Savage » year, but that wasnt the big story.

CINCINNATI - With the help of replay that went their way, the Bengals held on for a win.Then they glanced at the rest of the AFC North results and realized what had happened.The defending division champions are once again in control.A 14-13 win in Tampa on Sunday left the Bengals (8-3-1) with more than a game lead over the rest of the division. Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Cleveland all lost, falling to 7-5.And the schedule gives Cincinnati a chance to finish it off. The Bengals play two against the Steelers and a game in Cleveland during December.Safety George Iloka described it as a sense of relief when the Bengals realized that the division race has finally broken open — and broken Cincinnatis way. The Bengals host the Steelers on Sunday with a chance to all but eliminate the Steelers from the division title race.Weve just got a little more breathing room, Iloka said on Monday. It always helps when we win a game and other teams lose. Guys were definitely happy about that.The NFLs toughest division finally has a clear-cut leader.All three teams were three games over .500 — an NFL first — heading into the weekend. The Bengals played one of their poorest games and got the help of a replay overturn in the closing seconds. A review showed that Tampa Bay had 12 players on the field for a pass completion that had moved the Buccaneers well into field-goal range.That one replay changed everything in the division.Cincinnati is in solid shape to reach the playoffs for the fourth season in a row. And the Bengals are heading into December on a hot streak.The win at Tampa Bay marked the third straight week the Bengals had won on the road, which is a franchise first. The defence has finally straightened out, which is the most encouraging sign.And Cincinnati takes a lot of confidence and what amounts to a 1 1/2-game lead into the final stretch of the season.Its winning time, offensive co-ordinator Hue Jackson said on Monday. This is when you grow. This is when the real players show up, because this is an opportunity to really make something special happen.People remember what you do in December. Thats the old term: December, January football is where its at.January has been Cincinnatis worst month. The Bengals have lost opening-round playoff games each of the past three seasons — two in Houston, last year at home to San Diego — and havent gotten a post-season victory since the 1990 season.The whole theme of this season was to get to the playoffs again, and win this time. A 24-3 loss to Cleveland at Paul Brown Stadium on Nov. 6 in a Thursday night game knocked them out of first place, but theyve regained control with those three straight road wins.The biggest questions in December involve Andy Dalton, who was sick in Tampa and threw three first-half interceptions before helping the Bengals pull it out. Dalton has been erratic all season — he had a passer rating of only 2.0 in the loss to Cleveland — and will be under the biggest scrutiny heading down the stretch.Coach Marvin Lewis said on Monday that he never considered benching Dalton on Sunday even though he was sick and played so poorly in the first half — 7 of 11 for 62 yards with three interceptions and a passer rating of 39.In the second half, Dalton went 12 of 16 for 114 yards with a touchdown and a passer rating of 115.1.I thought he did a great job coming back in the second half after having a very, very poor first half, Lewis said. He missed throws, he missed things that hes supposed to do within the offence, and he heard about it at halftime. I thought he responded to it.He came back and played a great second half.Notes: The Bengals placed LB Jayson DiManche on the injured reserve list with a broken right forearm suffered on Sunday. Theyll look at their options before filling his roster spot. ... The right tackle job is open to competition. Marshall Newhouse and Clint Boling shared time there Sunday. Starter Andre Smith is out for the rest of the season with a torn left triceps.___Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys .com) - Baltimore Ravens running back Justin Forsett is active for Sundays matchup with the Miami Dolphins. Cheap Adidas Golden Knights Jerseys . "He came up to me and said, I want to train," said Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen. The 26-year-old midfielder is expected to play Saturday night when Toronto hosts D.C. United, returning to his Major League Soccer squad with mixed feelings about the Americans World Cup run -- sad that it ended when it did but proud of his teams performance. http://www.cheapgoldenknightsjerseys.com/ . The Brazilian international goalkeeper was beaten twice in the first 12 minutes of his Reds debut in a 3-1 preseason loss to Columbus Crew in Florida earlier this week. Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys China . - The Raiders have released guard Mike Brisiel after two disappointing seasons in Oakland. Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Authentic . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp.SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - By the time Tiger Woods made the turn in the opening round of a year that means so much for so many reasons, he had already stubbed one chip and bladed another. Things had gotten so bad that he twice took to using the putter from well off the green, lest he mess up his day even more.He hadnt given up, though, and neither had the fans, who swarmed loudly around the Phoenix Open in record numbers. As he walked the gauntlet between the nines, they pleaded with Woods to do something, anything, to make both his day and theirs a little better.You got this, Tiger! one yelled. Go get em on the back nine! another shouted out.Two brilliant shots that brought back memories of the Tiger of old helped Woods do just that Thursday. They also helped him avert the kind of disaster that might have been felt by the Woods camp long after the PGA Tour leaves the Arizona desert.The 2-over 73 wasnt exactly what Woods had in mind when he decided to begin his year with a trip to a tournament he hasnt played in 14 years. Not on an overcast day where there were low scores to be had on TPC Scottsdale.But it could have been worse, much worse. And for that Woods could be happy, despite a short game that looked more like it belonged to a tourist playing the course, not the greatest player of his era.If he needed something to convince himself he could still play after injuries and yet another swing change, he could hang his hat on playing the last six holes in 3-under par.Its not the first time I have gone through this, Woods said. It takes time. Its just a frustrating thing where I just need to get through competitive rounds. I need to get rounds under my belt and get a feel for it.Its also not the first time Woods has expressed similar thoughts. Anyone who has followed Woods in recent years has heard him say the same kind of things about trusting his swing, and working his way through the rust, but its now been a long seven years since he last won a major championship.And whether Woods will allow himself to believe it or not, his latest problems might be tougher to fix than a missing tooth.Driving the ball sideways is one thing, and Woods did hit it wayward a few times Thursdayy in only his second competitive tournament in six months.dddddddddddd But resorting to hit chips with a 4-iron because you dont trust yourself with a wedge in hand is almost unheard of in the top echelon of professional golf.Im just having a hard time finding the bottom, Woods said. Because of my old pattern, I was so steep on it, that I have a new grind on my wedge and sometimes its hard to trust. This is a similar grind I used to use back in the early 2000s, but its a different grind. Some of my shots were into the green with tight pins, and either Ill flop it or bump it, one of the two. I chose to bump it.Got that? There will be a quiz at the Masters, where tentative chippers dont last long around tightly mown collection areas and undulating greens.If this was an unusual place for Woods to begin his season, it wasnt altogether unfamiliar. He was here under much different circumstances in 2001, where he was coming off three major championship wins in a row and getting ready to go for the Tiger Slam in the Masters.He opened with a 65 that year, but that wasnt the big story. It came in the second round when a remarkable streak of shooting par or better over 52 straight rounds came to an end when Woods struggled to a 73.Few believed what they saw that day, and Woods would go on to win the Masters for his fourth straight major. Hes now won 14 of them, the last coming at Torrey Pines in 2008.Contrast that to this year when the 73 marked the fifth consecutive round on the PGA Tour that Woods hasnt broken par. It was also the first time he opened a year with a score over par since turning pro nearly two decades ago.An iron shot to tap-in eagle on the par-5 13th might give him some hope of better times ahead. So will the drive to 20 feet on the par-4 17th hole.But on this day the only thing resembling the Tiger Woods of old were the huge galleries following him at all times, on a day when an estimated record crowd of 118,461 came out to watch his season debut.If nothing else, Tiger Woods still knows how to draw a crowd.____Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg@ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg ' ' '