Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. Tennessee 30 at Cincinnati 24 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Tennessee Titans: Steve McNair was outstanding. He completed 70% of his passes for just over 200 yards and 3 touchdowns with zero interceptions. He looked really comfortable in the pocket and looked much more confidant throwing the ball with Mason back in the line up. He didn't shy away scrambling, but he looked more committed to the passing game than he has in the past. Eddie George looked like Eddie George again. He didn't score, but he gained over 100 yards rushing and averaged more than 5 yards per carry. He also showed no signs of the lingering foot injuries that have bothered him on and off this season. He was less active in the passing game than usual and finished with only one catch for 6 yards. He also lost a fumble early in the game. Derrick Mason, freshly back from a separated shoulder injury, didn't waste any time in reminding owners why they drafted him so high in this Summer. He looked as explosive as ever, scoring 2 touchdowns on 7 catches for 98 yards. Mason solidifies the Tennessee passing game as a terrific complement to the power running game of Eddie George. Cincinnati Bengals: Corey Dillon is still the only Bengal worth starting. It's amazing that he has been as good as he is given the absence of any other offensive threat on the team. Dillon was fed the ball 30 times for a hard-earned 138 yards and a touchdown. It should be noted that Dillon and the Bengals were robbed of a touchdown inside the final two minutes. He appeared to score from the one-yard line but was called down just short of it. The replays did not show him definitively scoring but they certainly suggested he did. That's not enough to overturn a call, though. Heartbreaker for Bengal fans as the TD would have tied the game allowing the point after to win. Jon Kitna had an efficient game. He completed 17 of 23 pass attempts for two touchdowns and no interceptions. He even showed a little foot action with 4 rushes for 21 yards. Don't jump on the Kitna bus just yet but this was a much better game although the Titan secondary has been weak. In Chad Johnson the Bengals may have found a real, live wide receiver. The second-year pro is big (6-2, 192) and showed a willingness to go over the middle and make a tough catch. He was Kitna's most successful target, finishing with 6 catches for 86 yards. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW Tennessee Titans QB: Steve McNair looked like he was reliving 2001. He got the green light to throw downfield and he didn't waste the opportunity. He looked very comfortable standing tall in the pocket and actually seemed reluctant to run. Having his full complement of receivers for the first time in a month didn't hurt. With one or two exceptions, he threw every ball with accuracy. The short passes were crisp and the deep balls had that nice touch. McNair strongly favored his WR's today as 13 of his 16 completions went to wideouts. Both of the TD's to Mason were well thrown balls, placed to put the receiver in position to make the catch but away from the defender. The TD to Dyson was just a little under thrown but he made a terrific play around the defender who didn't turn to see the ball. RB: Eddie George didn't score but it wasn't because of a vulturing Steve McNair. The Titans scored from long range and didn't have many red zone chances in the game. George did lose one fumble. Somewhat surprisingly, George wasn't used much in the passing game. This may have simply been due to having the receivers healthy. WR: Derrick Mason returned from his injury and turned in a huge game. He reminded many owners why they spent high draft picks or lots of cap dollars on him back in August. He ran razor-sharp routes and seemed to be on the same page as McNair all game long. He scored twice, once from 16 yards and once from 32 yards and totaled 98 yards on seven catches. Kevin Dyson, along with the rest of the Titans offense, benefited from the return of Mason. With coverages more centrally aligned or rolled toward Mason, Dyson was allowed a lot of man-to-man coverage. On his 39-yard TD catch Dyson adjusted very well to a slightly under thrown McNair pass and walked into the endzone past a bewildered defender. TE: With Mason back, Frank Wycheck wasn't much of a factor. He was targeted 4 times in the game but finished with just one catch for 8 yards. Tennessee Pass Defense: Zero sacks and zero interceptions. It's surprising given the fact that they were playing the Bengals. Jon Kitna played well within the game plan and didn't give the Titan defensive backs many opportunities to make plays. The defensive front applied decent pressure but couldn't get to an immobile QB. Tennessee Rush Defense: Corey Dillon is too good to expect to stop. The best defense against Dillon is to get a big lead on the Bengals and take away the running game while they play catch up. With Cincinnati taking an early lead in this game Dillon got involved and into a rhythm very early. The defense wasn't terrible. Excepting Dillon's longest run of 31 yards the Titan defense held him to just over three yards per carry. Not bad, but with 30 carries it's still a 100-yard day. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Cincinnati Bengals QB: Jon Kitna looked like an efficient, if unimpressive, QB. He threw 2 TD's, one to fullback Lorenzo Neal and the other to rookie TE Matt Schobel. The best thing that Kitna did today was to avoid the big play mistake. He didn't throw into triple coverage, he didn't get careless with the ball in the pocket when he felt pressure, and he threw the ball away when there was not an open receiver. RB: Corey Dillon is a terrific running back in a terrible situation. He is the only offensive threat on the team and as a result is the object of the defensive game plan every week. Despite that he can pile up yards if given enough carries in any given week. The Bengals also had the luxury of an early lead so Dillon received a lot of carries early, which helped him find a fluid running rhythm. When you watch Cincinnati play you can't help but wonder how good Dillon's numbers would be if they had an honest-to-goodness QB to direct the attack (or at least distract defenders from Dillon). He was uninvolved in the passing game with zero catches. Could have had a TD at the end of the game on a very questionable call that would have allowed the Bengals to win. Lorenzo Neal deserves a mention because he was very active in the passing game. He only had 2 carries but he finished with 5 catches for 36 yards and a TD. The score was from a Dillon play action from the 1-yard line. WR: Chad Johnson looks like the best hope for WR production in Cincinnati. He makes all of the catches and appeared to have the confidence of Jon Kitna. Who's to say how long that confidence is good for, but it was nice to see today. Johnson was aggressive to the ball and showed a little wiggle after the catch. He finished with 6 catches for 86 yards. That's more catches and yards than all of the other WR's combined. It's going to take someone out of nowhere to lift this Bengal receiving corps to respectability. We're not saying that Johnson is the answer but it certainly looks like he understands the question. Peter Warrick was almost invisible. He had only 2 catches for 30 yards and those didn't come until the second half. Although to be fair, one was a key 21 yard catch on the final drive. He's not performing well enough to justify a roster spot in any but the deepest of leagues. TE: Matt Schobel scored on his only catch of the day. He's really not a focal point of the passing game. Cincinnati Pass Defense: These guys were just overmatched by the Titan receivers. Mason and Dyson proved to bee too fast and too physical for the Bengal secondary. McNair had plenty of time to throw the ball except when blitzed, but then the coverages opened up and allowed him to hot-read out of it. They did record one sack but zero interceptions. Cincinnati Rush Defense: Much like Corey Dillon, Eddie George is a 100-yard rushing day waiting to happen. The Titan offensive line opened hole after hole for George to run through all afternoon. It's a difficult assignment, to stop Eddie George, and the Bengals front failed on all counts.