NASHVILLE Bengals regroup to defeat Titans

Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson teamed for eight receptions for 135 yards.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The only thing Chad Johnson didn't do against the Tennessee Titans was unveil his latest touchdown celebration.
Johnson's catch of Carson Palmer's 15-yard touchdown pass to his favorite receiver with 4:19 remaining gave Cincinnati the lead for good, and the Bengals bounced back from their first loss of the season with a 31-23 win over the Tennessee Titans Sunday.
A penalty forced Johnson to wait and see whether he had scored his first TD against the Titans. By the time the referee announced defensive pass interference, Johnson said the moment for a dance had passed.
"The heat of the moment was gone," Johnson said. "But it would've been a square dance anyway. The heel-toe thing. I was going to go around the goal post, all that good stuff."
Team for 8 catches
A week after complaining about being held to five catches in a loss at Jacksonville, Johnson hooked up with Palmer for eight receptions for 135 yards.
"We had a couple good situations to get Chad one-on-one and get him on a rookie, and that's what we want. A veteran Pro Bowl guy going against a rookie is something that makes me lick my chops," Palmer said.
Palmer also tied Peyton Manning's NFL record with his ninth straight game with a passer rating of 100 or above. He was 27-of-33 for 272 yards and two touchdowns and a rating of 121.2.
"He feels like he's invincible, but right now he knows he can go win it the next play," Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said of his quarterback. "He doesn't have to win it on every play. That says a lot for how he is and how important he is to this football team."
The Titans (2-4) had won nine of the last 10 in this series between old AFC Central rivals, but Cincinnati (5-1) won for the first time since the 2001 season finale and is 11/2 games ahead of Pittsburgh in the AFC North heading into its big match-up against the Steelers next week.
Rudi Johnson ran for a touchdown and Chris Perry had a 1-yard scoring reception, and rookie linebacker Odell Thurman also returned an interception 30 yards for a score for Cincinnati.
Titans didn't protect ball
Tennessee failed to do the one thing coach Jeff Fisher preached about: protecting the football against the NFL's best team at forcing turnovers.
"I'm not going to pin the loss on the offense, but as a team, when you turn it over and don't get turnovers, you're going to have a hard time beating a team like this," Fisher said.
The first came at the end of the third quarter with the Titans leading 17-10.
Tory James hit Titans receiver Tyrone Calico as a pass from Steve McNair arrived, and the ball bumped into the air to Thurman. He notched the Bengals' 13th interception this season and returned it for a touchdown that tied the score at 17.
The Titans took a 20-17 lead on a 29-yard field goal by Rob Bironas with 4:54 to go.
Palmer needed only 35 seconds and two defensive pass interference calls on Adam "Pacman" Jones to put the Bengals ahead to stay at 24-20.
Chad Johnson first drew a 34-yard penalty for interference, and Palmer went back to his favorite receiver in the left corner of the end zone after the two made an adjustment with hand signals to each other.
The Titans still had plenty of time left, but Kevin Kaevsiharn picked off a pass intended for Drew Bennett at midfield with 3:09 remaining.