Bengals Show They Have New Attitude

Long after the Cincinnati Bengals were done tossing chin straps and sweat bands to their incredulous fans, Takeo Spikes was still rubbing it in on the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.

Spikes batted a pass to a teammate for a pivotal end-zone interception in the first half, then returned an interception 66 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to clinch a 21-10 victory Sunday over the Ravens.

The Bengals (2-0) backed up their bragging by forcing the Ravens into one turnover after another--six in all, setting up all of Cincinnati’s points.

The Ravens opened the second half by fumbling the kickoff, and Elvis Grbac fumbled as he tried to score on a quarterback sneak on the game’s final play, providing a fitting end.

It was a sweet afternoon for Spikes, who had belittled Grbac for choosing the Ravens (1-1) over the Bengals in the off-season. Spikes also had another interception that was negated by a penalty.

“We’re building something here,” Spikes said. “I just kept reminding everybody that he was the guy who said he didn’t want to come here, that he had a better chance to win in Baltimore.”

On one wacky afternoon, Jon Kitna was the winning quarterback. He threw for a touchdown and ran for another early in the second half, taking advantage of two rapid-fire turnovers deep in Baltimore territory.

Kitna also talked some trash to the Ravens, who had to watch the team with the NFL’s worst record for the last 10 years strut around and rub it in their faces.

Tight end Shannon Sharpe, who has called Cincinnati the Siberia of the NFL, conceded that the Bengals brought a lot more emotion to the game.

“Kitna made some plays for them--he didn’t kill them like the quarterback position has in years past,” Sharpe said. “And their defense came out ready to play and took it to us. I’ll give them credit. I’ve been in this league for 12 years, and that’s as good as I’ve seen a Cincinnati team play.”

In addition to being careless with the ball, the Ravens were ineffective when they tried to run--a common thread in their first two games. Cincinnati was able to zero in on Grbac, who completed 33 of 63 passes for 326 yards with three interceptions.

Grbac also had to leave the game for one play after a nasty hit in the fourth quarter.

Standing in a corner of an upbeat Raven locker room--players joked with each other and reporters after their first loss in 13 games, dating to last Oct. 29--Grbac bristled when Spikes’ criticism was mentioned.

“He can say whatever he wants to say, but he’s got to come to Baltimore, too,” Grbac said.

The crowd of 49,632--the smallest in Paul Brown Stadium’s two-year history--was somber during a pregame tribute to those killed in the terrorist attacks. Bengal tight end Marco Battaglia, who lost friends in the World Trade Center, appeared to shed a tear after the national anthem.

The Bengals improved to 2-0 for the first time since 1995, when they finished 7-9. They were feisty after an opening win over New England; the upset Sunday left them celebrating at the Ravens’ expense.

Corey Dillon dunked the ball over the crossbar after his one-yard touchdown catch put the Bengals ahead, 7-3, and Kitna pumped his arms and talked trash to linebacker Peter Boulware.

“It might rub some people the wrong way, and some people might say you’re the quarterback, you need to be cool,” Kitna said. “But if you score a touchdown against Baltimore, you’d better be excited.”