THE NFL PLAYOFFS : Townsend Becomes Esiason’s Nightmare : Defense: His sack on the game’s first play from scrimmage sets the tone. Two more follow.

Raider defensive end Greg Townsend wandered over to the sideline near the Cincinnati Bengals bench to eavesdrop on a meeting of the Bengal offense during a timeout in Sunday’s AFC playoff game at the Coliseum.

Spying Townsend, a Bengal quipped: “Even if we told you the play you wouldn’t be able to stop it.”

Although Townsend was just being playful, things changed quickly after he was warned by referee Tom Dooley not to go near the Bengal bench during timeouts.

“The referee got upset at me and said I couldn’t go past the numbers during a timeout,” Townsend said. “I told him that it wasn’t in the rulebook, and he said, ‘That’s my rule.’ And then I said, ‘When did you start writing the rulebook?’

“At that time I got a little angry and upset,” Townsend said. “It made me want to play. I was ready to bust anybody I saw.”

Townsend vented his anger by sacking quarterback Boomer Esiason three times for 36 yards in losses as the Raiders beat the Bengals, 20-10, to advance to the AFC championship game Sunday in Buffalo.

Esiason may have nightmares about Townsend.

“I dreamed about Boomer a couple nights ago, so it’s only right for him to dream about me,” Townsend said.

Townsend established the tone for the Raiders’ defense when he sacked Esiason for a seven-yard loss on the first play of the game. Using an inside move, Townsend blew past rookie tackle Kirk Scrafford, who was playing in place of Anthony Munoz, the Bengals’ injured All-Pro left tackle.

Townsend gave Scrafford, who was making his first start, an education.

“I had a real tough time with (Townsend) on the first play of the game,” Scrafford said. “It was an experience. I wish we could have had Anthony in there, but I did the best I could. You can’t replace somebody who’s a 10-time All-Pro and expect to do as well.”

But Cincinnati offensive line coach Jim McNally said Scrafford wasn’t responsible for Townsend’s other two sacks, which resulted from stunts in which the Bengals left Townsend unblocked.

“I was shocked,” Raider defensive end Howie Long said. “They made some mistakes today and turned (Townsend) loose. I couldn’t understand their protection. They’d double down with a tackle and turn Greg free. And then they’d block him with a tight end. If you’re going to block Greg Townsend with a tight end, he’s going to have a big day.”

And Townsend had one of his most productive games of the season.

On the Bengals’ first drive of the second half, Townsend got his second sack, throwing Esiason for a 14-yard loss on third-and-nine at the Cincinnati 34 to force a punt.

But Townsend’s third sack was the biggest of the game, sealing the victory for the Raiders.

Trailing, 17-10, after Raider quarterback Jay Schroeder and tight end Ethan Horton combined on a 41-yard touchdown pass play, the Bengals took over at the 31 and were driving for what would have been the tying touchdown after Esiason picked up a first down with a three-yard keeper to the 43.

But on first-and-10 at the Bengal 43, Townsend sacked Esiason for a 15-yard loss. The Bengals never recovered. Esiason threw two incomplete passes before they punted.

After using a play-action fake, Esiason bootleged the ball to his left, but Townsend wasn’t fooled and hurled him to the turf like a rag doll.

“I saw the thing develop all the way, so I didn’t go for the fake,” Townsend said. “He almost got away, but I got a piece of his jersey and slung him to the ground.

“We had prepared for that play all week because they used it last week against Houston. I was just waiting for it.”

On the previous series, Esiason got away from Townsend on a similar play-action bootleg play and threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Stanford Jennings to tie the score, 10-10.

Thinking Esiason would roll to his left because he’s left-handed, Townsend committed himself, but Esiason eluded Townsend by going to his right.

“I just faked him out because I was afraid of him,” Esiason quipped. “I did what any good quarterback would do.”

Townsend said: “He just juked me out of my socks. It was simple football. He had the football skills on that play and I didn’t. I came in so hard and so fast that I was out of control. There was no way that should have happened.

“I learned a valuable lesson on that play--just make sure I give him one way to go--because I gave him two ways to go.”

But when Esiason tried the same move again to get away from Townsend, Townsend wasn’t fooled and gave him just one way to go.

“Townsend is a great player,” Esiason said. “I got away from him once, but I couldn’t get away from him twice today. Rodney Holman was open and it would have been a big play. But it came down to who’s going to make the most plays, and (Townsend) made the play.”

Cincinnati Coach Sam Wyche called Townsend’s final sack one of the biggest plays of the game.

“When Townsend got the sack on Boomer it put us in a tough situation, and we couldn’t get out of the hole,” Wyche said. “I blame myself for that sack because we called a changeup (a line game that allowed Townsend to penetrate). But we didn’t fool Townsend because he made a big play.

“He played a great game. He was giving us the business, tongue in cheek, and he backed it up.”

Townsend was quoted in a Cincinnati newspaper last week as saying that the only fun the Bengals would have in Southern California this weekend was if they went to Disneyland.

But Townsend said he was misquoted.

“I’ll tell you exactly what I said,” Townsend said. “They asked me if Cincinnati was going to come out here and have fun like they did on Houston and I said, ‘The only fun they’re going to have is if they take a tour of L.A.’

“I didn’t say anything about Disneyland, because we’re going to Disneyland after we win the Super Bowl.”