PRO FOOTBALL : Bengals Take It Out on the Patriots : Cincinnati, Upset by Call, Amasses 584 Yards in 31-7 Win

Boomer Esiason threw for 284 yards, and James Brooks and Stanley Wilson ran for more than 100 yards each in Cincinnati’s record-breaking offensive performance Sunday.

But replay official Joe Gardi, who nullified an apparent Bengals’ touchdown, lit the fuse on their 31-7 victory over the New England Patriots.

Gardi ruled that New England’s Tony Collins was down when the ball popped loose in the third quarter and Cincinnati’s Robert Jackson returned it 63 yards. On the next two plays, Tony Eason threw a 39-yard completion to Stanley Morgan and Collins lunged over from a yard out to cut the Bengals’ lead to 10-7 with 3:28 left in the period.

Cincinnati Coach Sam Wyche then gathered his players around him on the sidelines.

“I told the guys we had to give it our best shot,” he said. “We went right down the field and scored.”

It was a cooler reaction than he had a week earlier when an inadvertent whistle deprived Cincinnati of an apparent touchdown in a 34-28 loss to Denver. After the game, he kicked a door and had a run-in with a radio reporter.

Not this time.

“He told us to keep our poise,” Esiason said. “He said, ‘We’re going against the odds. We’re not only going against the New England Patriots, we have the officials against us.’ He told us ‘now is the time to come together.’ ”

Cincinnati went on to set club records of 584 total yards and 300 rushing yards, 163 by Brooks and 120 by Wilson. Brooks, who also caught 6 passes for 101 yards, scored on a 56-yard run, while Wilson ran 58 yards for a touchdown.

Also, the Bengals’ defense shut down the NFL’s highest scoring offense, denying the Patriots a chance to clinch a playoff berth.

Cincinnati (9-5) stayed in the thick of the battle for an AFC wild-card spot. New England (10-4) lost its bid for a team-record eighth consecutive victory.

New England started the day tied for first place in the AFC East with the New York Jets and lost a chance to clinch a wild-card playoff berth.

Esiason, who completed 70% of his passes for 1,049 yards in his previous four games, connected on 17 of 31 against New England.

“It’s very simple,” New England Coach Raymond Berry said. “We got it handed to us pretty good today.”

It was the Patriots’ worst defensive performance ever, breaking the mark of 552 yards gained by the Dolphins on Oct. 21, 1984.