CINCINNATI No Bungles: Bengals down Aints

New Orleans' playoff hopes took a serious hit with the 20-13 loss.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- With the playoffs only a win away, the New Orleans Saints reverted to fumbling and bumbling and losing -- just like the Aints of old.
And, like those infamous teams, it's possible that this one ain't going to the playoffs, either.
Aaron Brooks couldn't complete a fourth-quarter pass, but Nick Luchey ran for two touchdowns Sunday as the lowly Cincinnati Bengals dealt New Orleans a major setback by rallying for a 20-13 victory.
Instead of cruising through a closing stretch of three games against last-place teams, the Saints (9-6) have stumbled over the stumblebums.
"Somewhere down the line, things just started going badly, and we couldn't get out of the funk," receiver Michael Lewis said.
It might be too late to recover.
Dropping back
By losing to the NFL's worst team, the Saints fell to third in the race for the NFC's two wild-card spots.
Tampa Bay clinched the NFC South, and Atlanta and the New York Giants both moved ahead of the Saints by winning.
The only way New Orleans can make the playoffs is by beating Carolina next Sunday, plus having the Giants or Falcons lose.
"We shouldn't even have gotten to this point, where we have to watch and see who loses," receiver Joe Horn fumed.
When they opened December by beating Tampa Bay, the Saints started thinking about a division title. They could have clinched a playoff spot by beating Minnesota a week later, but lost with 5 seconds to play.
That was bad enough. This loss could go down as one of the most stunning in franchise history.
The Bengals (2-13) hadn't won a home game all season and hadn't beaten an established team -- their other win came against expansion Houston. Their stadium was half-empty, and some of the listless fans wore brown bags over their heads in shame.
Saints fans could identify. Their team didn't have a winning season during its first 20 years, earning that derisive Aints nickname.
Against the league's current measuring stick for ineptitude, New Orleans regressed.
"Everything was in our court today, but we were the Aints and they weren't the Bungles," left tackle Kyle Turley said.
Too many miscues
The Saints fumbled five times, Brooks misfired on his last 11 passes, John Carney hit the upright on a field-goal attempt, and Toby Gowin had a 27-yard punt that set up the Bengals' winning drive.
With their season at stake, the Saints couldn't stop Luchey, a running back so nondescript that the stadium's public address announcer didn't know how to pronounce his name.
Luchey changed his name from Nick Williams in September, honoring his biological father. He didn't carry the ball in the first 14 games, spending most of his time imitating the opposing running back during practice to help the first-team defense prepare.
"I've never been Nick Luchey," he said. "I was Deuce [McAllister] this week, Jerome Bettis a few weeks ago, and everybody down the line. I've been them."
He got to be Corey Dillon's replacement when the Bengals' best player bruised his left elbow. Luchey had 59 yards on 12 carries in the fourth quarter with two touchdowns, including a 3-yard run with 1:46 to play.
"It's nice to get a win and show this team is capable of making things happen," Pro Bowl fullback Lorenzo Neal said. "It's just unfortunate that it took so long to make it happen."