CINCINNATI (AP) — Carson Palmer’s nose was scraped and swollen. Both nostrils were bleeding. A nasty cut on his lower lip left a trail of blood that dribbled down his chin and deposited red dots on the white No. 9 on the front of his jersey.As he walked off the field in pain, the quarterback’s face was a mess as big a mess as his offense.The New Orleans Saints sacked Palmer three times in the first half Saturday night in a 13-0 victory that underscored the Cincinnati Bengals’ growing problem. Right now, it’s as bad as it gets.”I’ll tell you what makes me angry: Seeing my quarterback get off the ground,” left tackle Levi Jones said. “It infuriates me, especially seeing blood on his face.”The Bengals couldn’t move the ball or protect their franchise quarterback in the first half. Palmer left the game when Kevin Kaesviharn got to him on a third-down safety blitz with two seconds left before halftime.As he walked to the sideline, Palmer’s nose already had a prominent bump. He dabbed at the blood with a towel, then draped the towel over his head and walked to the locker room, prematurely done for the night. He went for further examination to see how badly the nose was hurt.A line that gave up only 17 sacks last season fumed at its inability to protect him.”That’s the thing that’s hurting me right now, to see Carson getting hit,” guard Bobbie Williams said. “It hurts me deeply.”With Pro Bowl receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh sidelined by injuries and two of their backups out as well, Palmer had nowhere to go with his passes other than the running backs and tight ends. That made it easy pickings for the Saints, who are trying to sort out their troubled secondary.Cornerback Mike McKenzie made his first appearance since he tore a knee ligament last December, starting on one side. Second-round draft pick Tracy Porter started at the other cornerback spot, one week after he was repeatedly burned for long passes.”This was the [type of] game we kind of looked at as a unit,” McKenzie said. “We wanted to have a good showing defensively. They obviously didn’t have their top guns.”—-Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports at [email protected]