Week 11 Game Recap: Cincinnati Bengals 31, New Orleans Saints 16

What you need to know

Cincinnati Bengals

WR Chad Johnson dominated for the second consecutive game. After many fantasy owners were ready to write his season off as a down year (by his standards), he has responded with 450 receiving yards and five touchdowns over his last two games.

QB Carson Palmer put up terrific stats for a second straight game. He seems to have rediscovered the deep ball as a key component of the offense, hooking up with Chad Johnson for numerous bombs in the game.

RB Rudi Johnson didn’t break any huge gains, but he was consistently in the 4-8 yard range on every carry. He helped move the chains and pick up the tough yardage, and enabled Cincinnati to control the clock and wear down the New Orleans defense to set up the long touchdowns to Chad Johnson.

New Orleans Saints

WR Marques Colston injured his ankle while blocking upfield on the team’s opening drive. Colston had his ankle rolled up on, and he remained on the field in pain. He eventually was able to jog off to the sideline, where he remained for some time. He was eventually carted off to the locker room. Colston returned for the second half in uniform and appeared to be testing the ankle out several times, but he never returned. In his place, Devery Henderson enjoyed a career game with nine receptions for 169 yards. It was clearly Henderson and not Terrance Copper that replaced Colston in the lineup. Colston’s status for next week is unknown at this time, and he will be re-evaluated during the week.

Despite the absence of his number one receiving target (WR Marques Colston, who was injured on the game’s opening series), QB Drew Brees put up the sixth most passing yards in NFL history (510). He spread the ball all over the field throughout, and benefited by putting up 151 yards and one touchdown during garbage time with the Bengals playing a very soft defensive coverage.

RB Reggie Bush was productive, with over 100 yards from scrimmage. Most importantly, all of his touches went for positive yardage. He showed patience and good vision, rather than trying to score every time he touched the ball. The result, while against a porous defense, was very encouraging.

What you ought to know

QB Carson Palmer, Pass: 14 - 22 - 275 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - -1 - 0

While he didn’t put up any career bests this week, Palmer certainly took another step towards looking more and more like the quarterback we all saw a year ago. Despite being under a good deal of pressure for much of the afternoon, his deep passes to Chad Johnson were absolutely perfect, thrown in perfect time with the receiver’s routes, and the two hooked up on passes of 41, 60, and 48 yards (with most of that yardage coming in the air and not after the catch). It appears that he and Johnson are finally back on the same page, as Johnson saw ten passes go in his direction while the rest of the team was targeted just 12 times combined. About the only glaring mistake Palmer made was in trying to force a pass to WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the end zone midway through the third quarter. The Saints turned the ensuing possession into the game tying field goal, but Palmer was able to regroup and throw the 60 yard touchdown bomb to Johnson on the team’s next offensive series.

RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 27 - 111 - 0, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (1 targets)

Johnson didn’t break many big gains, but he was able to consistently move the ball on the New Orleans defense. He was able to find the holes inside, which is good because the Bengals never really tried running outside. They were content with Johnson grinding out the tough yardage, which worked well en route to his third 100 yard effort of the season. About the only negative on his game was that he was unable to find the end zone. He had an opportunity midway through the second quarter. After he took a carry down to the five yard line to set up a first and goal, he was stuffed for no gain on first down and just two yards on second down. Carson Palmer ran a QB draw that went for no gain on third down, and the team was forced to kick a field goal.

WR Chad Johnson, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0, Rec: 6 - 190 - 3 (10 targets)

Johnson was spectacular for the second game in a row. About the only blemish on his game was a drop of a 30 yard pass late in the first quarter. But the plays he made before and after that one more than made up for it.

