Dillon Runs Down Oilers

Corey Dillon needed only three quarters to surpass the best rushers in Cincinnati Bengals history. In the closing minutes in Cincinnati, he even bested Jim Brown.

Dillon rushed for 246 yards--an NFL record for a rookie running back--and set a club record with four touchdowns as the Bengals beat the Tennessee Oilers, 41-14, Thursday night.

Cincinnati (5-9) has scored 114 points in the last three games with 36-year-old Boomer Esiason starting at quarterback. He was was sensational again Thursday, throwing for 253 yards in a high-efficiency passing attack.

But it was Dillon who won the crowd’s cheers and a place among the NFL’s top running backs. The second-round draft choice out of Washington stiff-armed the Oilers (7-7) while breaking one long run after another and moving ahead of Tampa Bay’s Warrick Dunn for most yards by a running back this season.

With just under two minutes, he broke Brown’s 1957 rookie record of 237 yards. He took a handoff from Esiason, bolted right and bulled for 10 yards while the crowd cheered his name.

Dillon shredded a defense that was ranked third in the league against the run and had a lot of motivation. The Oilers were coming off a 27-14 victory over Dallas on Thanksgiving and needed another victory to stay in playoff contention.

The two-pronged attack of Esiason throwing and Dillon running ripped the same defense that stopped Troy Aikman and Emmitt Smith so easily only a week earlier. Once they fell behind, the Oilers had to abandon their slog-it-out approach and became so rattled that it was all they could do to complete a pass at times.

The game was decided by halftime, when the Bengals had already piled up 321 total yards--Dillon had 152 rushing and Esiason 161 passing--and a 28-0 lead. Unable to rely on Eddie George and their ball-control ground game, the Oilers were at a loss to move the ball against a defense that had allowed 922 yards in the last two games.