Bengals Win Thriller

What do the Steelers, Browns and Ravens all have in common? They all know how it feels to lose to the division leader by three points.

Carson and the boys did it again behind a 20-yard TD strike to Andre Caldwell with 22 seconds remaining after an inspired defensive unit held a top five offense to just 257 yards.

The tragic passing of Vikki Zimmer, wife of Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, gave a miserable type of motivation to the Bengals defensive unit who executed a brilliantly called game by their coach.

Rather than blitz to create pressure against a maximum protection offense, Zimmer dropped several players into coverage and dared Joe Flacco to pass down the field. Flacco finished the night with just 186 passing yards and two interceptions.

Pairing the stellar defensive effort with a clock-killing running game(Bengals with a nearly 9 minute advantage) helped keep the Bengals in this game. Cedric Benson finished the game with 120 yards on the ground and is the first player since Larry Johnson in 2006 to accumulate more than 100 rushing yards on the ground against the Baltimore defense.

The final drive was a combination of excellent decision making by cold-blooded Carson and gift-wrapped penalties by the Ravens. Once again Andre Caldwell came up big and scored his 20-yard TD on a skinny post right down the middle of the defense.

The locker room scene after the game was one of elation and heartache for Zimmer and all those who had their lives impacted by his late wife Vikki. A fantastic win for a franchise and its fans, but a victory that will commemorate a life that ended too soon.