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| Bengals quarterback Carson Palmers completed 22 of 29 passes for 251 yards and threw four touchdown passes in the second highest scoring game in NFL history. |
The rivalry between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Cleveland Browns may not get as much attention across the country as it does in the state of Ohio primarily because of the struggles of the two franchises, especially for the Bengals during the 1990s and the Browns since their return to the NFL in 1999.
But when they get together, they produce some exciting games including a shootout for the ages in Week 12 of the 2004 NFL season.
The Bengals entered the game with a 4-6 record but having gone 3-2 over their previous five games.
Cincinnati was coached by Marvin Lewis, who was in his second year as head coach of the Bengals and nearly lead Cincinnati to their first playoff berth since 1990 as the Bengals went 8-8 in Lewis' first season.
For his second season, the Bengals replaced starting quarterback Jon Kitna with Carson Palmer, the 2002 Heisman Trophy Winner who had been selected by the Bengals with the #1 overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.
Palmer was seen as the quarterback of the future in Cincinnati with expectations of leading the Bengals back to the playoffs.
While the Bengals looked like they were finding their groove entering the "Battle of Ohio", the Browns were freefalling as they were on a four-year losing streak and stood with a 3-7 record.
Cleveland was coached by Butch Davis, who was in his fourth season in Cleveland and had lead the Browns to the playoffs in 2002 but had gone 8-19 since the end of that season.
The Browns would travel to Cincinnati without their starting quarterback Jeff Garcia after he sepearted his right shoulder the week before in a 10-7 loss to the New York Jets, but had backup Kelly Holcomb ready to go , who had started 10 games for the Browns in the previous two seasons, including in their 2002 AFC Wild Card Game against the Pittsburgh Steelers where Holcomb threw for 429 yards and three touchdown passes in the Browns' 36-33 loss.
So Cleveland had confidence in Holcomb to go toe-to-toe with Palmer, but little did anyone know how expolosive both offenses would be in this game.
The fireworks began on the second play of the game when Palmer was intercepted by Browns cornerback Anthony Henry whose 32-yard return set Cleveland up with a 1st & goal where Holcomb found tight end Steve Heiden for a seven-yard touchdown to give Cleveland a 7-0 lead just 25 seconds into the game.
However, it would not take long for the Bengals to strike back as they got the ball back at their 21-yard-line and following a nine-yard run by Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson busted loose for a 52-yard run that led to Palmer's 18-yard touchdown pass to Kelley Washington which tied the game at 7 after only 1:54 of play.
The Bengals defense would force a three-and-out to give their offense the ball back at their 33-yard-line when Palmer and Chad Johnson combined for three completions totaling 62 yards, with the last one being a 48-yard touchdown to give Cincinnati a 14-7 lead for the third touchdown of the game in just 4:42.
Following the touchdown, Cleveland took over at its 30-yard-line where after it took them three plays to pick up the 1st down, Green exploded for a 46-yard run to the Bengals' nine-yard-line to give the Browns a 1st & goal.
But the Bengals' defense stiffened and did not allow the Browns into the end zone, forcing them to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Phil Dawson to cut the Cincinnati lead to 14-10 with 5:17 left in the first quarter.
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| Browns quarterback Kelly Holcomb completed 30 of 39 passes for 413 yards and threw five touchdown passes. |
Cincinnati would take over at its 39-yard-line for its next drive but after picking up a 1st down, Palmer would be picked off for the second time in the opening quarter, this time by Browns linebacker Andra Davis who returned the pick 31 yards to the Bengals' 28-yard-line.
The Browns slowly drove into the red zone and appeared to have a 1st & goal after Holcomb connected with Heiden for a 12-yard pass to the Cincinnati one-yard-line, only to have the pass be called back because of an illegal formation penalty.
This would lead to the Browns settling for another field goal by Dawson, this time from 29 yards out to cut it to a 14-13 Bengals lead as the second quarter began.
Then a shocking thing appeared: both teams would exchange punts on their next possessions, leading to the Bengals having the ball at their 39-yard-line where they would drive 61 yards in six plays for another touchdown, a three-yard pass from Palmer to Houshmandzadeh to push the Cincinnati lead to 21-13 with 6:24 left in the second quarter.
