everybody," Busch said. Gordon, who led 173 laps, and tea

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Without receiver A.J. Green on the field to make a big play, Andy Dalton called out to his running back whenever he was in a bind. Somehow in all the commotion, Giovani Bernard heard his name and looked for the ball. The second-year running back picked up a depleted offence by running for 90 yards and turning Daltons under-duress passes into big plays on Sunday, leading the Cincinnati Bengals to a 24-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons. "He yelled out, Gio! and I just opened my eyes," Bernard said. "Its weird. I guess its a quarterback-running back relationship kind of thing." All around the field, the Bengals have a good thing going right now. They won their home opener and improved to 2-0 for the first time since 2006 despite losing several key players to injury, most notably Green. The Pro Bowl receiver aggravated an injured toe on his right foot, which kept him out of practice last week. He left during the opening series and didnt catch a pass for the first time in his four-year career. Cincinnati still put up some impressive numbers against the Falcons (1-1), who gave up nearly 500 yards for the second straight game. "To be able to step up like that just shows the number of receivers we have," said Mohamed Sanu, who caught three passes for a team-high 84 yards and also threw a 50-yard pass. The centerpiece was Bernard, who ran 27 times for 90 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown. He also caught a team-high five passes for a career-high 79 yards, including a 46-yard catch-and-run when Dalton flipped the ball to him as he was getting hit. The Bengals wound up with 472 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per play. Rookie Jeremy Hill ran for 74 yards and a touchdown, and the Bengals rushed for 170 overall. "We got what we needed to have," Dalton said. "I think the offence was really balanced. Once we got the lead, we could focus on running the ball and eating up the clock." Cincinnatis biggest challenge was to shut down Matt Ryan, coming off the best game of his career. Ryan threw for a club-record 448 yards and three touchdowns in an opening 37-34 overtime win over the Saints. The Bengals blitzing defence got to him. Ryan was 24 of 44 for 231 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions, one of which set up Hills 1-yard touchdown run for a 24-3 lead in the third quarter. Nothing new about the Bengals holding down a top passer. Last season, they got the best of Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers, Joe Flacco and Ben Roethlisberger on their way to the AFC North title. "At the half, we knew we were right in the game," Ryan said. "But when you turn the ball over three times, youre not going to win. I have to be better. Thats the way it goes sometimes." Dalton was solid again, completing 15 of 23 for 252 yards without a sack or interception for the second straight game. Dalton hit Sanu on a quick slant against an all-out blitz during the third quarter, and the receiver turned it into an easy 76-yard touchdown when cornerback Robert Alford dived in front to try to knock down the ball and missed. Sanu also completed a 50-yard pass off a pitch out from Dalton during the Bengals wasteful first half. They piled up 293 yards, but managed only 10 points. Mike Nugent missed field goal attempts of 38, 49 and 55 yards. Cincinnatis depth was tested as several important starters went down, starting with Greens foot injury. Already missing tight end Tyler Eifert, the Bengals lost tight end Alex Smith to an injured left biceps in the first half. Right guard Kevin Zeitler hurt his right calf in the first half and didnt return. Pro Bowl linebacker Vontaze Burfict left in the second half with a pinched nerve in his neck after taking a teammates knee to the helmet. Burfict suffered a concussion in a season-opening win at Baltimore and missed practice during the week. Notes: The Falcons had only one lineup change. Gabe Carimi started at left tackle for rookie Jake Matthews, who has a sprained ankle. ... The Bengals matched the club record with their 10th straight home victory in the regular season. They lost at home to San Diego in the playoffs last season. ... Sanu is 3 for 3 for 148 yards as a passer in his three seasons. He completed a 73-yard TD pass as a rookie, and had a 25-yard completion last season. Hes the first player since New Englands David Patten in 2001 to have a pass of at least 50 yards and a touchdown catch of at least 75 yards in the same game, according to STATS. Discount Dolphins Jerseys Online . “The fact that he was willing to do the deal the way we wanted it to be done showed that he wanted me to be a part of something great," Lowry said, noting that Ujiri willingness to sign off on the proposal that both Lowry and his agent presented to the GM was the final straw that convinced him to return. Cheap Dolphins Jerseys China .Y. - Through three quarters, the Brooklyn Nets could not shake the NBAs worst team. http://www.dolphinscheapjerseys.com/ . But Paul Osbaldiston, Hamiltons assistant special teams and kicking coach, said the team still relished the championship game workout. Cheap Dolphins Jerseys . It all would have been for naught, however, had it not been for some clutch shooting in the fourth quarter by Kobe Bryant and a couple of equally critical hustle plays by Derek Fisher and Pau Gasol in the final minutes.RICHMOND, Va. -- Joey Logano punched his ticket to NASCARS playoffs. Marcos Ambrose punched Casey Mears. Logano used a savvy move to get around three dueling former champions in the final laps Saturday night at Richmond International Raceway, and the classic short-track ending caused tempers to flare in a big way in the garage afterward. The biggest skirmish had Marcos Ambrose, who finished 18th, confronting Casey Mears, who was 19th. Mears first pushed Ambrose out of the way, and Ambrose retaliated with a thundering punch in the face that appeared to draw blood. It was unclear what caused the two to confront each other, but NASCAR vice-president of competition Robin Pemberton said the governing body would review the matter. Logano, meanwhile, needed 26 races and two trips to Richmond before putting himself in NASCARs playoff last season. There will be no such nail-biting this year, and it took just one Richmond race to make it so. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver took advantage of the late-race duel to grab the lead and then outran former champions Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski. Loganos second victory essentially assured him a spot in the 10-race Chase for the championship, which he only achieved on his last chance a year ago. Loganos first career victory on the 0.75-mile oval came when Gordon, Kenseth and Keselowski raced in a triangle jockeying for position, and Logano went underneath all three and held off Gordon for his fifth career Sprint Cup victory. "Im more surprised than anyone else here," Logano said. "This is one of my worst tracks. ... What a crazy finish." It got crazier afterward, with Keselowski vowing to remember how Kenseth blocked him from a chance at winning. "I had a shot at winning the race and felt like he ran me off the track," said Keselowski, who was fifth on the final restart, but had the fastest car on short runs all night. "You race to win and he definitely was racing to win, but you hope when somebody races to win that they at least win the race if theyre going to wreck you or run you off the race track. "It was just a mind-boggling move to me, but I made sure I got him back and made sure my teammate could win the race. ... I thought it was uncalled for. ... Just got to put that in the bank and remember it," Keselowski said. Gordon said Kenseth was just doing what he needed to do to try and hang on. "II think Matt did what he thought he had to do to win," Gordon said.dddddddddddd "He started making his car real wide. He probably didnt make the guys behind him real happy." Kenseth had come from nowhere after lurking in the back of the top 10 all race long, suddenly charging through the field and passing Gordon to grab the lead with 38 laps to go. It was his first lead. "I was trying to win the race. I think thats what all five of us were trying to do," Kenseth said. Logano, meanwhile, looks forward to the next 15 races knowing hes already got a spot in the playoffs. "At this point, we really have nothing to lose," Logano said of the remaining 15 races before the Chase field is set. "Its all about going for wins and having fun out there and making sure were ready for when the Chase starts." Gordon said the three-way battle helped create the opening for Logano. "I was really just trying to battle with those guys to get the best finish that we could," Gordon said. "(Logano) was in a great position while we were all sitting there sliding around battling it out. To come home second is still a great finish." Kyle Busch, never in contention, rose to finish third, followed by Keselowski and Kenseth. "That last restart was intense. ... I just drove by everybody," Busch said. Gordon, who led 173 laps, and teammate Earnhardt both seemed poised to challenge at the end, but after the final restart, Team Penske teammates Logano and Keselowski became the ones to watch. Their cars had easily been the fastest on fresh rubber all night, so much so that Gordon said, "I just had to let the 2 and the 22 go right by me because they were so fast" on fresh tires. Signs of the wild ending may have come very early. Clint Bowyer started third and hoped a return to one of his best tracks would allow him to put last September behind him. That was when Bowyers intentional spin late in the last race before the playoffs jumbled the finishing order, and the drivers who made the Chase, leading to a NASCAR investigation. Instead of a clean run, Bowyer hit rookie pole-sitter Kyle Larson on the opening lap, sending Larson spinning. He also twice pitted under a green flag, right before a caution flag came out, and was battling Danica Patrick for 38th place when a fire in his engine ultimately caused him to park for the night. ' ' '