The Pro Bowl receiver had his helmet knocked off by Brian Russell on the Cincinnati Bengals' last pass play during their 34-17 victory Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium. Johnson was groggy and needed about a half-dozen stitches to close a gash in his chin after the hit.

The chatty receiver said Russell had warned him that the Browns were out to get him.

``He told me last year, and he told me before the game (Sunday) that him and Andra Davis, they had one job to do,'' Johnson said. ``It wasn't about trying to stop me, but they had to hit me. At every TV timeout, I would be in their huddle talking trash: `Nobody's hit me yet, what's going on?'

``Finally, I think, in the last three minutes, he finally got that hit. He let me know ahead of time.''

Johnson said he has no hard feelings over the hit, which he described as a clean shot.

``I mean, it's the first time I've been hit in six years of playing the game,'' Johnson said. ``It's about time someone's gotten a lick.''

Johnson has aggravated opponents over the years by guaranteeing wins, wearing a Terrible Towel as a bib, sending Pepto-Bismol to Browns defensive backs and denigrating cornerbacks with his who-covered-me list. He said he's not surprised someone went after him.

``I've always been a target because of what I'm doing right now, talking trash,'' he said. ``The hard part is trying to hit the target. I've always been able to avoid everything coming my way. I left myself vulnerable by jumping in the air at that present time, which is the only reason he was able to get that clean shot.''