Through the first eight games of the season, Johnson had 482 yards and two touchdowns. In the last two games, Johnson has 450 yards and five touchdowns. While it’s wrong to assume he’ll have many more games like these last two, his current stats project out to 1,491 yards and 11 touchdowns, which would both be career-best totals. Johnson’s biggest strikes in this game came on the deep ball. He hauled in touchdown passes of 41 and 60 yards, and added a 48 yard reception to the four yard line in the fourth quarter. For those of you worried that his touchdown was stolen by someone else, rest easy knowing that Johnson caught a four yard slant for the score right after that 48 yard bomb. Interestingly, he didn’t really dance after any of his touchdowns, and his quotes after the game seemed to suggest a new focused Chad Johnson. His postgame quotes:

"I'm trying to be as consistent as possible, trying to make sure I do all I can to make sure we come up out of this hole and make this run,"

After the second touchdown, Johnson grabbed for his right hamstring and immediately began limping off the field. On the sideline, he was whispering something into the ear of an assistant coach. It appeared the issue was just cramping. On the next offensive series, he beat CB Fred Thomas deep down the seam for the 48 yard reception that led to a four yard score on the next play.

WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (5 targets)

Houshmandzadeh wasn’t thrown to until there was 12:40 remaining in the second quarter and didn’t record his first reception until the 12:04 mark of the third quarter. Just one week removed from a nasty collision that resulted in a concussion, Houshmandzadeh reclaimed his spot in the starting lineup. The effects showed somewhat, as he didn’t seem like himself. On one play in particular, he dove low for a pass and had the back of his head and neck jarred by the defender. Houshmandzadeh got up and looked a bit woozy after the play. He was unusually quiet and had a tough time getting open. The one time Carson Palmer thought he was open was on a pass intended for him in the end zone that was intercepted by Mark Simoneau.

WR Chris Henry, Rec: 2 - 24 - 0 (3 targets)

Henry was extremely quiet, and saw just one pass in his direction the entire second half.

TE Reggie Kelly, Rec: 1 - 32 - 0 (1 targets)

Kelly is doing a solid job of making the most of his opportunities. In this game, he was thrown to only once, but he turned it into a 32 yard reception (making him the second leading Cincinnati receiver yardage wise in the game) down to the 18. As mentioned above, however, it was Kelly’s only target in the game.

PK Shayne Graham 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points

Graham nailed his only field goal of the game, a 21 yard chip shot after the Bengals were unable to punch in a short touchdown midway through the second quarter.

CIN Rush Defense

The biggest reason the Bengals were able to hold down New Orleans was the simple fact that the Saints were passing so well that there wasn’t much need to run. When a team is putting up over 500 yards passing, they tend to stick with what works. But when pressed, the Bengals did come up with a big stop at a key moment. They came up with two big stops of Deuce McAllister on carries from inside the ten yard line. That meant that Saints had to settle for a tying field goal rather than a lead taking touchdown. That stop changed the complexion of the game, as the Bengals marched down and scored the go ahead touchdown on their next possession, a lead they would never relinquish.

CIN Pass Defense

To say the Bengals were poor would be a glaring understatement. They simply had no answers for QB Drew Brees and the receiving corps. While it’s true that the Bengals gave up 151 yards and a touchdown while playing soft defense during garbage time, that means they still gave up over 350 yards and a touchdown in a little over three quarters with the outcome yet to be decided. Perhaps the worst example of their defensive presence was on the Saints’ first touchdown. On a flea flicker to Joe Horn, the Bengals’ defenders actually did a good job of reading the play. They weren’t fooled, and didn’t bite on the fake. The problem is, they were all simply outrun by the 34 year old Horn. The Bengals had trouble getting any kind of pressure on Brees pretty much all game long. The difference between this week’s win and last week’s loss is that the Bengals made plays despite the porous defense. Twice they intercepted Drew Brees in the end zone to squash what looked to be very promising drives. Finally, Ethan Kilmer intercepted a Brees pass that was intended for RB Aaron Stecker and took it 52 yards for a touchdown that made the score 31-10 Cincinnati and all but ended any New Orleans hope for a comeback.

