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PREVIEW
OCTOBER 11, 2009
TIME: 1 p.m., Sunday
PLACE: M&T Bank Stadium, Sportexe Momentum
TV: CBS team of play-by-play man Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker (analyst) live in Cincinnati (WKRC Local 12), Columbus, OH (WBNS-TV Channel 10), Dayton, OH (WHIO-TV Channel 7) and Lexington, KY (27-WKYT).
RADIO: Play-by-play man Brad Johansen and analyst Dave Lapham Triplecast on 700-AM (The Big One), 1530-AM (Homer) and 102.7-FM WEBN on Cincinnati flagships of the 25-station Bengals radio network.
INJURIESCIN: RT Andre Smith (foot) out; SLB Rashad Jeanty (finger) out; SS Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring) and SS Kyries Hebert (hip) didn't practice Friday and are questionable. DT Tank Johnson (foot) is trying to get back but has been limited this week and is also questionable.
BAL: LT Jared Gaither (neck) didn't practice Wednesday and Thursday and looks doubtful; WR Demetrius Williams (illness) also didn't work Wednesday and Thursday. Three regulars, DL Jarret Johnson (shoulder), WR Derrick Mason (neck), nickel CB Chris Carr (groin) were limited Thursday but can probably go.
THE SERIES
Ravens lead, 15-11, 10-4 in Baltimore, 7-4 at The Bank.
NOTEWORTHY» The Bank is home of Carson Comeback's greatest comeback. Palmer, who has led three fourth-quarter rallies in the first four games this season, engineered a 24-point fourth quarter in a 27-26 win in 2004.
» Ravens safety Ed Reed has 44 career interceptions and when he has two in a game the Ravens are 8-0. He has done that twice against the Bengals, once against Palmer and once against Jon Kitna.
» Before Marvin Lewis became the Bengals head coach and was the Ravens defensive coordinator, the Ravens were 4-0 at The Bank and shut out the Bengals in 1999, 2000 and 2001. The Bengals finally scored 27 points against the Ravens in '02 after Lewis left but didn't win until the Carson Comeback game of '04 and Lewis was the head coach. Since '04, the Bengals are 3-2 in Baltimore.
» Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco loves playing in Baltimore and why not? In 16 games he averages five catches and 72 yards per game and 15.4 yards per catch and he's got seven TDs against the Ravens. He's also got his longest catch of his career against Baltimore, an 82-yarder from Kitna at PBS in 2003.
» Palmer has also done well against the Ravens. Not only did he throw for 200 yards in that one fourth quarter, but he's 6-3 against them and had completed nearly 62 percent of his passes for 12 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Palmer has thrown for less than 200 yards in two games this season.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 16th in scoring, 21st in offense (11th rushing, 22nd passing); 17th in defense, (14th rushing, 26th passing), tied for 19th in turnover margin at minus two.
BAL: 3rd in scoring, 3rd in offense (5th rushing, 6th passing), 8th in defense (1st rushing, 23rd passing), tied for 9th in turnover margin at plus-two.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 49-50-1 regular season, 0-1 postseason in his seventh season, 7-5 vs. Ravens, 0-2 vs. John Harbaugh
BAL: John Harbaugh 16-7 in his second season, 2-0 vs. Bengals, 2-0 vs. Lewis.
THE WEATHER
Perfect conditions are in the Sunday forecast for the Bengals' AFC North first-place showdown with the Ravens at 1 p.m. in Baltimore. The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for mostly sunny skies with no chance of rain and a game-time temperature of 59 degrees and a wind out of the west at five miles per hour.
