Monday, December 5, 2005
Johnson: We'll play Indy again ... and win

Enquirer staff reports

Chad Johnson said Monday he thinks the Bengals and Indianapolis will meet in the AFC Championship game, and that this time, the outcome will be different.

Asked about the Bengals defense by ESPN’s Dan Patrick, Johnson said he expects that unit to carry the Bengals to the Super Bowl.

“They’re going to carry us,” Johnson told Patrick. “They’re going to carry us, because we’re going to put up the points … we’re going to score 40 a game from here on out. We’re going to score 40 a game from here on out, and there is not another team that is going to shoot it out with us until we get to the AFC Championship game, and you already know who we’re going to be playing.”

Patrick responded: “You’re playing the Colts in Indy.”

“In Indy,” Johnson said. “And the second go-round, I guarantee we win.”

Johnson later told Patrick he had a feeling after the Bengals lost to the Colts 45-37 on Nov. 20 that the teams would meet again.

“That game (an AFC title game against the Colts) is going to be a shootout,” Johnson said.

“In order to beat em, we’re going to have to put up 40, if we want to be realistic about it. We will see Indianapolis again. I felt that way when we lost the first time … I could feel it: We’re going to have to play them again. And I think this next time I’m saying it’s going to be a better outcome in our favor.”

In the interview, Johnson also said he would vote for quarterback Carson Palmer as the NFL’s Most Valuable Player.

“I’d give it to Carson,” Johnson said. “To take this team from the bottom to the top, to where we are right now… it’s only his second year, and to have us in the position we’re in right now as our leader, I’d give it to Carson.”
While I agree that it's going to be tough to stop the Bengals offense come playoff time, should he have said this? It's one thing to guarentee a victory against Houston in the regular season but to guarentee a trip to the Super Bowl? He's really going out on a limb here.

Believe me, I sure as heck hope he's right. But I'm alittle on the fence as to these comments.