National Football League

At last, Palmer gets another playoff shot

Published Jan. 7, 2010 7:32 p.m. ET

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Carson Palmer's postseason experience is all of two plays and one pass. That's certainly something no one envisioned four years ago.

When Cincinnati faced Pittsburgh in an AFC wild card game on Jan. 8, 2006, many had them as the dark-horse favorite to advance to Super Bowl XL and that they would be a perennial playoff team. Then came the hit by Kimo von Oelhoffen on Palmer, which ended up tearing the ACL and MCL in his left knee and brought back the perpetual black cloud that seemingly hangs over this franchise.

Four years later the crowd has dissipated. The Bengals get a second opportunity when they play host to the New York Jets on Saturday in an AFC wild card game.

"There were a whole lot of other reasons that had to do with why we didn't get back to the playoffs," Palmer said when asked why this team had a huge hangover from the playoff loss. "I wouldn't say the reason we haven't been to the playoffs since that year is because of that game. There are a number of other circumstances that have made that be the outcome. It was a tough loss. It's tough to lose and then watch the team that you lost to go to the Super Bowl and win it. I don't think that has been an issue or something that has been in the back of anybody's mind."

The Bengals ended up losing that game to the Steelers, who ended up winning Super Bowl XL. Palmer never missed any games due to the injury and the 2006 team started 3-0, including a revenge win over the Steelers in Week 3, but in the subsequent 45 games they went 16-28-1.

They had a shot at making the playoffs in 2006, needing a win in only one of their final three games. They lost all three, including an overtime defeat in the season finale to, of all teams, the Steelers. A 7-9 year came in 2007 followed by the bottom dropping out last season with losses in their first eight games en route to a 4-11-1 record. Palmer ended up missing 12 games due to an elbow injury.

Of the players from that 2005 squad that finished 11-5, only eight remain. Between 2007 and the last offseason, coach Marvin Lewis purged the roster, replacing players whose egos had outgrown their statistics with veterans who were cast aside from other teams.

The evolution of the roster has led to this being a team that most resembles Lewis' mindset and Palmer's maturity.

While this team is younger -- the average experience of 3.58 years is the lowest in the league -- this is a squad better built to handle success. Much of that is due to a core of castoffs which includes running back Cedric Benson, linebacker Dhani Jones and safety Chris Crocker.

It has also been a team that has weathered plenty of adversity during the season with the deaths of Vikki Zimmer, the wife of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer, and wide receiver Chris Henry.

When looking back on the past four years, Lewis points to the Gatorade shower in Detroit in 2005, when the Bengals clinched the AFC North, as the point when everything began to change. Guys got lax, didn't work as hard and things started to decline.

"Everyone thought they were the reason (for the success) instead of the team," Lewis said.

Said Crocker of this year's team: "We're setting ourselves up for something big and doing what we're supposed to. It's hard to win in this league but it's hard to put it together. You see it every year, there are teams you wouldn't expect to be as good or teams you wouldn't expect to be as bad but everybody has talent. You have to be able to put it together."

Lewis also built this team to resemble the Ravens and Steelers in the AFC North with physical running games and tough defenses. No longer is this a team that wants to get into 38-35 shootouts. While it has taken Palmer a while to get used to, the fact that they're winning trumps everything.

While the Bengals (10-6) have lost three of their last four entering the playoffs, it is a team built for cold weather. Benson rushed for a team-record six 100-yard games. But in order to have a chance at making a long playoff run, Palmer and the passing game need to find some semblance of rhythm. Palmer had just one 300-yard game this year and the Bengals were ranked 26th in pass offense and 24th in total offense.

Palmer also needs to do a better job of distributing the ball to his receivers like he did earlier in the season. While the offense has done a better job filling the void left by Henry's loss, Andre Caldwell and Laveranues Coles must be active to take the pressure off Chad Ochocinco.

"We need to catch fire and we need to get hot," Palmer said. "We haven't been hot lately, but this is a great opportunity to go out against a very good defense and put on our best (performance)."

Take away the game against San Diego in Week 15, where Palmer threw for 314 yards, and the second half of the season has been one long offensive struggle. Since the Bengals had 10 consecutive scoring drives in wins over Chicago and Baltimore, they have had only 25 scores in 97 drives with only nine of those being touchdowns.

Palmer doesn't seem overly concerned now that the playoffs are here. This is a moment for which he has waited four years. In order to show he can be a top-flight quarterback., he needs to win playoff games.

"Really what drives you is watching the wild card round at home. Flying back to your hometown and watching it with your family or friends, whatever the case may be, that drives you," Palmer said. "Sitting at home and everybody is having a good time, slapping high fives and enjoying the game. Any NFL player sitting at home watching games is putting on a show. Nobody enjoys watching the first round, second round, third round, the Super Bowl round. It's tough to do. I think that is something that has really driven our team, and definitely me."

Joe Reedy covers the Bengals for The Cincinnati Enquirer. He is on the board of selectors for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.