The Lions are a good-looking 2-0 this preseason after Sunday's 27-10 win over the Bengals. There's reason to believe they could be in for a surprise season. Calvin Johnson is fast becoming one of the best receivers in the league, the defense played well against one of the NFL's best quarterbacks (keeping Carson Palmer off the scoreboard for four drives), and the offense is turnover-free through two games. Of course, it's still the preseason so I'll hold off on being too enthusiastic.

Now, the good from tonight's game:

• Johnson is unstoppable one-on-one. Opposing defensive coordinators will have to gameplan for him this year like no Lion since Barry Sanders. On the first play of the game, Jon Kitna just threw a jump ball to Johnson against cornerback Leon Hall. Forty yards later, Johnson made a twisting catch and the Lions had plenty of breathing room.

• Kevin Smith started at tailback. He didn't get a lot of work — four carries for 19 yards, with 17 of them coming on the third play of the game — but he should be the starter when the season opens Sept. 7. He goes in and out of cuts with much more authority than Tatum Bell.

• Smith should be joined in the starting lineup by first-round pick Gosder Cherilus next week. Lions coach Rod Marinelli was diplomatic when talking about Smith's role as starter after the game. "(We) let both guys work and there's really nothing more to it," he said, referring to Smith and Bell. "Let guys compete in each huddle." Well, I'd expect the Lions to do the same with Cherilus and give him first-team work at right tackle over George Foster. If Cherilus is going to start the opener he needs reps with the rest of the No. 1 line to get his timing down. Coming off a penalty-free game and under the guise of letting guys compete in each huddle, next week against the Browns would be the perfect opportunity.

• In case you missed it — and another reason to believe it's only a matter of time before Cherilus takes over at right tackle — he played alongside starting right guard Stephen Peterman during his first series Sunday. Every other offensive starter was out of the game at that point, and Peterman left after that series.

• Cherilus will be the No. 2 left tackle behind Jeff Backus this year. Good decision by the Lions as Cherilus is the team's most formidable run blocker and he fared well in pass protection Sunday. Of course, that's bad news for Jonathan Scott, who looked to be the backup tackle for his ability to play both positions. Scott's in a battle to make the team now with Foster and the recently-signed Damion Cook, who played both right tackle and right guard Sunday. Cook spent the last two years in the Canadian Football and Arena leagues, but he has a history with offensive coordinator Jim Colletto. If he grades out well the next two weeks, he'll make the team.

• Defensively, the Lions really did play well. Brian Kelly ripped an interception out of Chad Johnson's hands to set up the Lions' first touchdown, the front finished with five sacks and the second unit kept Palmer out of the end zone in the second quarter.

Now, a couple negatives that caught my untrained eye:

• Dan Orlovsky threw for a game-high 137 yards, but he struggled with the Bengals sitting on bootlegs. Orlovsky just isn't athletic enough to make the first defender miss and was lucky to avoid a safety on play.

• The Lions finished with 112 yards rushing on 31 carries. That's much better than last week's anemic performance, but their final numbers were inflated by a strong fourth quarter (64 yards). They'll need to run the ball better more consistently to contend for the playoffs.

• Devale Ellis was up and down in his bid for the fifth receiver spot. Ellis let an easy ball skip through his hands and returned one punt for two yards. Ellis probably should have fair caught the punt, but he was trying to make a play. Aveion Cason had a 21-yard return and could win the job. Ellis, to his credit, rebounded to finish with three catches in the game.

Last thing for the night, congratulations to fellow Lions reporter Mike O'Hara of the Detroit News, who retired after tonight's game. O'Hara is a genuinely good person and a fine reporter, and best of all he got a shaving cream pie in the face from offensive linemen Dominic Raiola and Jeff Backus in a light moment after the game. Good luck in your future endeavors, Mike.