Falcons 37, Bengals 10

<p>The less the Atlanta Falcons see of Michael Vick, the more they like Matt Schaub.</p><p>For the second straight week, Schaub passed for three touchdowns, leading the Falcons past the Cincinnati Bengals and their young quarterback, Carson Palmer, 37-10, in a preseason game Saturday night.</p><p>Vick, expected to play the first half, was held out after aggravating a hamstring injury during pregame warmups.</p><p>"Michael's hamstring was tight during warmups and we decided as a staff not to play him tonight," said Falcons coach Jim Mora. "We feel having a healthy Michael Vick going into the regular season is the way to go."</p><p>For the second straight week, Schaub was a winning backup plan.</p><p>Guiding the Falcons to a 27-7 halftime lead, Schaub completed 14 of 20 passes for 214 yards and three touchdowns. The rookie from Virginia completed his first six passes.</p><p>"We got off to a great start, and that always helps build confidence," Schaub said, giving credit to his teammates, including his receivers for "catching everything I was throwing them."</p><p>Playing behind Vick in last week's 27-24 preseason win over Minnesota, Schaub passed for 205 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions, but he didn't expect to see as much playing time Saturday night.</p><p>"Our offense has done a great job, and that's how we've got to play as a team," Mora said. "And that's what it's all about, it's a team sport no matter who's pulling the trigger and who's catching the ball."</p><p>Ty Detmer and David Rivers took over at quarterback for Atlanta in the second half.</p><p>Vick is only 5-of-9 for 35 yards in limited preseason action. The Falcons play their final preseason game at Washington on Friday night.</p><p>Vick first strained the hamstring on Aug. 5, and he irritated the injury in last week's win over Minnesota.</p><p>Schaub led the Falcons on a four-play, 83-yard touchdown drive on their opening possession. Schaub passed for 36 yards to tight end Alge Crumpler to open the drive and finished with an 18-yard TD pass to Dez White.</p><p>The Bengals' first possession ended when safety Bryan Scott sacked Palmer, forcing a fumble recovered by defensive tackle Rod Coleman at the Bengals 28. The play set up a 26-yard field goal by Jay Feely for a 10-0 lead.</p><p>Palmer directed an 87-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter. The big play was a 52-yard completion to T.J. Houshmandzadeh that set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Rudi Johnson.</p><p>Following a 27-yard field goal by Feely, the Falcons pushed the lead to 20-7 when Schaub connected with Crumpler on a 14-yard pass. Crumpler knocked cornerback Tory James backward at the goal line.</p><p>Crumpler's touchdown was set up when Aaron Beasley intercepted Palmer's pass and returned the interception 32 yards to the Bengals 16.</p><p>Schaub needed only 43 seconds to move the Falcons 68 yards on his final touchdown drive. On third-and-11 from the Atlanta 47, Schaub stepped up to avoid the pass rush and threw 53 yards to Peerless Price, who beat James for a 27-7 halftime lead.</p><p>"We were outplayed very thoroughly in the first half," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis. "We didn't block, we didn't tackle and we didn't cover. There wasn't really anything you could say we did well."</p><p>Palmer completed 12 of 26 passes for 171 yards with one interception.</p><p>T.J. Duckett scored on a 6-yard run early in the third quarter, pushing the Falcons' lead to 34-7. Cincinnati's Shayne Graham and Atlanta's Damon Duval traded field goals to end the scoring. Duval's 29-yard field goal came after a lost fumble by Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna.</p><p>Notes: Falcons rookie cornerback DeAngelo Hall left the game late in the first half with a left hip injury. ... The Bengals lost receiver Patrick Johnson to a hand injury in the second period. ... Falcons running back Warrick Dunn walked off slowly with a right leg strain in the second period after rushing for 53 yards on nine carries.</p>

http://accesswdun.com/article/2004/8/161965