Cincinnati Bengals 11/13/2007 10:03 AMThe Dayton Daily News reports the Bengals take pride in running the football with authority. When they don't do it well, egos are bruised. Sunday's 70-yard rushing performance in a 21-7 victory at Baltimore, which came on the heels of a 28-yard effort at Buffalo, sent the Bengals' rushing rank plummeting to 28th at 86.3 yards a game â 48.7 yards fewer than their opponents' average of 135.0. "We got our butt kicked," HC Marvin Lewis said in his weekly news conference on Monday. "(The Ravens) were more physical than we were at the point of attack, and you can take your pick at which guy and which time. Collectively, up front, we didn't play very well. We need to get that corrected and get that done better."Read more
St. Louis Rams 11/12/2007 10:31 AMThe St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports on April 29, the Saints made Ohio State RB Antonio Pittman their fourth-round draft choice (No. 107 overall). On Sept. 1, they cut him. On Sunday, Pittman had his revenge. He ran for a career-high 53 yards on seven carries, including a 43-yard burst off right tackle â the Rams' longest running play of the year â that set up a fourth-quarter touchdown in their 37-29 victory at the Superdome.Read more
Minnesota Vikings 11/12/2007 10:29 AMThe Pioneer Press reports the Vikings crossed their collective fingers Sunday in the hope RB Adrian Peterson's right knee injury is nothing more serious than a sprain. If it is, though, they expressed full confidence that RB Chester Taylor can keep the running game moving. "Chester's a 1,200-yard rusher in this league," FB Tony Richardson said. "I know a lot of teams would love to have him. So yeah, we'd definitely feel confident in him and Mewelde (Moore) having to go if for some reason Adrian can't." Taylor, who lost his role as lead back three games ago, rushed for 37 yards on only three carries in the 34-0 loss to the Green Bay Packers. He also caught two passes for 59 yards.Read more
Cincinnati Bengals 11/12/2007 10:23 AMThe Dayton Daily New reports the Cincinnati defense finally came alive in a 21-7 victory as it forced six Baltimore turnovers and held the punchless Ravens to just 272 total yards of offense in sending them down to a third straight defeat. S Dexter Jackson and CB Leon Hall authored the biggest turnover of the game. With the Ravens in the shadow of the Bengals' goal line at 0:18 of the second quarter, Jackson tipped a Steve McNair pass intended for TE Todd Heap that Hall intercepted, preserving Cincinnati's 6-0 halftime lead. "I turned around and saw where Dexter had tight coverage on (Heap)," Hall said. "It was a great play by Dex. He tipped it up a couple times, and I was just fortunate enough to be there and get the tipped ball."Read more
