On an Off Day for Palmer, Bengals Find Way to Win

Disappointed by his poor performance in a tricky wind, Carson Palmer shook the Cleveland Browns’ hands after the game and got a little uplifting advice from a quarterback who knows what it takes to go deep into the playoffs.

In Trent Dilfer’s eyes, these Bengals have it.

The Bengals compensated for Palmer’s rare off day Sunday, getting a season-high 169 yards from running back Rudi Johnson and Shayne Graham’s 37-yard field goal on the final play for a 23-20 victory.

“It was a tough game offensively,” said Palmer, who had season lows in completions and yards. “We didn’t play well, I didn’t play well. You’re frustrated and you’re disappointed.

“I talked to Trent Dilfer after the game and he said not every game is a blowout, not every game is pretty. On your way to the Super Bowl, you’re going to run into a bunch of games like that, and the good teams win those games. We’re a good team and we won this game.”

Dilfer led Baltimore to a Super Bowl title in 2000, when Bengal Coach Marvin Lewis was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator.

The Bengals (10-3) maintained their two-game lead over Pittsburgh in the AFC North and can clinch the title with a win next Sunday at Detroit. They’ve won 10 games for the first time since 1988, the last time they made it to the Super Bowl.

“I haven’t had double-digit wins since my second year in college,” 10th-year offensive tackle Willie Anderson said. “It feels good to get 10 wins. We still have to finish it off.”

An offense that scored 117 points in the last three games with a high-tech, no-huddle offense ground one out the old-fashioned way -- a very handy thing for cold playoff games.

For the second consecutive game, Charlie Frye started ahead of Dilfer. The rookie put the Browns (4-9) in position for an intrastate upset, but couldn’t pull it off because the defense couldn’t stop Johnson. He carried a season-high 30 times and averaged 5.6 yards a run.

When Johnson got to the stadium and saw the wind, he knew it could come down to a running back.

“It was that type of ballgame: AFC North, cold weather and a lot at stake,” he said.

Chad Johnson had season lows with two catches for 22 yards, but drew interference and illegal contact penalties on cornerback Leigh Bodden during the Bengals’ 43-yard drive to the winning kick. Palmer completed 13 of 27 passes for 93 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a season-low passer rating of 53.5.