Saints Run Over Bengals, Spoil Homecoming, 21-7

Perhaps the Cincinnati Bengals should have stayed on the road.

The Bengals returned to Riverfront Stadium Sunday after five consecutive away games and lost to the New Orleans Saints, 21-7.

Craig Heyward and Rueben Mayes each rushed for more than 100 yards and a touchdown to lead the Saints (3-5), who simply overpowered the Bengal defense--statistically the second-worst in the NFL--by rushing for a season-high 249 yards.

Heyward rushed for a career-high 122 yards in 19 carries and Mayes gained 115 yards in 30 carries. It was the third time in the Saints’ history that two backs have topped 100 yards in the same game.

The 249 yards were the most allowed by the Bengals since New England had 281 yards in the last game of the 1985 season.

“We couldn’t stop their run,” Bengal Coach Sam Wyche said. “That’s fact. They bowled over us at times.

“They opened holes and when we’d hit their runners, they’d fall forward. We didn’t knock them back. There were running lanes, and when we made contact, we didn’t knock the man backwards.”

The Bengals (5-4) shuffled their linebackers and their defensive alignments to try to stop the rushing game. They suffered a major loss late in the first half when strong safety David Fulcher left the game with a separated right shoulder that will keep him out for four to six weeks.

The Saints scored all three of their touchdowns on the ground. Gill Fenerty scored from the one-yard line, Mayes from the six, and Heyward from the one on what turned out to be the drive that broke the Bengals.

Leading 14-7, the Saints got the ball at their own nine late in the third quarter and ground out a 16-play drive that consumed 9:32. Heyward scored with 10:03 left for his first touchdown of the season.

The Bengals’ lone score came on an eight-yard touchdown pass from Boomer Esiason to Eddie Brown in the second quarter.