NFL Recap (Baltimore-Cincinnati)
Posted: Sun November 22, 1998 at 9:57 p.m. EST
BALTIMORE 20, CINCINNATI 13
CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Priest Holmes has wrapped
a career into two games against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Holmes rushed for a franchise-record 227 yards and scored on a
one-yard run late in the second quarter to account for the winning points
as the Baltimore Ravens
defeated the Bengals, 20-13.
Holmes, who racked up 173 yards against Cincinnati on September 27th
in his first NFL start, needed 36 carries to break the record of 176 yards,
set by Bam Morris on October 26th, 1997 at Washington.
The 400 yards against one team is the most by any player against an
opponent in one season since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.
"I don't know what it is (about the Bengals)," said Holmes. "I was
blessed with a great line and they played great. I like that idea of
running the ball. We were focused. We came out and played as one unit
with one goal. This is a stepping stone. We can see what we did right and
focus on doing it over and over."
Although the Ravens moved from Cleveland before the 1996 season, the
franchise did not carry over statistics compiled as the Browns. The
legendary Jim Brown had a 237-yard game for Cleveland in the 1960s.
"(Offensive tackle) Jonathan Ogden came up to
me and suggested to run the ball more and it turned out he was right," said
Ravens coach Ted Marchibroda.
"I don't think that it's Priest," added Bengals coach Bruce Coslet.
"He's a good football player but I think that we don't match up well
against their offensive line. There were holes to be had out there and he
made some nice runs."
Jim Harbaugh and
running back Roosevelt
Potts hooked up on a 12-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter and Matt Stover kicked two
field goals for Baltimore (4-7), which has won two of its last three
following a five-game losing streak.
Brandon Bennett
scored on a two-yard run for the Bengals (3-8), who suffered their sixth
straight loss dating to a 25-20 triumph over Pittsburgh on October 11th.
The Ravens' win evened the all-time series, 3-3, with all but one game
decided by seven points or less.
Baltimore used Holmes' one-yard scoring run with eight seconds left in
the second quarter to take a 17-3 lead into halftime. But the third quarter
belonged to Cincinnati.
The Bengals received the second-half kickoff and immediately went to
work. Third-string quarterback Paul Justin connected with
Willie Jackson for 17
yards, then found Carl
Pickens for a 20 yards to the Baltimore 20. But the Ravens' defense
stiffened and Cincinnati settled for Doug Pelfrey's 34-yard
field goal.
Justin, playing for the benched Neil O'Donnell, completed
18-of-32 passes for 202 yards with two interceptions. Pickens caught seven
passes for 95 yards.
"If there was any pressure, it was the pressure to know if I could run
the offense," said Justin. "I just have to play my game and I can't worry
about what decisions are going to be made down the road."
Cincinnati got back the ball later in the quarter and mounted a
nine-play, 56-yard drive. Justin and Pickens hooked up on passes of 11 and
20 yards, the second completion moving the Bengals to the Baltimore 3.
Bennett then plowed his way for a score that brought Cincinnati within
17-13.
The Bengals began the fourth quarter with the ball but were buried
deep in their own territory when linebacker Ray Lewis picked off
Justin and returned the interception to the 9. Stover capatilized with a
23-yard field goal to complete the scoring.
Holmes helped seal the game by gaining 53 yards on the final drive,
which started with the Ravens backed up on their own 5 with three minutes
left.
"That was a thing of beauty," Harbaugh said of the clinching drive.
"When you can start on your own 5 and run the ball like that ... I just
kept telling (Holmes) how good he was doing. He was reading the blocks
real well and getting yards after the initial hit."
Baltimore jumped to a 10-0 lead on Harbaugh's 12-yard TD toss to Potts
early in the first quarter and Stover's 34-yarder early in the second.
Harbaugh was 9-of-18 for just 92 years for the the Ravens, who rakced up
247 yards on the ground.
A 21-yard completion from Justin to Pickens helped set up Pelfrey's
40-yard field goal midway through the second quarter that got the Bengals
on the board. But Holmes responded by gaining 39 of 41 yards on a drive he
capped with a one-yard plunge.
"A lot of it was because were we not executing," said Bengals
linebacker Brian
Simmons. "We can stop (Minnesota running back) Robert Smith but we can't
stop Holmes."
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