Rudi Johnson picked up the slack for teammates

A sprained ankle will sideline running back Chris Perry indefinitely.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Chad couldn't get open. Carson couldn't get a grip. And the Bengals' high-tech offense couldn't make a highlight-reel play.
No problem.
With Rudi Johnson carrying the ball more than he had all season, the Bengals ground out victory No. 10 on a wintry afternoon, showing that their offense is more than a passing fancy. Cincinnati (10-3) won a game that it needed, in a way it didn't expect.
And, it may have to do it again.
A sprained ankle will sideline running back Chris Perry indefinitely, limiting the Bengals' options on third down. Perry walked around with a protective plastic boot on his left foot Monday, a bad omen.
"He'll try to get back for the playoffs," Johnson said.
Using what's available
For now, the Bengals will keep Perry on the roster and go with what they have in the backfield, hoping it's enough to clinch a playoff spot and keep them in the running for a first-round bye.
The Bengals can win the AFC North with a victory Sunday in Detroit, the site of this season's Super Bowl. Undefeated Indianapolis has clinched a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Cincinnati and Denver are both 10-3, vying for the other first-round bye.
The immediate challenge is to tweak an offense that bogged down unexpectedly during a 23-20 victory over Cleveland in the tricky winds at Paul Brown Stadium. Thrown off by the wind, Carson Palmer had by far his worst game of the season, going 13-of-27 for 93 yards. Chad Johnson had season lows with two catches for 22 yards.
So, the Bengals gave the ball to Rudi Johnson, who has been overshadowed during Palmer's emergence as one of the league's best passers. Johnson carried 30 times for 169 yards -- both season highs -- and averaged 5.6 yards per run.
Running game's importance
"The running game is what's gotten us to this point, and now we're really leaning on it," Palmer said. "It's huge. When you have a running back like Rudi Johnson, he just gets better as the game goes on. The more carries he gets, the more physical he gets.
"We're counting on Rudi for the rest of the year."
Johnson took over for Corey Dillon as the featured back last year and set a franchise rushing record with 1,454 yards. He is on pace to top 1,500 yards this season despite sharing the job with Perry, who is more of a receiving threat and plays on third down.
Jeremi Johnson, a fourth-round pick in 2003, also can catch the ball and could take some of Perry's role while the club waits to see how fast he heals. Jeremi Johnson has carried three times and caught seven passes this season, scoring three touchdowns.
"Jeremi has been a fine runner," coach Marvin Lewis said Monday. "He's done a great job in practice. He's practiced almost all year as that guy. But I'm not going to speculate on what we're going to do, because Rudi is our running back and we'll be fine."
Expects to practice
Rudi Johnson expects to practice in Perry's role this week, learning what he needs to do on the Bengals' array of third-down plays.
"It's more about me knowing more in detail and actually seeing the look," he said.
"On third down, you get different looks on defense, a lot more exotic defenses on third down."
Perry declined to comment about the extent of his sprain as he left the stadium Monday. The ankle gave out as he made a cut against the Browns, but his cleats didn't catch in the artificial turf and no one fell on it, so he wound up with a sprain instead of a fracture.
"I slipped," he said. "The good thing is my foot didn't stick. It could have been a lot worse."