QB Drew Brees, Pass: 37 - 52 - 510 - 2 TD / 3 INT

For the plus side, Brees finished the game with a Saints record 510 passing yards, (151 of those coming in garbage time) and added two touchdowns. The 510 yards are the sixth highest single game total in league history. Additionally, Brees’ sixth 300 yard game as a Saint ties him with Archie Manning for the most in team history. Manning played in New Orleans for ten years; Brees has played there for ten games. The day started well enough, as Brees hooked up with Joe Horn for a 72 yard bomb on a flea flicker. He typically had plenty of time to throw, and the Cincinnati defense couldn’t do much to contain the New Orleans receivers. About the only time they did stop them was when the Saints dropped passes, there were at least three drops totaling over 70 yards.

Unfortunately for Brees, some of the other stops were his own doing. Entering the game, Drew Brees hadn’t been intercepted in over 100 pass attempts. Then CBS pulled a Joe Bryant by announcing that statistic several passes before Brees threw a costly pick in the end zone. Brees would later throw a second interception in the end zone, turning what could have been a legendary game into merely an incredible one. Finally, his third interception (tying his career high) was returned 52 yards for a touchdown by Ethan Kilmer. The interceptions were extremely costly, but they were also really the only poor passes he made all game long.

Once Cincinnati went up 31-10, the Bengals picked up huge chunks of yardage against a very soft defense. During this time, Brees went 12-13 for 151 yards and a touchdown. He nearly added another one on the final drive of the game, but time expired as WR Terrance Copper was tackled at the Cincinnati nine yard line.

RB Reggie Bush, Rush: 13 - 51 - 0, Rec: 8 - 58 - 0 (11 targets)

Bush took his first carry of the game for six yards up the right side. It was a sign of things to come for a player who had recently seen too many of his carries go for zero or negative yardage. Bush ran a bit differently in this game. Rather than trying to spin and juke defenders on every touch, Bush simply took what the defense gave him. He was still making moves on defenders, but he made moves while moving upfield rather than laterally. On many of his runs, he almost stopped in the backfield while hesitating for the blocking to open up for him. More often than not, it did. And he was able to capitalize in averaging nearly four yards per carry. While he didn’t come close to breaking any big runs, this was more of a help in trying to sustain drives and not setting the team up in many third down and long situations. He was also active in the passing game as usual, and 25 of his receiving yards came in garbage time. He lost six yards rushing on a play called back due to holding. Bush limped off during the second quarter after appearing to re-aggravate his ankle injury, but he was able to return for the second half and showed no ill effects.

RB Deuce McAllister, Rush: 10 - 40 - 0, Rec: 3 - 29 - 0 (4 targets)

McAllister was unusually quiet on a day the Saints set all kinds of offensive team records. His involvement in the running game was limited to just ten carries, as the team opted to take to the air nearly every play in the second half. He had an excellent opportunity to score early in the fourth quarter with the Bengals leading 10-7. After an eight yard run put the ball at the six yard line, McAllister was given the next two carries to try and score. He picked up one yard on second down, and was stuffed for a one yard loss on third down.

RB Aaron Stecker, Rec: 5 - 53 - 0 (6 targets)

Stecker was very active in the passing game, particularly when the game was out of reach and the Cincinnati defense softened up. All of Stecker’s production came during the last two garbage time drives (his first two receptions went for a total of zero yards).

WR Devery Henderson, Rec: 9 - 169 - 0 (12 targets)

After the injury to Marques Colston, Henderson really was able to come up big. He was clearly the player that replaced Colston. In two WR sets, it was Joe Horn and Henderson on the field. Copper came in when they needed a third WR. Despite dropping two passes totaling around 60 yards, Henderson was able to hang onto enough passes to post a career best 169 yards through the air. Henderson was consistently open all over the field - deep down the sideline, out routes, crossing routes, etc. He simply played catch with Drew Brees for the better part of three quarters. He is also one of the few Saints’ receivers who didn’t put up the majority of his production during garbage time. While several others put up half of their stat log when the game was out of hand, Henderson caught just one pass for 21 yards in garbage time (meaning he had eight receptions for 148 yards when the outcome was still in question). If Colston is going to miss any time, it appears that Henderson will be the primary beneficiary in the offense.

