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Chris Houston said he understood why Detroit coaches benched him, and would have done it himself considering the way he played. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

DETROIT -- Detroit Lions cornerback Chris Houston understood exactly why he was benched.

And he didn't blame coaches one bit for giving him the hook in Sunday's 27-24 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals.

"If I kept playing like that, I would have took myself out," he said. "Because like I said, I felt that I let my team down -- offense, defense, special teams, my coaches."

Houston was benched after a dreadful first half and replaced at halftime by rookie Darius Slay. He didn't retake the field until Rashean Mathis suffered a groin injury in the fourth quarter.

Houston was culpable for A.J. Green's 82-yard touchdown in the first quarter, biting hard on a double-move even though offenses routinely use the maneuver against him. Cincinnati basically turned Houston's aggressiveness against himself. He then whiffed on a tackle after Green caught the pass, which led to the touchdown.

"It was just a double-move," Houston said. "He just went to the D-route, out and up. That's all he did. Double-move, and I'm getting these moves every week, I guess because I'm used to breaking on things aggressively. They just double-move me every week.

"I put this loss on me. Not nobody else. I put it on me. I will be better. But this total loss is on me."

Houston later was beat by receiver Marvin Jones for a second touchdown with 41 seconds left in the first half, and Detroit trailed 14-10 entering intermission.

Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton prospered against Detroit's secondary, completing 24-of-34 passes for 372 yards and a season-high three touchdowns. He didn't have a pick for the first time this season.

He had a QB rating of 135.9, his highest of the season.

Dalton picked apart more players than just Houston, but Houston's play was perhaps most disappointing because he is Detroit's top cornerback and had prepared for the double-move.

"It was a wake-up call, man," Houston said. "That first half was probably the worst football I ever played. They needed to put out the fire, and it was just a wakeup call."