The Bengals' defense would then force the Browns to go three-and-out on their ensuing possession, forcing a punt which was returned 49 yards by Keiwan Ratliff to the Cleveland 19-yard-line.
Rudi Johnson carried the ball two straight times for 14 yards to set up 1st & goal from the five when Chad Johnson got called for a false start pushing the Bengals five yards back to the Cleveland 10-yard-line.
Rudi would carry the ball two straight times, gaining seven yards before Palmer threw an incomplete pass on 3rd down, forcing the Bengals to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Shayne Graham which increased the Cincinnati lead to 24-13 with 1:20 left in the first half.
The Browns would get the ball back at their 25-yard-line, hoping to drive down the field and pick up some points before halftime.
The drive started off promising as Holcomb completed his first two passes for 21 yards until he threw an interception to Bengals cornerback Tory James, whose 13-yard return gave the Bengals the ball at the Cleveland 36-yard-line with a chance to increase their lead with 19 seconds left in the first half.
Palmer would found Houshmandzadeh for 11 yards, than scrambled for 11 yards, to set up Graham's 32-yard field goal to increase the Bengals' lead to 27-13 as the first half came to a close.
Those who were in the stands and watching on TV probably needed to catch their breath after all the action in the first half, but the second half would provide even more fireworks.
The Browns got the ball to start the second half as they began their opening possession from their 36-yard-line when Holcomb connected with Dennis Northcutt for 39 yards on the first play of the half to put Cleveland at the Bengals' 25-yard-line.
Following a five-yard run by Green, Holcomb found Heiden for a 20-yard touchdown to cut the Bengals' lead to 27-20 just 79 seconds into the second half.
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| Browns tight end Steve Heiden had seven catches for 82 yards, with three of those catches going for touchdowns. |
The Browns would get great field position on their ensuing possession as Richard Alston returned Graham's short kickoff 24 yards to the Cleveland 47-yard-line.
Holcomb would find Northcutt for 21 yards to start the drive but after the next three plays picked up nine yards, the Browns were face with a 4th & 1 at the Bengals' 23-yard-line.
The Browns were definitely in Dawson's range for a field goal but with the way the game was going, Davis decided to go for the 1st down which he got when Holcomb hit tight end Aaron Shea for 14 yards to give Cleveland a 1st & goal at the Bengals' nine-yard-line.
Then after Green was stopped for no gain on 1st down, Holcomb found Antonio Bryant for the nine-yard touchdown to make it a 34-27 game with 8:41 left in the third quarter.
Then it was the Bengals' time for a great kickoff return as Kenny Watson's 32-yard return on the ensuing kickoff gave the Bengals the ball at their 42-yard-line.
Watson would come up big for the Bengals when he ran for 15 yards on 3rd & 3 to give Cincinnati a 1st down at the Browns' 36-yard-line.
Then Palmer would find Houshmandzadeh for 20 yards and a 1st down at the Bengals' 16-yard-line.
Two plays later, the Bengals were faced with a 3rd & 1 at the Browns' seven-yard-line when Rudi Johnson took a handoff from Palmer and ran it in for the seven-yard touchdown to push Cincinnati's lead back to 14 points at 41-27 with 4:39 left in the third quarter.
It would only take the Browns two plays to get back in the end zone as Holcomb threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Bryant to cut it to a seven-point game at 41-34 just 49 seconds after the Bengals' touchdown.
Following the ensuing kickoff, the Bengals took over at their 25-yard-line where they decided to rely on the running game to get them down the field.
It worked as the Bengals ran the ball on five of their next nine plays, picking up 33 yards to set up a 36-yard field goal by Graham which increased the Bengals' lead to 44-34 with 14:19 left in the fourth quarter.
The Browns got the ball at their 20-yard-line to start their next drive but were quickly in Bengals territory as Holcomb hit Heiden for a 30-yard pass to start the drive, then Northcutt for six yards to set up 2nd & 4 at the Cincinnati 44-yard-line.
