Fun with numbers!
First, the two most important numbers from Sunday's AFC North Division football game down at Paul Brown Stadium - 17-7.
That was the final score in favor of 3-point underdog Cincinnati as the Bengals growled at their reputation as slow re-starters following the bye week and came out with plenty of tigers in the tank, instead of as tanking tigers.
Here's two more numbers - 6-2.
That's the Bengals' record at the midway point in their season, and it marks just the second 6-2 start since the Super Bowl season of 1988. The Bengals also started 6-2 the playoff season of 2005, so maybe this 6-2 thing portends of something more, who knows? Right now, 6-2 is good for first place in the division, with Pittsburgh playing Monday night in Denver and ready to pull even with the Bengals with a win. Or, the Bengals, with a Broncos' victory, could take a one-game lead in the division, then beat the Steelers next Sunday and snag that tiebreaker, too.
How about this: 2-0.
That's Cincinnati's record against Baltimore following a sweep against the Ravens, whose playoff hopes suffered a damaging blow with the loss. The Ravens (4-4) are two games behind the Bengals in the division, and the AFC playoff race. And they just lost the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Bengals, who were more than happy to put the Ravens in the rear-view mirror as possibly one less team to contend with for a postseason berth. "We're in a tough spot," said Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who was held to less than 200 passing yards (195) after averaging 264 yards over the first seven games.
If you're impressed with 2-0, then how about: 4-0.
The Bengals have not lost a division game, with four down and two games to go against their AFC North rivals. "I like being in the driver's seat," international man of intrigue Chad Ochocinco said. "Today was a statement game. I want every game to be a statement game."
If you were impressed with any of these pre-game Ravens numbers: 28.4 points per game (fourth in the NFL), 20 TDs in 22 red-zone trips for a 91-percent clip (third in the league), 378.7 offensive yards per game (seventh in the league), 87.6 rushing yards allowed per game (fourth in the NFL), and 30 points the previous week vs. Denver...
That's OK, because those numbers didn't matter Sunday. The Ravens scored one touchdown, in the fourth quarter on a Ray Rice 2-yard run during their only trip to the red zone. They totaled just 215 yards and rushed for a paltry 55. Rice did damage in the passing game, catching eight balls for 87 yards, but he averaged just 4.0 yards per carry, a full yard and a half less than the 5.5 figure he brought into Sunday. Rice had just as many yards on his go-ahead, fourth-quarter 48-yard catch for a touchdown in the first game against the Bengals as he had on 12 rushing attempts Sunday. No Ravens run was longer than 10 yards. Erstwhile Bengals killers Derrick Mason and Todd Heap combined for just six catches for 59 yards. Mason was targeted 13 times, but he didn't haul in his first catch Sunday until early in the second half. No pass to a Ravens receiver or a tight end went for longer than 15 yards. Baltimore was 1-for-10 on third down and Cincinnati, 8-for-18 on third down, had the ball twice as often while dominating the time-of-possession edge, 40 minutes even to 20 minutes even.
But there was nothing even about this game, because the numbers don't lie, especially these: 0-for-1.
That was the Ravens' field-goal conversion rate against the Bengals. Sunday's outcome could have been vastly different and momentum would have swung so fast toward the Ravens had they converted a simple medium-range field goal. But, Steve Hauschka missed a 38-yard attempt wide left with 6:12 remaining in the fourth quarter. Had Hauschka converted, it would have left all that Ravens' offensive firepower plenty of time to put together a score-tying drive, while the defense kept shutting down the Bengals, who scored on their first three possessions then barely made a peep after the break. "It slowed down quite a bit in the second half offensively," Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said. "Thankfully, our defense kept playing the way they did. They are a team that is really built on their defense and controlling the ballgame, running the ball effectively and hitting shots down the field. We made them play from a 17-point deficit in the first half, and they are not really built to do that. That is something we talked about all week, jumping on them early."
You have to be impressed with these numbers: 26-1.
That's the Bengals record in 27 games under head coach Marvin Lewis when a Cincinnati rusher has carried 25 times or more. Cedric Benson carried 34 times for 117 yards, giving him back-to-back 100-yard rushing efforts against a Ravens team that had not allowed a running back to run for 100 yards in 40 games until Benson did it during the first meeting. Benson's 1-yard run, following Andre Caldwell's 6-yard TD pass from Palmer, helped give the Bengals a 14-0 first-quarter lead. Shayne Graham kicked a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter to end the Bengals' scoring.
Now you've seen these numbers together already, but let's reverse them to look like this: 0/2.
That's the ratio of Palmer interceptions to Flacco interceptions. Leon Hall and Johnathan Joseph picked off Flacco. Palmer, playing with a wrapped and glove-protected dislocated thumb on his left (non-throwing) hand, an injury that will require off-season surgery, was his usual methodical, unflappable self, finishing 20-of-33 passing for 225 yards. But the Bengals didn't need his late-game heroics because the Cincinnati defense took all the drama out of the game, and Hauschka missed the gimme.
What about: 6 for 72?
That was the number of catches and receiving yards for Laveranues Coles, who led the Bengals in both categories. Coles is slowly becoming more integrated in the Palmer-directed attack, and he'll need to keep that up now that Chris Henry is out with a broken left forearm after making a catch in the second quarter (linebacker Keith Rivers was another significant Bengals injury with a strained right calf that put him on crutches after the game and required further testing to determine the severity. Guard Evan Mathis was in a walking boot after the game). Chatty Chad had five catches for 66 yards, while doing most of his damage in the first quarter as he helped propel the two early scoring drives that put Cincinnati in control.
There were other crazier numbers: At one point in the first half, the Bengals had more first downs (12) than the Ravens had total plays (11). At one point, the Bengals had more rushing yards from Palmer on one play (10) than the Ravens had total rushing yards, and the Bengals had more passing yards on one play to Coles (32), than the Ravens had total. The Bengals had more first-half yardage against Baltimore than the Broncos had the entire game the previous Sunday against the Ravens. Said coach Lewis: "Offensively, we got off to a great start and were able to put points on the board early by converting third downs and converting on defense. The key to winning a football game is winning on the third down. This was (a Ravens') offensive unit that has been red hot with that."
Well said, coach. And you didn't say, "It is what it is," for once.
OK, now let's have some fun with words: The Bengals have the Ravens' number!
Short and sweet, huh?