Boomer Bounces Back, Bombs Seahawks, 34-7

Cincinnati quarterback Boomer Esiason, benched a week ago, bounced back with his best game of the season as the Bengals defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 34-7, Sunday.

Esiason threw for 334 yards to help Cincinnati (7-4) move into a first-place tie with Cleveland in the AFC Central Division.

“This was my best passing day of the season,” Esiason said. “The long passes really opened up the game.”

The left-handed Esiason, who completed 22 of 33 passes, threw 57 yards to Eddie Brown to set up Stanley Wilson’s two-yard touchdown run, teamed with James Brooks on a 54-yard gain that led to a field goal and teamed with Cris Collinsworth on a 36-yarder to set up a one-yard touchdown toss to Eric Kattus.

A week ago, Esiason reacted angrily on the sidelines after Bengal Coach Sam Wyche benched him during a 32-28 loss to Houston. His tantrum touched off reports of a feud between the quarterback and his coach.

“Controversy is a regular thing in the NFL,” Esiason said. “It probably helped. Hopefully he’ll say some more bad things about me.”

Said Wyche: “Boomer played a beautiful game. He handled all the pressure well. But, it’s the defense that really deserves applause.”

Cincinnati’s defense, rated among the worst in the NFL, sacked Seattle quarterback Dave Krieg 5 times for 41 yards in losses. The defense also scored two touchdowns, with lineman Eddie Edwards recovering a Krieg fumble in the end zone and Louis Breeden returning an interception of Gale Gilbert’s pass 36 yards for a touchdown.

Seattle, losing its fourth straight, dropped to 5-6. The Seahawks have scored only seven points in each of their last three games.

Seattle managed only a one-yard touchdown run by Curt Warner, who gained 94 yards to become the Seahawks’ career rushing leader with 3,508 yards. The old mark of 3,429 was set by Sherman Smith.

Krieg, who played almost the entire game, completed 18 of 28 passes but for only 168 yards. Seattle’s Steve Largent caught 7 passes for 102 yards to extend his NFL record to 134 straight games in which he has caught passes.