CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- After spending most of the last decade as the NFL's laughingstock, the Cincinnati Bengals are starting to enjoy a home-field advantage.
Rudi Johnson rushed for two touchdowns and 163 of his career-high 174 yards in the second half as the Bengals held on for a 41-38 victory over the San Francisco 49ers and moved into a tie for first place in the AFC North.
The Bengals have not made the playoffs since 1990 and are playing meaningful games in December for the first time since the days of coach Sam Wyche. After going 12-33 in Dick LeBeau's two-plus seasons, the Bengals brought in Marvin Lewis, who instituted mandatory offseason workouts that every player but running back Corey Dillon showed up for.
Part of the more team-orientated approach was on display in Cincinnati's latest win. Offensive tackle Levi Jones had surgery Monday to repair cartilage in his right knee but played and that was enough motivation for quarterback Jon Kitna.
"It was unbelievable," said Kitna, who completed 18-of-25 passes for 189 yards. "Guys do that a lot in this league, maybe more than you'll ever know. The big thing about him is he was the emotional leader before the game. It's not hard to get up for the game when you see a guy who could barely walk two days ago is the most excited person in your locker room."
Dillon has been replaced by Johnson, who had another big day and led the Bengals to their fifth straight home win. After Cincinnati grabbed a 21-17 lead at halftime, Lewis made a gutsy decision to go for it on 4th-and-1 from midfield and Johnson made the move pay off by rumbling for a 49-yard score with 11:50 to play.
"The coach has confidence in us and we have confidence in ourselves," said Johnson, who received a majority of the carries due to Dillon battling the flu. "When we play together and everybody is on the same page, good things happen."
The Bengals (8-6) will have a chance to play for their first division title since 1990. They are tied for first place with Baltimore, which lost at Oakland on Sunday.
Johnson had more big plays ahead and twice made them when the 49ers sliced the lead to three points. San Francisco crept within 34-31 on Kevan Barlow's one-yard TD with 3:55 to play but Johnson gained 65 yards on the Bengals' next drive and capped it with a three-yard TD.
Johnson has gained 875 yards this season after being used sparingly in his previous two seasons. But he wasn't the only guy named Johnson making key plays on a snowy afternoon in front of a crowd that has seen its share of lows in the last decade.
Four weeks after guaranteeing a victory over the-then unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs, Chad Johnson got things going with a 10-yard TD catch and finished with six catches for 91 yards.
"We just keep working hard," Chad Johnson said. "It is something Marvin has stressed to us. I don't know how Levi Jones played today. He had surgery two days ago. He's got that warrior mentality."
San Francisco fell to 0-7 on the road as Barlow fumbled twice in Cincinnati territory and the 49ers had three turnovers, which led to 21 points. The 49ers allowed more than 40 points for the second time in three weeks and gave up 189 rushing yards in the second half.
"We had a chance to come back and win the football game at the end," San Francisco coach Dennis Erickson said. "It's amazing to me, I think we held to 40 yards rushing in the first half and they had nearly 200 yards in the second half. They ate the clock up and ended up winning the football game. We're better than that defensively. We just didn't play like it today."
