A.J. Green scores again as Bengals rout Chiefs 28-6

• Resurgent Bengals back at .500 after notching latest win
• Green has now reached end zone in nine consecutive games
• Chiefs pull Matt Cassel in favor of Brady Quinn

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — For the first 10 weeks, there had not been much of a running game for the Bengals. It was productive at times but not consistent.

On Sunday, they were finally able to get things going. BenJarvus Green-Ellis got his first 100-yard game as a Bengal and the defense held Kansas City without a touchdown in a 28-6 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.

The defense held the 1-9 Chiefs, who have lost seven straight, to a pair of Ryan Succop field goals, marking the first time they have held an opponent without a touchdown in four years (Week 16 against the Browns).

With consecutive wins the Bengals are 5-5 and within a game of a wild card spot. They are also a game ahead of five teams who find themselves at 4-6.

"We've won the last two and it's not worth a darn unless we take care of business next week (against Oakland)," head coach Marvin Lewis said. "We just have to keep going. We put ourselves in this situation and they just have to take it one step at a time."

Decisive victories by the Bengals are also something they are not accustomed to. Combined with last week's 31-13 win over the Giants, it is the first time since 1985 that Cincinnati has won two straight by 18 points or more.

Besides Green-Ellis getting 101 yards on 25 carries, Cedric Peerman added 73 yards. The 189 total rushing yards were the most by the Bengals since they had 188 two years ago in a Week 15 win over Cleveland. It was also the first time this year where the run-pass ratio tilted heavily toward the ground game. Of the 69 offensive plays, 38 were runs.

"Benny getting over 100 was huge. It was a goal going in to get over 100 and we came out and we executed," said Andy Dalton, who passed for two touchdowns and ran for another. "This week we really emphasized the running game, we wanted to get it going and we did. We challenged the guys up front and the backs and they did a great job."

The running game also allowed the Bengals to possess the ball for a season best 35 minutes, 22 seconds. Of the four scoring drives, three lasted 11 plays or more.

While it has become a passing league, the Bengals are only 6-15 under Marvin Lewis when a quarterback throws for 300 yards or more. In the 38 games since 2003 when a Bengals back has gone over the century mark, they have won 31.

On defense, the aim was to shut down a Chiefs rushing attack that came into the game leading the AFC in rushing. The Bengals held Kansas City to 113 yards, which is 36 yards below their season average.

Jamaal Charles had 87 yards, but 45 of those were in the first quarter. Matt Cassel was pulled in favor of Brady Quinn in the second half. Of Kansas City's 12 possessions, only three ever got into Bengals' territory. The Chiefs also converted only 1 of 11 third downs.

"We wanted to get the run stop whoever was carrying the ball," defensive end Michael Johnson said. "We're all playing hard and playing fast together. It felt good (holding an opponent without a touchdown). We almost held them without a touchdown last week so hopefully we can build on this."

With the Chiefs playing Cover 2 and trying to take away anything deep, the Bengals found a lot of opportunities to run up the middle. Of Green-Ellis' 25 carries, 15 were between the hashmarks behind the young interior line of guards Kevin Zeitler and Clint Boling and center Trevor Robinson.

"It reminded me of my Wisconsin days. You can feel that energy when you can run the ball. Ben was excited and we were excited," Zeitler said.

Green-Ellis didn't have much to say about his fifth 100-yard game in the NFL. The one thing he was excited about though was still being able to carry the ball in the fourth quarter.

"Over the season there have been a lot of games where I was not even playing in the fourth quarter. We were trying to come back and were not running the ball," he said. "It feels good to go out there and get some of those things under wraps."

It won't be the rushing stats though that will please offensive coordinator Jay Gruden the most. Over the past two games, they haven't had a turnover on offense and have scored seven touchdowns on their last eight red zone trips. They scored on all four opportunities against the Chiefs.

For his part, Dalton was an efficient 18 of 29 for 230 yards and two touchdowns. It was also the fourth game this season where he has had a passer rating over 100 (109.8).

About the only thing Gruden won't be pleased with is they were an anemic 4 of 14 in converting third downs. But the Bengals were successful on all three fourth-down opportunities starting with a Peerman fake punt that jump started things.

After a Succup 34-yard field goal gave the Chiefs an early 3-0 lead, the Bengals saw the right look to try a fake after a drive appeared to stall and Peerman went 32 yards up the left sideline. Four plays later, facing fourth-and-7 at the Chiefs 36, Lewis eschewed the chance to go for a field goal and Dalton scrambled 11 yards to keep it alive again. Three plays later, Dalton connected with Green, who was double covered in the end zone, for a 4-yard touchdown.

Green, who set a team single-season record with a touchdown in nine straight games, said he was surprised that Dalton threw it to him. But Green was able to snag it with his left hand.

Cincinnati took control in the second quarter with a pair of touchdowns. Facing another fourth down, this time on the Chiefs 1, Dalton executed a naked bootleg to his left off a play fake to conclude a 5-play drive. The key play on the series was a 40-yard Dalton completion to Green to the Chiefs 17. An unnecessary roughness call on Abram Elam moved the ball to the KC 8.

Said Dalton of the bootleg: "It's something that we have practiced and it was the perfect look. We got exactly what we wanted."

Late in the first half, Green-Ellis made it 21-3 on a 1-yard carry up the middle. On that drive Green-Ellis had his longest run of the day (21 yards) and Peerman had a 17-yard carry. The Chiefs drove just before halftime and got a Succop field goal.

After a scoreless third quarter, Dalton found Mohamed Sanu on a crossing pattern for a 14-yard touchdown less than six minutes into the fourth. Sanu got his first NFL start and it is his second consecutive game with a touchdown.