And in the postgame dressing room none of the Bengals players — even though they are now 10-2 — went overboard about their success.
But midway through the third quarter, in just a brief moment of unrestrained glee — Hill couldn’t help himself. Part of it had to do with last year and much of it is just who he is.
As a rookie last season, he came to Cleveland and scored two touchdowns in the first half of what would end up a 30-0 Bengals’ rout.
After his second score, he ran through the end zone and tried leaping into the Dawg Pound, where three unamused Browns fans greeted him with shoves, curses and a stiff arm to the face.
They not only rebuffed Hill’s celebratory attempt, but they added some insult when one guy – wearing a Joe Haden No. 23 jersey – leaned out of the stands so he could push Hill in the face once more with added force.
Hill held out his arms as if to say,“Why?”
He should have known.
The Dawg Pound is a sacred – not to mention crazed – ground and the mongrel masses don’t easily embrace interlopers, especially when they are the arch-rival Bengals.
Chad Johnson learned that back in 2007 when he punctuated a big day – 11 catches, 209 yards and two TDs – by launching himself into the Dawg Poung. Not only was he pummeled, but he had beer dumped on him.
Hill strikes a similar chord with Browns fans.
Last year – a month before his aborted leap into the stands here – he dissed Cleveland even though it had upset the Bengals 24-3 at Paul Brown Stadium.
While he had been held to 55 yards and had fumbled once, Hill, a rookie playing just his ninth NFL game, dismissed the Browns afterward: “They’re probably worse than I thought to be honest with you. They didn’t do anything special to me. Their guys they’re not that good. We gave them the game.”
That foot in mouth assessment drew quick retort from several Browns veterans, especially safety Donte Whitner, who said: “That’s a rookie. You can’t take his word for anything other than ignorance and being a sore loser.”
With that as a back drop – along with Lewis’ suggestion of quietude – Hill tried to school himself in the days leading up to Sunday’s game.
“I told myself all week not to do anything,” the 235-pound halfback said with a shrug and a growing smile as he reflected afterward. “But I guess it’s my nature at the end of the day.”
Hill has a certain flamboyance. All you have to do is take a look at his back, which is covered by one of the largest, most elaborate tattoos in the NFL.
The former LSU star has Tiger Stadium in intricate detail inked on his back, along with picture of him walking into the stadium with the LSU tiger at his side. Overhead, helicopters hover over the stadium.
So it’s no wonder what happened with 7:55 left in the third quarter when he burst over left guard into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run that put Cincinnati up 27-3.
He was at the opposite end of the stadium from the Dawg Pound, but the stands were still jammed with exuberant fans of the home team. Undeterred, he ran and once again leaped into the crowd.
And here’s where destiny took over.
He landed in the arms of two Bengals fans, including a woman wearing an Anthony Munoz jersey. They hugged him and patted him and cheered him until Browns linebacker Christian Kirksey took exception with the display and tugged at him to get down and then got face to face for some disparaging words.
“Hey, it was just a lucky leap,” said Hill, who claimed he hadn’t realized he was headed toward Bengals fans when he hurled himself up over the stadium wall toward the seats. “I didn’t see who was over there, but it turned out great. It was better than last year.”
As for Kirksey, who got a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct on the play, Hill just laughed:
“It was nothing serious. Just competitive nature. He was just protecting his house. If someone did that at our place we wouldn’t be too happy. You gotta respect him for that.”
Hill ended the day with a bit of decorum, not to mention 98 yards on 22 rushing attempts. It was his best effort of the year. He’s previous mark was 86 yards, which came last week against the Rams.
Afterward though Hill was low key on his own accomplishments. No more “rookie ignorance,” this was second-year circumspection.
“Everything is coming together, it’s just me,” he said. “It’s really just been a team effort and we’re just taking it week by week. As cliché as that sounds, it’s working. We’re doing what we have to do because everyone senses what’s at stake here.”
He spoke of the team meeting offensive coordinator Hue Jackson had had with his unit on the eve of the Cleveland game:
“Hue brought it up last night. He asked everyone in the room: ‘Who’s been 9-2? Who’s been 10-2?’ No one raised their hand.
“Anytime you get to this point in the NFL season and have played the schedule we’ve played, it’s truly something you can’t overlook. You start to see everything that’s at stake, everything you can accomplish.
“Everyone knows what it is. You can almost taste it at this point. There are a lot of things in front of us that we can achieve. We can end up some place pretty special.”
Just like with his leap into the stands Sunday.
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