Bengals beat Titans for fifth straight win

Associated Press

NASHVILLE, TENN.

The Cincinnati Bengals are on a roll unlike anything seen by this franchise since 1988 with five straight wins, and coach Marvin Lewis says it doesn’t matter.

“Half of these guys weren’t even alive 23 years ago,” Lewis said.

Rookie Andy Dalton threw for three touchdowns and 217 yards, and the Bengals rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat the Tennessee Titans 24-17.

The Bengals (6-2) last won five in a row in 1988 when they took the AFC championship and went to their second Super Bowl. They also improved to 4-1 on the road with the rookie quarterback leading the Bengals to 17 unanswered points as he tossed TD passes to three different receivers.

“Our quarterback has done a nice job,” Lewis said. “It was loud out there, louder than we expected. I think he’s done a nice job of handling that. He doesn’t get unnerved.”

Tennessee’s (4-4) Chris Johnson had 110 yards from scrimmage, but the Titans blew a 17-7 halftime lead when the offense shut down in the second half.

Cincinnati came in with the fourth-stingiest defense in the NFL, and the Bengals helped shut down the Titans in the second half. Carlos Dunlap had two sacks, and Nate Clements stripped the ball for the lone turnover. Clements forced Titans tight end Jared Cook to fumble at the end of an 8-yard gain to give Cincinnati the ball at the Tennessee 20 with 3:49 left. Mike Nugent kicked a 36-yard field goal for the final margin.