This should have been a day for laughter and smiles for Kansas City Chiefs and former Penn State running back Larry Johnson.

He bounced back from last week's 12-yard rushing performance against Jacksonville with 119 yards in the Chiefs' 27-20 victory against Cincinnati.

He also ended his five-game touchdown famine with a nifty 8-yard score that gave Kansas City a 17-7 lead in the second quarter.

But yesterday's performance was another case of frustration and anger getting the best of Johnson.

Johnson's rage reached the boiling point with four minutes to play in the game when the Chiefs were nursing a 27-17 lead against a Bengals team that had just one timeout remaining.

Johnson carried left and lost 2 yards. He carried right and lost 2 more yards. On third down, with 76,846 fans and 11 Bengals defenders expecting Johnson to get the ball again, he was dropped for a 6-yard loss. But the clock kept ticking ...

Until Johnson angrily tossed the ball to the ground, which not only was a penalty for delay of game, moving the ball back to the Chiefs' 5-yard line, but it stopped the clock for the Bengals with 3:55 to play.

It was the second time this season that Johnson's frustration got the better of him. He was flagged for the same penalty in the Chiefs' home-opening victory against Minnesota.

"Five yards, and it hurt us," Chiefs coach Herm Edwards said. "Larry Johnson was emotional, and you have to keep your composure."

Johnson kept it together on the Chiefs' penultimate possession when he took the clock down to the two-minute warning with three clock-killing runs netting no yards.

Johnson was not available to reporters after the game to explain his fourth-quarter actions.

Dolphins

Miami rookie Ted Ginn Jr., a Cleveland native playing in Cleveland Browns Stadium yesterday, returned the second-half kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown, but it was called back by a holding penalty. Ginn was drafted ninth overall by the Dolphins out of Ohio State in this year's NFL draft.

Chiefs

When Dave Rayner kicked a 32-yard field goal on Kansas City's first possession, it was the first time all year the team has had a lead in the first half. The Chiefs 20 points in the first half yesterday were more than they had scored in the other first halves of all their games combined.

Panthers

At 43 years and 335 days old, Vinny Testaverde became the oldest starting quarterback to win a game in NFL history when Carolina defeated Arizona, 25-10. He was the third oldest to start a regular-season game, behind only Steve DeBerg and Warren Moon.