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Less than two weeks after the Cincinnati Bengals signed him as an inexpensive insurance policy, Larry Johnson showed he can still be the leading man.
Want to grind it out? Give him the ball.
The newcomer piled up 107 yards on Sunday, leading the way as the Bengals ran the table in the AFC North by running over the Cleveland Browns 16-7.
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The Bengals (8-3) were determined to run against the Browns (1-10), who don't score much and have given up a lot of yards on the ground. Cedric Benson missed his second straight game with a sprained hip, and rookie backup Bernard Scott was slowed by a minor knee injury for part of the game.
Although he barely knows the playbook, Johnson ran it to triple-digit perfection.
"By far, this isn't what I was expecting," said Johnson, who carried 22 times and averaged 4.9 yards per try. "I wasn't expecting to come in and play as much as I did today."
The Bengals rushed for 210 yards overall, their second time topping the 200-yard mark this season. Carson Palmer was relegated to handing off most of the time - Cincinnati threw it only 24 times and ran it 45.
Boring?
"Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Absolutely not," said Palmer, who was 13 of 24 for 110 yards and a touchdown. "It was fun to watch."
Cincinnati reinforced its standing as top Dawg in the intrastate series. The Bengals now have the longest stretch of domination in the series' history, winning nine of the past 11 games.
The Browns reached double-digit losses for the eighth time in their 11 years as an expansion team, done in by an offense that's historically bad.
Neither team threw it much - the Bengals by design, the Browns by default. Cleveland's Brady Quinn caught a pass from Joshua Cribbs and ran for a touchdown during his first start in the rivalry, but repeatedly was off-target while passing for only 100 yards.
Cribbs' throw was one of the Browns' best of the day.
"I caught one my senior year in high school in our homecoming game," Quinn said. "That definitely allowed us to stay in the game. At that point, we felt extremely confident."
They didn't come close again.
In his third start since regaining the job, Quinn went 15 of 34 for 100 yards.
Bengals top pick OL Andre Smith was active for the first time in his rookie season and got into the game on some running plays.
Tennessee 20, Arizona 17: Vince Young hit a leaping Kenny Britt for a 10-yard touchdown as time expired, and the Tennessee Titans rallied to beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-17 for their fifth straight victory.
Young won his ninth straight start and improved to 23-11 in his career by driving the Titans 99 yards in the final 2:37. He converted three fourth downs on the drive, two to Britt. He threw for a career-high 387 yards in outdueling Matt Leinart in their first meeting as professionals.
The Titans (5-6) have not lost since Young replaced Kerry Collins as the starter. They are the first team to win five in a row after starting 0-6.
Arizona (7-4) snapped a three-game winning streak. Leinart made his first start since Oct. 7, 2007 as the Cardinals sat Kurt Warner with a sore neck, looking ahead to an NFC matchup with Minnesota next week.
Indianapolis 35, Houston 27: The Indianapolis Colts stayed perfect by extending their dominance of the Houston Texans.
Peyton Manning threw for three touchdowns and the Colts rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit for a 35-27 win, their 20th straight regular-season victory. Indianapolis (11-0) is one win shy of the New England Patriots' NFL-record 21-game run from 2006-08.
N.Y. Jets 17, Carolina 6: Darrelle Revis returned one of the Jets' four interceptions 67 yards for a touchdown and New York overcame an injury scare to quarterback Mark Sanchez before holding on to beat the Carolina Panthers 17-6 on Sunday.
Thomas Jones had a 3-yard touchdown run as the Jets (5-6) won at home for the first time since beating Tennessee in Week 3.
Seattle 27, St. Louis 17: Justin Forsett set career highs with 130 yards and two touchdowns and the go-ahead score came on the Seattle Seahawks' third defensive touchdown of the season in a 27-17 victory over the St. Louis Rams.
Seattle (4-7) had been 0-5 on the road but ended the drought against the Rams (1-10), who have lost 11 in a row at home.
Buffalo 31, Miami 14: Terrell Owens caught a 51-yard touchdown pass with 2:23 left to propel the Buffalo Bills to a 31-14 win over the Miami Dolphins and give interim coach Perry Fewell his first victory.
Before Owens' score, Rian Lindell kicked a career-best 56-yard field goal with 3:35 left that put the Bills ahead for the first time at 17-14.
When Owens scored, he mimicked Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter's sack celebration by pretending to kick dirt in the end zone.
Buffalo (4-7) ended a three-game losing streak while the Dolphins (5-6) dropped under .500. Fewell replaced Dick Jauron two games ago.
Philadelphia 27, Washington 24: The Philadelphia Eagles enjoyed a rare fourth-quarter comeback so much they did it again.
David Akers kicked a 32-yard field goal with 1:48 remaining and the Eagles rallied for a 27-24 victory over the Washington Redskins.
A week ago, Donovan McNabb led the Eagles (7-4) to a late touchdown in a 24-20 win at Chicago. It was the first time Philadelphia came from behind in the final quarter and won since a 33-25 victory at Washington on Nov. 11, 2007.
Make it two straight comeback victories now.
Atlanta 20, Tampa Bay 17: Chris Redman threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Roddy White with 23 seconds remaining, and the Atlanta Falcons pulled out a 20-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday after losing offensive stars Matt Ryan and Michael Turner to injuries.
The Falcons (6-5) were in deep trouble after Jason Elam missed another field goal try, this one from 43 yards, and the Bucs (1-10) drove into Atlanta territory.
But Connor Barth just missed on a 51-yard try with 2:30 left, giving the Falcons one more chance. Redman, who took over after Ryan injured his right big toe on Atlanta's first series, calmly directed a 59-yard drive that may have saved the season.
San Francisco 20, Jacksonville 3: Alex Smith threw short touchdown passes to Frank Gore and Vernon Davis and his solid outing in a 20-3 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars highlighted the kind of mistake-free day San Francisco coach Mike Singletary has sought for weeks.
Joe Nedney kicked field goals of 46 and 27 yards for San Francisco (5-6), which snapped the Jaguars' three-game winning streak and spoiled the Bay Area homecoming of Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio and running back Maurice Jones-Drew.
San Diego 43, Kansas City 14: The San Diego Chargers turned four turnovers into touchdowns, including a 40-yard fumble return for a score by safety Paul Oliver, to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 43-14 and run their winning streak to six games.
LaDainian Tomlinson scored two touchdowns and moved into 10th on the NFL's all-time rushing list. Philip Rivers threw two touchdown passes to Antonio Gates as the Chargers improved to 8-3.
Minnesota 36, Chicago 10: Brett Favre passed for a season-high 392 yards and three touchdowns, and the Vikings intercepted Jay Cutler twice in a 36-10 victory over the Bears.
Favre went 32 for 48 without a turnover and was 10 yards off his career best, throwing touchdowns to Visanthe Shiancoe, Chester Taylor and Percy Harvin, the unflappable rookie who had his best game yet.
©2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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