NFL

Bills blow up Bengals' bid for first-round bye

By wire services
Published December 25, 2005

CINCINNATI - Chad Johnson set a merry mood, pulling championship T-shirts, caps and footballs out of his Santa bag and flinging them into the stands after his first-half touchdown. Then the Bengals got really generous.

Playing as a division champion for the first time in 15 years, the Bengals let a game and a first-round playoff bye get away as Terrence McGee returned a kickoff and an interception for a touchdown to rally Buffalo.

McGee's 46-yard interception return with 35 seconds left sealed it for the Bills. According to ESPN, McGee is the first player in league history to return a kickoff and an interception for a touchdown in one game.

Cincinnati needed a win to keep pace with Denver for the AFC's No. 2 seed, which the Broncos clinched by beating Oakland.

"Oh, well. Can't be great all the time," receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh said. "If anybody thought we were that great, this brings them back to earth."

The Bengals clinched the AFC North title last week in Detroit.

McGee had five kickoff returns for 220 yards, including his 99-yard sprint late in the third quarter.

NOTABLE: Buffalo earned its first road win since Dec. 26, 2004 against San Francisco.

[Last modified December 24, 2005, 23:43:13]