This is football the way it was meant to be played. Two tough defenses facing some average offenses. Cincy had medium pass ratings in the low30s while Philly's were in the low 40s. Philly had single digit running ratings - mid single digits. No one might ever score.The Bengals actually moved into Philly territory 4 times in the first quarter, they were short drives started with good field position, but they did get into Philly territory. The result was zero points for the Bengals. meanwhile Midway through the quarter Philly struck with a medium pass that speedster Roy Green broke for a big gain - past the 50,the 40..he's gone. The Cincy coach was probably wondering how he would ever even score 7 points to match this. Then a miracle happened...Green was celebrating early and Tommy Casanova caught up from behind and punched the ball away ...into the end zone for a touch back. It was still 0-0. That's how the first quarter ended.Philly did manage a short drive and FG midway through the 2nd quarter.Freak play number 2 happened later in the quarter. Cincy punted from their own 20 and Rod Harris caught it a t midfield and returned it 
26yards to the 24...then fumbled...but Eric Allen recovered for Philly and rambled the last 24 yards for the score and a 10-0 lead.Cincy took advantage of a fumble early in the second half as they"drove" 39 yards to make it 10-7. Philly came back with a FG, 13-7.Cincy kicked a 24 yard FG late in the 3rd and it was now 13-10. Fast forward to late in the 4th quarter with teh score still 13-10.After a short punt and nice return the Bengals start at their own 48with 4:51 to play. Fals start makes it 1st and 15. Two runs produce afirst down. Two more runs produce zero yards. A screen pas goes incomplete. 4th and 10 at the Philly 41 with 1:51 to play. Another screen yields a measurement...first down. Anderson then hits Curtis for19 yards. This is looking like OT and a FG. Griffin runs for 3 and fumbles. 
Philly recovers. Game, set and match. Well, maybe not. 52 secs remain and Cincy has all their TOs. A kneel and a couple of runs yield little. Philly must punt and a 14 yard return by Casanova means Cincy takes over at the 34. Sixteen seconds remain. The first pass is incomplete..a medium pass was incomplete on a dice roll of15, that's the kind of defense that was being played in this game. Anderson drops back again and sees Chip Myers in single coverage on a medium pass. Myers has it...he's free...20...10...touchdown! Cincy scores with 2 secs to play to win 17-13. Rematch is set for Monday morning at 11 am.-contributed by Wayne Poniewaz-
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