-go pattern to get wide open and Zeier putit on the
numbers. The Bengals finally got on the board late in the quarter as Doug Pelfrey hit a 48-yard
field goal with 4:45 left. The drive was kept alive when cornerback DeRon Jenkins was called
for pass interference on a 4th-and-3 from the Baltimore 32.
"Well, you can't spot any team 21 points," said Bengals coach Bruce
Coslet. "We couldn't stop them. We couldn't do anything to keep our
offense on the field. After thinking we made some strides last week and to
come out here and play like that, it's almost pretty embarrassing."
Cincinnati forced a turnover when Clyde Simmons sacked Zeier
and forced a fumble at the Baltimore 42, where defensive end Michael Bankston recovered
and got to the 34. The Bengals' drive was again kept alive on a pass
interference call by Jenkins, who prevented Carl Pickens from reaching for
a pass in the end zone on 4th-and-2 from the Baltimore 6. On the next
play, O'Donnell found a wide-open Pickens in the back of the end zone with
17 seconds left in the half.
The comeback continued as special-teams ace Tremain Mack raced 97
yards with the second-half kickoff to make it 21-17. The Bengals forced
Baltimore to punt, but the Ravens did likewise.
Lewis caught the punt on the right side, found a crease and raced
upfield with a group of blockers. He accelerated at midfield and went
untouched to the end zone with 8:44 left in the third quarter.
"We needed that extra momentum, that was a big, big lift," said Ravens
coach Ted Marchibroda.
"We did have some good plays, but we just can't let number 84
(Jermaine Lewis) run all over the field and all over us," said Coslet.
"That wasn't part of the gameplan, that's for sure."
Cincinnati drove to the Baltimore 19 before O'Donnell was sacked by Michael McCrary and left
the game. Blake was sacked on his first play from scrimmage, forcing the
Bengals out of field-goal range.
The teams traded fruitless possessions before Blake capped a
four-play, 80-yard drive with his scoring toss to Pickens. Baltimore
countered with an 11-play, 53-yard drive, kept alive by a 1-yard run by Errict Rhett on fourth
down at the Cincinnati 29. Matt Stover booted a
46-yard field goal to make it 31-24 with 5:15 to play.
"Absolutely, it was a good game for us," said Zeier. "Give credit to
our offensive line. We did a few new things tonight that worked out well
for us. Holmes did an outstanding job. We got the lead early and able to
hold out in the end."
Dillon had 25 yards on four rushes, including six on a third-down play
to keep Cincinnati's drive alive. Blake and Pickens combined on a 14-yard
pass to the Baltimore 41, but after Dillon was stuffed for no gain on first
down, followed by an incompletion, Blake scrambled nine yards to set up the
fourth-down play.
After Baltimore called timeout, Blake tried to fire a quick pass to
Scott, but Woodson was there to knock it away. Blake was 3-of-6 for 89
yards, while O'Donnell went 13-for-19 for only 100 yards. Pickens finished
with seven receptions for 120 yards.
© 1998 Sportsticker Enterprises, LP
|
