ShareThisBy KEVIN GOHEEN
The sky isn't falling; Carson Palmer's knee is just fine.
The Cincinnati Bengals' quarterback's left knee had no more swelling or soreness to it after Monday night's 48-17 win over Green Bay than he had experienced after any workout or practice this entire preseason. That came as no surprise to Palmer or head coach Marvin Lewis and further solidifies Lewis' decision to allow Palmer to start the regular-season opener at Kansas City on Sept. 10.
Palmer was 9 of 14 passing against the Packers for 140 yards and three touchdowns as he led the Bengals' first-team offense to scores on all four series he played in before giving way to Anthony Wright with the Bengals leading 31-0. Palmer's performance answered all of the lingering questions concerning the quarterback as he has attempted to comeback from reconstructive knee surgery on Jan. 10.
"Carson kind of does what Carson does," Lewis said. "He played his position very well, he made good decisions and good choices, he didn't force the football and we're very pleased with him. He handled all of the stuff that's been on his shoulders for the last (seven) months and he's handled it very well. He went out and performed his job as though nothing ever occurred."
Lewis said Palmer would "play some" Friday night at Indianapolis in the final preseason game without elaborating how much that would be. Palmer said he expects to play a couple of series to start the game.
"I'd like to play a couple series, but it's not my call. It depends on how long (Lewis) wants the starters going in this game," Palmer said. "There's a number of areas I need to improve on, we need to improve on as a unit. We need to get a lot better before we get into this Kansas City game. We've still got 10-11 days to do so and still have a chance to play in live game action this Friday."
Indianapolis starting quarterback Peyton Manning and the Colts' first-team offense is expected to play in just one or two series Friday.
The Bengals finished ranked No. 6 in total offense last season and were fourth in the league in scoring. They have outscored Washington, Buffalo and Green Bay 111-51 in their three preseason games this year and led the Packers 34-7 at halftime Monday. They've turned the ball over just once in the three games and none of the quarterbacks _ Palmer, Wright or Doug Johnson _ has thrown an interception.