WR Terrance Copper, Rec: 6 - 87 - 1 (7 targets)

Copper, who started last week in place of Joe Horn, was not the beneficiary in this game when Marques Colston left with an injury. Instead, Copper saw only a handful of extra targets while Devery Henderson put up the big stats. Copper had a costly fumble on his first reception of the game, though it didn’t cause the team to stop looking his way. He caught two more first half passes, and added another three in the second half (including a touchdown and a 21 yard reception in garbage time). Copper nearly added a second score on the last drive of the game when he hauled in that 21 yard pass down to the nine yard line (the same pass that put QB Drew Brees over 500 yards for the game), but time expired before the Saints could get another play off.

WR Joe Horn, Rec: 3 - 93 - 1 (6 targets)

Horn appeared to be well on his way to a big game early on in the first quarter. On the first pass of the Saints’ second possession, Horn hauled in a 72 yard bomb from QB Drew Brees on a flea-flicker. Horn simply outran the defenders to the ball, and took it the rest of the way for the score. However, Horn would go on to catch just two more passes after that for a total of 22 yards. He did lose six yards receiving on a pass that was called back due to holding. He also dropped what would have been at least a 20 yard reception early in the third quarter.

WR Marques Colston

Colston was injured on the first series of the game for the Saints. While attempting to block a defensive back upfield, Colston had the pile roll up behind him and pin his ankle beneath him. He didn’t appear to be in excruciating pain, but he did remain down for several minutes. According to the announcers, he eventually was able to jog off the field to the sideline. He remained on the bench for a long time, as the team trainer attempted to re-tape his ankle and get him ready. At several moments, Colston was seen on camera shaking his head dejectedly, and his body language suggested that he wasn’t able to come back in. Eventually, he was carted off to the locker room and looked very dejected. After halftime, Colston returned to the sideline in uniform and looked to be attempting to come back into the game, but he never did return. His status for next week is unknown at this point, and HC Sean Payton said afterwards that Colston had suffered an ankle sprain. We’ll continue to monitor him throughout the week for you.

TE Mark Campbell, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (3 targets)

Campbell’s involvement was limited to being the end zone target on the second interception by Drew Brees. Outside of that, Campbell’s offensive contribution to the game was nonexistent.

PK John Carney 1 - 1 FG, 1 - 2 XP, 4 points

Carney connected on a chip shot 24 yard field goal early in the fourth quarter. Later in that quarter, he lined up for an extra point that was blocked by Johnathan Joseph, who came off the edge completely unblocked.

NO Rush Defense

The Saints did an adequate job of keeping Rudi Johnson from breaking any big runs. But they had to deal with 29 rushing attempts by Cincinnati, not to mention the receivers underneath, and it appeared they were simply gassed by the fourth quarter. While Johnson didn’t bust off any huge gains, he did pound the ball inside for a number of 4-8 yard runs. The Bengals never really tried rushing to the edge, instead opting to run inside and wear down the opposition. It worked, as Johnson’s longest run of the game came midway through the fourth quarter and helped set up the third score that put Cincinnati up by 14.

NO Pass Defense

The Saints actually did a decent job of getting pressure on QB Carson Palmer for most of the game. Despite early game success, he had trouble establishing a rhythm that would enable the team to sustain drives. So, since the Bengals were having trouble putting together drives, they instead opted for the home-run passes. WR Chad Johnson hauled in passes from 41, 60, and 48 yards, as New Orleans CB Fred Thomas was simply abused by Johnson all game long. The only play the Saints made defensively was when Palmer attempted to force a pass into the end zone to WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh. LB Mark Simoneau read the pass nicely and stepped in front to make the interception and save a touchdown. But plays like that were not only few and far between; they were basically non-existent for the other parts of the game.