Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.sports From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: Sanders runs wild as Lions prey on Bengals Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 15:07:21 EST Message-ID: \SE C;SPORTS;PRO FOOTBALL \SS (WS) \HD Sanders runs wild as Lions prey on Bengals \BY ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT CINCINNATI CINCINNATI (AP) - Barry Sanders went into the Detroit Lions' record books. Then he went into the end zone. Sanders became the Lions' all-time rushing leader yesterday with a 101-yard first half. Then he scored the clinching, fourth-quarter touchdown on a five-yard run for a 19-13 victory over the ineffective Cincinnati Bengals. Sanders was nearly the entire offense for Detroit (3-8), which ended a three-game losing streak. He rushed for a season-high 151 yards and improvised several highlight-film runs that stunned the Bengals and kept the Lions' offense going. Sanders accounted for 154 of the Lions' 277 total yards, and he did it with flair. "Barry Sanders is one of those guys who shows you something that you'll never see again," Bengals linebacker James Francis said. "He's one of those guys who comes along once every 10 years." He's been in Detroit for 3 1/2 and already is the Lions' top career rusher with 5,202 yards. He topped Billy Sims' mark of 5,106 with an 18-yard run late in the second quarter, but no one could tell by his reaction that it was a notable moment. Sanders simply got up and went back to the huddle, not even bothering to ask for the ball. "It feels good," he said. "Everybody will pay attention to Barry Sanders, but for the last 3 1/2 years, I wasn't the only one out there running the ball. A lot of credit has got to go to a lot of other guys besides me. I don't think I'm being modest, I think I'm being realistic." Modesty also came easily to the Bengals (4-7), who had one of their worst offensive performances in club history. Cincinnati managed just 95 total yards - 52 rushing and 43 passing - for the second-lowest mark in club history. The Bengals averaged less than two yards per play. "Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong when we dropped back to pass," said Boomer Esiason, who completed 12 of 25 for a season-low 64 yards with two interceptions. "We'll look back and say a lot of it was our mistakes." Cincinnati's only touchdown came on Francis' 66-yard interception return of Erik Kramer's pass, which cut it to 16-13 early in the fourth quarter. The momentum didn't last. Mel Gray returned the kickoff 52 yards, and Kramer threw a 32-yard pass to Herman Moore on third-and-12 to set up Jason Hanson's fourth field goal, a 29-yarder with 3:56 left. The Bengals got the ball one more time, but Esiason threw four consecutive incomplete passes at midfield to turn the ball over with 1:37 left. Sanders then carried three times for a first down that ended it. Sanders' record-setting run in the second quarter started a 65-yard drive to the go-ahead field goal. And it was vintage Sanders. That set up Hanson's 20-yard kick for a 9-6 lead with six seconds left in the half. This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM