CINCINNATI - With his ankle still hurting, cornerback Chris McAlister returned for the first time in nearly a month and learned a hard lesson.

Little things he was able to get away with before the injury, he can do no more.

Bengals receiver Chad Johnson, who beat McAlister for a 35-yard touchdown in the third quarter on a post route, provided the tutorial. Johnson's touchdown gave the Bengals a 23-14 lead, but the Ravens came back to win, 27-23.

"A 100 percent Chris McAlister doesn't give up that play." McAlister said. "But the bottom line is I put myself on the field, and that's something I'm going to have to deal with. I have to put myself in a better situation by maybe taking away the in side. I'm going to have to rely on technique and not so much on athleticism as I had in the past."

McAlister also suffered a mild shoulder sprain and sat out the last play of the game, but the in jury is not believed to be serious.

Of more concern is the ankle sprain, which kept McAlister out of the previous three games. McAlister did not enter the game until the second quarter (Robert Tate started) and was immediately tested by Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna, who completed a 15-yard pass to Ron Dugans.

McAlister looked gimpy at times early but seemed to loosen up as the game went on, breaking up a pass intended for Corey Dillon on third-and-two in the third quarter. He also provided good coverage against Johnson, pressing the receiver at the line of scrimmage and batting down a fade route with a little more than two minutes left in the second quarter.

"I'm still not 100 percent." McAlister said. "I'd like to feel a lot better before I went out there.

"It throws me off a lot. I can't accelerate out of my breaks like I'm accustomed to. It puts me a step slower at what I do.

"But I need to get back out there and play. I feel like I owe it to myself and my teammates that if I can contribute in any way, then I need to get out there and contribute."

Hunter could be suspended

CBS reported yesterday that receiver Javin Hunter has violated the league's substance abuse policy by testing positive for ephedrine and is facing a suspension. Hunter, who started yesterday's game, said he is appealing the decision but would not elaborate.

Ephedrine is a drug found in dietary supplements and can cause seizures, strokes or death.

Hunter did not record a catch despite playing most of the of fensive snaps. Ron Johnson had started the two previous games.

"I was right on target with much of my assignments." Hunter said. "I didn't get that many opportunities to catch the ball, but I'm happy we won and I was able to play."

Heap breaks free

Tight end Todd Heap connected with quarterback Jeff Blake for his first touchdown since the Jacksonville game Oct. 20.

Although the play was designed for Travis Taylor, Heap was being held in the end zone and looked to the officials for a flag before finally cutting across the field and creating a target for Blake. The 22-yard reception put the Ravens up 27-23 and proved to be the winning score.

"The guy was holding me around my waist, and I'm trying to say, "What's going on?" ' Heap said. "But I saw [Blake] breaking loose out of the corner of my eye, and I tried to get in his vision and in a defensive seam. He put it up there, and I was lucky to come down with it in the end zone."

Chilly reception

Blake was booed during pre-game introductions in his first return to the city where he ranks third in passing yards in fran chise history.

Blake spent six seasons with the Bengals and was a Pro Bowl pick in 1995. He swept the Bengals this season, completing 10 of 19 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns yesterday.

"When I was in Cincinnati, I had a great time. I put up a lot of points, made a lot of friends." Blake said. "But fans are going to be fans, and I'm on another team, so they are going to boo me. That's the way it is."

Illegal leap

Receiver Randy Hymes was called for leaping on a Cincinnati field-goal attempt to close the half.

Kicker Neil Rackers missed the 55-yarder, but officials ruled Hymes leaped into the air after a running start and landed on the back of a player.

Hymes, 6 feet 3, was shocked to see the flag was on him, but Ravens coach Brian Billick accepted responsibility for the call after the game. The 15-yard penalty set up a 40-yard field goal by Rackers that put the Bengals up 16-14 at halftime.

"I'm looking up, he missed the field goal, and then the flag comes in." Hymes said. "I'm thinking it's holding or some thing, and the flag is on me."

Mitchell gets a chance

Anthony Mitchell replaced Will Demps at safety for much of the fourth quarter after seeing little time in the base defense most of the season.

Mitchell started the first two games in place of an injured Demps but has played sparingly since. Demps" play has tailed off in recent weeks, and he was late getting over in pass coverage on one Kitna completion in the second quarter.

"That felt good being able to get out there and stopping them for the game." Mitchell said. 'The coaches have confidence to put you out there, so you have to pick it up and play for the team. I'd been itching every game to get out there, but I'm a team player, so whatever it takes to win, that's what I'm going to do."

Dillon data

The Bengals" Dillon rushed for 70 yards on 23 carries, giving him 1,018 yards this season.

It's Dillon's sixth consecutive 1,000-yard season to start his career, joining the Jets" Curtis Martin and former standouts Eric Dickerson and Barry Sanders as the only four to accom plish that feat.

End zone

Chris Redman was the Ravens" backup quarterback, though Billick would not declare Redman the starter for next week. "The fact that he was No. 2 this week was a very good sign." Billick said. M-' Yesterday's attendance of 44,878 was the smallest ever at Paul Brown Stadium.

Mark Curnutte contributed to this article.