Bengals Look Like Big Losers of Decade

The NFL’s worst team of the 1990s? Kurt Warner and Az-Zahir Hakim proved that it’s not the St. Louis Rams. Not even close.

Hakim tied the franchise record with four touchdowns--three on passes from Warner, another on a punt return--and the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals, 38-10, Sunday to shed their distinction as the league’s worst team of the ‘90s.

As the decade winds down, the Rams (3-0) are anything but bad.

“Everything’s going so well right now,” said Warner, the first quarterback in the last 50 years to throw three touchdown passes in each of his first three starts. “We just want to continue to roll with the confidence we’ve got now.”

The Bengals (0-4) have no confidence, no wins and no argument when it comes to bestowing the title of most forlorn team of the ‘90s. Heading into the game, they were tied with the Rams at 99 losses for the decade.

They became the first to lose 100 and they did it decisively.

“You saw it. We’re struggling,” said Doug Pelfrey, who had his fourth missed field-goal attempt in two games. “We’re dropping passes and missing kicks. We’re doing stupid things.”

A crowd of only 45,481 booed and waved profane banners as the Bengals were blown out for the third consecutive week by a last-place division finisher from ’98.

The Rams have opened 3-0 for only the second time in the ‘90s, largely because of Warner, who completed 17 of 21 passes for 310 yards without an interception against the Bengals.