No sunshine in Cincy...yet

It was like fate had money riding on the Steelers yesterday. It didn't want them to lose, so in response, it made the Bengals' first playoff appearance in 15 years a surreal trip through the most cynical NFL game I've ever seen. Fate's hand spelled doom and gloom for Cincinnati, twisting itself so the Steelers basically had the game in the bag. A devastating end to an impressive turn-around season…it was a sad state of affairs.

Carson Palmer, the endearing leader of the team and new king of the town, went back to throw his first playoff pass. It was a deep ball to rookie wide receiver Chris Henry, a 66-yarder that connected and had the crowd in an uproar of cheers and jubilation. It was a good start and a good sign of things to come. Henry got up and was just as excited. Then, fate must have made a deal with the devil, because everything the Bengals worked for this season, almost every reason for how far they'd come…was laying face down on the opposite side of the field, holding his knee in pain.

The Queen City and all Bengals fans around fell deathly silent in an instant. Carson Palmer was down, and he was hurt bad. Holding his braced knee, Palmer was in pain and couldn't get up. What the hell just happened? Replays showed that Steelers' defensive tackle, Kimo von Oelhoffen tugged Palmer's left knee after being blocked into it. He went down immediately after being hit and was carted away to the locker room. You've never seen a more dejected, depressed look on an NFL player. Cincy's prodicle son was out, and wasn't coming back for awhile.

And so it would be on the shoulders of Bengals backup, Jon Kitna, to carry the team forward. The Bengals were mad and playing emotional. And it seemed to be working. 5 plays after the Palmer injury, Kitna drove the team near the Steelers' red zone, threatening to score. Things were looking good.

Fate's accomplice in all this, the devil, played his own hand on the 6th play. Chris Henry, the rookie receiver Palmer hit for the 66 yarder earlier, went down. He wasn't hit, but something gave in, and he was on the ground in pain. Henry wouldn't come back, out with an ankle injury. With Kelley Washington inactive as backup, Cincy was left without a true 3rd receiver.

For the first half, Kitna gave a stellar performance. And there was still hope in the stands. Maybe we could pull this off. Palmer could come back in the second half if it wasn't bad and lead the team to victory! We still had Rudi, Chad, TJ, and Kevin Walters was putting on an impressive show with Kitna. At the half, the Bengals led 17-14.

Reports came in at halftime of Palmer having torn his ACL and MCL…if you've followed the NFL, you know it's bad. Months of rehab and it's an injury that has ended careers of many. The players didn't take it very well. It dwelled on them the entire second half and it showed. Kitna wasn't as effective and penalties were flying. The refs didn't exactly do a stellar job either. In the end, Pittsburgh won by bringing out the Bus (Jerome Bettis) and running over an emotionally distraught team. Their playoff experience helped and they remained focused on their goal. All that, and it was a home game too.

Credit to Jon Kitna for the valiant effort. That's a lot to ask, and he did what he could. Are the Steelers a better team? Overall, yes. The Bengals have more talent and potential stars, but they lack experience, which tends to show in their emotions and procedural errors. It's a young team and it will grow. Palmer will be back. He better be…we just payed him a boat load of money to stick around. Marvin will work on the wrinkles and we'll be back in the playoff hunt next year. The Steelers won this round, but their time is coming. The rivalry will grow and it'll be fireworks the next time these two teams play.

A dark day in Cincy, but in retrospect, an overall good season. Palmer proved he can lead this team and play well. We got our first winning season and playoff birth in 15 years. We beat the Steelers earlier in the year. Rudi broke his own rushing records. TJ brokeout and became a star receiver. Chad had the Riverdance and Proposal, and led the AFC in receiving yards. And, we stood up to Indy. The town was on fire. The Jungle will be back…no worries…we'll wait and see what happens. Who-Dey!