CINCINNATI (AP) - First, Chad Johnson went facemask-to-facemask with Jaguars cornerbacks, talking a little trash about their efforts to stop him. Then, he went to the sideline and did a little more venting.

The Cincinnati Bengals' first loss of the season demonstrated that there's a fine line between coming off as hot stuff or a hothead.
A 23-20 loss in Jacksonville on Sunday night exposed the Bengals' shortcomings. A dozen more penalties made them the league leader in that category, and the defence gave up 4.9 yards per rush.

And, as far as their Pro Bowl receiver is concerned, it showed what happens when they don't get the ball to him often enough.

Johnson did CPR on the football after his touchdown Sunday night, but finished with only five catches for 52 yards. He drew so much double coverage that Carson Palmer didn't even try to throw to him for long stretches, frustrating Johnson.

"Last night, I felt like I wished I wasn't Chad Johnson," he said Monday. "Last night, I felt like I wished I wasn't good. I had to keep from crying on the sideline because I wished I wasn't that good because I wouldn't be getting the attention I'm getting. I just want to catch the ball, that's it."

After one series, he went to the sideline and lobbied for the ball. And, he got it - along with comparisons to Terrell Owens, who berates his quarterbacks, and cousin Keyshawn Johnson, who had it out with quarterback Drew Bledsoe on the sideline Sunday.

Johnson thinks his situation is entirely different.

"It's not a selfish act," the receiver said. "Everyone considers me a game breaker. One play, I can change the entire game. All I want is the opportunity to do that. That's it. Now if you give me those opportunities and I don't get it done, I can't say nothing. When I don't get the opportunity, I've got to be able to voice myself here.

"I've done enough here to where I think I should be able to do that, for real. Think about it. I'm not a bad guy. I'm not a knucklehead. I do everything the right way."

His team did enough things wrong to be reminded of what it's like to lose. The Bengals (4-1) overcame plenty of penalties while winning their first four games, but the sloppiness finally caught up with them.

"We made a lot of mistakes," coach Marvin Lewis said Monday. "When you make a lot of mistakes, you can lose the football game. That's the way it is. We've said this before. It's medicine. It doesn't taste good, but it's good for you."

Even though they lost, the Bengals showed improvement in one aspect. During their 14-year streak without so much as a winning record, they developed a habit of imploding on the road, letting their mistakes turn into lopsided losses.

This time, they almost overcame them. The Bengals were at the Jaguars 45-yard line - one completion out of field goal range - when Palmer was stripped of the ball with 1:16 to go.

"I thought we were going to pull it out," running back Rudi Johnson said. "We're right there the whole game. We kept fighting our way back. That's a big plus for us - on the road, playing against a team like that and we were able to do some things."

Lewis also was encouraged by the way his team nearly pulled one out.

"It just tells you that we have a good football team, but we need to play good at all times or that's what's going to happen," Lewis said. "We have enough good players and a team that has some resolve."

It also has a receiver who has a resolve to get the football, and will let everyone know when it's not happening. Lewis said he had no problem with how his star handled himself during Sunday's game.

"He did a fine job last night, probably his best game that I remember where he didn't have eight to 10 catches because he hustled his tail off, he blocked," Lewis said. "So as I watched that tape this morning, I was proud of Chad Johnson for how he played."