Palmer is spearhead in Bengals' 17-10 win

The Redskins replaced Mark Brunell at quarterback with Patrick Ramsey.
LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- There's no danger of a quarterback controversy with the Cincinnati Bengals, especially with Carson Palmer showing steady improvement.
The same can't be said of the Washington Redskins, whose hopes now lie with Patrick Ramsey after Joe Gibbs finally pulled the plug on struggling Mark Brunell.
Palmer led three consecutive scoring drives in the first half and completed 24-for-39 passes for 217 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions Sunday in the Bengals' 17-10 victory over the Redskins.
"You look at the teams that make the playoffs -- they have a stability at quarterback," Bengals linebacker Brian Simmons said. "I've been through the quarterback carousel, and it's going to be hard to succeed in this league under those circumstances."
Palmer begins to connect
Palmer's first three passes were well off the mark, but he hit 14 of his next 16 as the Bengals rolled to a 17-0 halftime lead. Tony Stewart caught a 1-yard touchdown pass, and Rudi Johnson had a 1-yard TD run in a 31-carry, 102-yard game.
Cincinnati's defense did the rest, with sacks by five players and three interceptions, including Tory James' league-leading sixth of the year. Injuries have forced coach Marvin Lewis to rely extensively on rookies on defense, but the Bengals (4-5) have allowed just 13 points in two games and have won three of four.
"When we drafted them, we knew they could play football. We didn't know it was going to have to be all right now," said Lewis.
The Redskins (3-6) hit a low in Gibbs' comeback year, with the crowd booing from the opening drive of the team's fourth straight home loss. The Hall of Fame coach eventually had to relent to the fans' chants and end his steadfast loyalty to Brunell, who was benched for Ramsey in the second quarter.
Ramsey leads late rally
Ramsey started slowly before leading a late rally with a pair of scoring drives. It wasn't enough to win, but it was probably enough to give him his first start of the season next week at Philadelphia.
"I'm pretty reluctant to make a change there. I felt like at this point it was the smart thing for us to do," Gibbs said. "I know Mark's disappointed that he hasn't played better than what he has. I think we need to see if we can get a lift. In all likelihood, it's probably good to give Patrick a chance now to see what we can do."
Brunell went 1-for-8 for 6 yards and an interception for a quarterback rating of 0.0. He was 1-for-2 for 8 yards in the second half last week, giving him 14 yards passing over his last 31/2 quarters. He entered the game with the worst completion percentage in the league, yet still said he was "a little bit surprised" by the switch.
"On a team, you never want to be the guy to let the other guys down," Brunell said, "and I feel that way. It's tough. I haven't had to face this before."
Ramsey went 18-for-37 for 210 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He was 12-for-20 in the fourth quarter, including a 9-yard scoring pass to Chris Cooley with 2:22 remaining to pull the Redskins within a touchdown. The Bengals then covered an onside kick and punted, leaving the Redskins to mount a futile drive in the game's final minute.
"I think early I felt a little rusty," Ramsey said. "I got loose in the second half and felt a little better out there. It's been awhile."
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