Corey Dillon's first start at running back for the Cincinnati Bengals has won him a promise of more playing time even if Ki-Jana Carter is healthy enough to play.
The Bengals fell to 1-3 Sunday with a 31-14 drubbing by the New York Jets. Their defense allowed Adrian Murrell to rush for 156 yards and the offense showed little except when Dillon was running the ball.The second-round draft pick out of Washington picked up 48 yards on nine carries - a 5.3-yard average - and caught two passes for 30 yards in his starting debut. He didn't get more work because the Bengals chose to throw the ball once they fell behind.
"I think Corey played very well," coach Bruce Coslet said. "Now, we're living through the rookie mistakes with him that we lived with two years ago from Ki-Jana. He ran right by Mo Lewis one time on a blitz pickup and Mo Lewis sacked our quarterback. That was Corey's man.
"But he ran the ball well. We like him as a runner. There's more to playing running back in this league than running the ball. I think he's a tremendous back. He's powerful, hard-try, north-south, every good description you can use about a running back. He just doesn't have enough experience yet to know all the stuff."
Dillon picked up 44 yards on seven carries in the first half, breaking tackles to pick up extra yardage. He got the ball only twice in the second half.
"I could sit here and say a lot of things, but the main point is that we didn't win," Dillon said. "They called my number a few times and I was just trying to give the team a spark. I could comment on what we should have and could have done, but the point is that we lost."