Back-to-back false start penalties pushed the Browns back to their 46-yard-line but Holcomb would hit Bryant for 13 yards, which was followed by a five-yard run by Green to give Cleveland a 1st down at the Bengals' 36-yard-line.
A 22-yard pass to Shea, followed a pass interference penalty on Bengals linebacker Landon Johnson, lead to an one-yard touchdown run by Green to bring the Browns to within a field goal at 44-41 with 10:56 to play in the fourth quarter.
After a holding penalty negated Houshmandzadeh's 39-yard kickoff return, the Bengals took over at their 11-yard-line when disaster struck as Palmer threw his third interception of the game, this time by Browns linebacker Barry Gardner, whose 30-yard return gave the Browns a 1st & goal at the one-yard-line when on the very next play Holcomb hit Heiden for the one-yard touchdown to give Cleveland its second touchdown in 29 seconds, but more importantly a 48-44 lead.
Now down for the first time since the early minutes of the game, the Bengals needed a touchdown to retake the lead.
They caught a break as another short kickoff gave the Bengals great field position as they would begin their next possession at their 40-yard-line.
Following a three-yard-loss by Rudi Johnson on 1st down, Palmer threw three straight passes to Chad Johnson, gaining 22 yards and putting the Bengals at the Cleveland 41-yard-line.
From there, it was back to Rudi, who ran for six yards, then for 28 yards, and finally for the seven-yard touchdown to give the lead back to the Bengals at 51-48 with 6:34 left in regulation.
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| Bengals running back Rudi Johnson carried the ball 26 times for 202 yards and scored two touchdowns. |
After an exchange of punts, the Browns had the ball at their 17-yard-line with 2:37 left in regulation.
The drive got off to an auspicious start as Holcomb was sacked by Bengals defensive tackle John Thornton for a seven-yard loss on 1st down.
Holcomb would come back with an eight-yard completion to Heiden, then a 13-yarder to Northcutt to give the Browns a 1st down at their 31-yard-line.
That is when the biggest defensive play of the game occurred when Bengals cornerback Deltha O' Neal stepped in front of a pass intended for Heiden and returned it 31 yards for a pick-six to push the Bengals' lead to double digits at 58-48 with 1:43 left in the game.
But with the way this game had gone, the Browns scoring twice in the final 1:43 was not out of the realm of possibility.
Cleveland would begin its ensuing drive at its 15-yard-line where Holcomb hit three passes in a row gaining 42 yards to put the Browns at the Bengals' 43-yard-line.
After an incomplete pass on 1st down, Holcomb, lined up in the shotgun, missed the snap from center leading to Holcomb recovering the ball but a 24-yard-loss for the Browns to set up 3rd & 34.
Holcomb would complete his next two passes for 24 yards but it wasn't enough for the 1st down and lead to a turnover on downs to give the ball back to the Bengals who took a knee to run out the clock and end the second highest scoring game in NFL history as Cincinnati came out on top 58-48.
Both teams combined for 966 yards of total offense and 106 points, with the 106 points being the second highest points scored in a NFL game behind the 113 points scored in the 1966 game between the New York Giants and the Washington Redskins which the Redskins won 72-41.
Two days later, Davis would resign as the coach of the Browns, replaced by tight ends coach Terry Robiskie for the rest of the season, who lead Cleveland to a 1-4 record over the Browns' final five games of the season to finish with a 4-12 record.
In the offseason, the Browns would hire New England Patriots defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel and traded for quarterback Trent Dilfer, who would replace Holcomb and Garcia as Holcomb signed with the Buffalo Bill while Garcia went to the Detroit Lions.
As for the Bengals, they would climb back to .500 the following week after a 27-26 win over the Baltimore Ravens, but would lose Palmer for the rest of the season when he sprained his left knee in a 35-28 loss to the Patriots as the Bengals would finish 8-8 for the second year in a row.
Palmer would lead the Bengals to the AFC Central Division title the following year, marking the first time the Bengals had made the postseason in 15 years, but had his ACL and MCL torn in his left knee after an hit by Steelers defensive tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen on his first pass of the game as the Bengals would lose that game 31-17.
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