CINCINNATI - Chad Johnson's emergence as the Cincinnati Bengals' go-to receiver and one of the NFL's hottest pass-catchers started with a drop.
In the Bengals' fifth game in Indianapolis, they lost, 28-21, but were driving for a possible game-tying touchdown with less than one minute remaining. On second down from the Colts' 35-yard line, a perfect pass from Jon Kitna slipped through Johnson's hands at the 20 and into the arms of an Indianapolis defensive back. Game over. Never mind Johnson's six receptions for 72 yards.
"It's been the turning point. I take that as the downfall of our season," Johnson said. "If I catch that ball and we score, maybe we turn around the entire season. That's how I'm taking [it]. I say I'm the reason we're 1-10.
"I make sure I try to go out there and try to outdo my performance from the week before."
Johnson has a streak of three consecutive 100-yard receiving games, a run that started Nov. 10 in Baltimore, a 38-27 loss in which he had seven catches for 110 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown.
He had 103 yards against the Browns and a career-high 152 last Sunday in Pittsburgh. Johnson will try to be the first Cincinnati receiver since Carl Pickens in 1994 to have four consecutive 100-yard receiving games tomorrow against the Ravens at Paul Brown Stadium.
Johnson, the team's second-round pick from Oregon State in the 2001 draft, leads the Bengals with 45 receptions, 713 yards and four receiving touchdowns.
Since the drop, he has been the Bengals' biggest threat, outdoing even Peter Warrick, the No. 4 overall pick in 2000. And it's no coincidence that Johnson's hot streak coincided with the return of Kitna to the starting lineup.
Kitna and Johnson argued on the Ravens Stadium sideline last Dec. 23, at the end of a 16-0 loss filled with offensive near-misses. They have developed a close relationship off the field, where Kitna's tough-love approach with Johnson has helped the receiver mature as a man and a player.
Johnson, who has 40 receptions for 635 yards and three touchdowns in Kitna's seven starts, keeps Kitna after practice to throw extra routes. They go out early on game-day mornings.
"I spent a lot of time with him just talking about how to be a pro," Kitna said of Johnson. "He's got the special kind of talent that not everybody can possess. The only thing he had to figure out was how to work during the week so that his talent is evident on Sundays."
Johnson has either 100 yards, six receptions or a touchdown catch in Kitna's seven starts.
The deep threat provided by Johnson - his 72-yard touchdown catch against the Browns two weeks ago was the longest Bengals pass play since 1999 - has opened running room for featured back Corey Dillon.
Johnson's emergence also has taken pressure off Warrick, who has almost suffocated under weighty expectations since coming to Cincinnati. Warrick has 37 receptions for an 11-yard average and three touchdowns. He is beginning to flash the yards-after-catch electricity he showed at Florida State.
Johnson is not satisfied with his hot streak. He's impatient. He talks of wanting to put up numbers like Marvin Harrison and Terrell Owens without having to wait another couple of years to develop further. Johnson says he plans to seek out the league's top receivers in the offseason and learn a thing or two from each to incorporate into his own game.
Oh, and there are the victory predictions. After the last-minute, 30-24 loss to Tennessee on Oct. 27, Johnson guaranteed a victory the next week in Houston. The Bengals won 38-3, their only victory of the season. Johnson also promised a victory over the Browns two weeks ago. The Bengals lost, and Browns linebacker Earl Holmes had some critical words for Johnson after the game.
It's all part of Johnson's speedy learning curve. Cousin Keyshawn Johnson of the Buccaneers, a regular caller to his younger relative, has congratulated Chad but challenged him to get better each week.
Like the drop in Indianapolis, Chad Johnson has taken those words to heart. That's why he said he hopes to see Ravens cornerback Chris McAlister on the field tomorrow after missing three games.
"He brings out the best in me," Johnson said of McAlister. "I want him to play. Watching him, he's the closest thing to Deion - I might as well say it - he's the closest thing I can play against to Deion Sanders.
"Playing against Chris will really let me know where I am as a receiver. I've been going well, but the challenge of going against somebody like that is exciting."