TIME: 1 p.m. Sunday
PLACE: Paul Brown Stadium (Synthetic)
LOCAL RADIO: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst) led by "triple cast," on Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 25-station Bengals radio network.
NATIONAL RADIO: Sports USA Media. Larry Kahn (play-by-play), John Robinson (analyst), Troy West (sideline reporter) for Westwood One Sports.
TV: FOX broadcast team of Chris Myers (play-by-play), Ronde Barber (analyst), and Jennifer Hale (sideline reporter) on Cincinnati's Channel 19, Channel 45 in Dayton, Ohio, Channel 56 in Lexington, Ky.
INJURIES
CIN: Starting WR A.J. Green (toe) showed up in a boot at Friday's practice after not working Wednesday and Thursday and has been called day-to-day by head coach Marvin Lewis and questionable for Sunday. But players who miss all three practices don't usually play that week.
Starting RG Kevin Zeitler (calf) went limited Wednesday, but didn't go Thursday and Friday and is doubtful. Both starting WR Marvin Jones (ankle) and rotational DT Brandon Thompson (knee) didn't practice this week again. Jones was ruled out Saturday and Thompson is doubtful.
After missing the last two games, starting WLB Vontaze Burfict (concussion) practiced full all week and is probable. So are starting S George Iloka (abdomen), starting MLB Rey Maualuga (shoulder), starting backup LB Vincent Rey (calf). They went limited Wednesday and Thursday but full on Friday
CAR: Starting RB Jonathan Stewart (knee) has been limited this week, but head coach Ron Rivera said he looked better Friday than he has all week and was optimistic even though Stewart is questionable after going limited Friday. It's doubtful that RB DeAngelo Williams (ankle) plays after not practicing and he was ruled out TE Greg Olsen (ankle) and DE Charles Johnson (hip) are questionable. After not practicing early in the week, they went limited Friday and figure to play.
» Complete Injury Report
THE SERIES
2-2, Bengals lead 1-0 at home.
NOTEWORTHY
»» The Bengals play the Panthers for just the fifth time since Carolina came into the NFL in 1995, the fewest times Cincinnati has played anybody else in the NFL.
»» Five key Bengals expected to play Sunday have Carolina ties. Running back Giovani Bernard, center Russell Bodine and wide receiver Brandon Tate all went to the University of North Carolina and defensive end Carlos Dunlap grew up in North Charleston, S.C. Green played against Dunlap in high school in Summerville, S.C. The Dean with 140 Bengals games, defensive lineman Robert Geathers, is from Georgetown, S.C.
»» Two Carolina players return to PBS, where they played a few games as Cincinnati schoolboys. MLB Luke Kuechly, the NFL's reigning Defensive Player of the Year and first-round draft pick out of Boston College, played at St. Xavier High School. Andrew Norwell, a rookie free-agent guard out of Ohio State, played at Anderson High School. Kuechly leads the league in tackles while Norwell has been inactive for all five games.
»» For the first time Bengals QB Andy Dalton, the 35th pick in the 2011 draft, plays that draft's No. 1 overall pick, Panthers QB Cam Newton.
»» Former running back Eric Ball, the Bengals director of player relations, was playing for the Bengals when the Panthers plucked him in the 1995 expansion draft.
»» The Panthers have played here just once, a 17-14 Bengals victory on Oct. 22, 2006 at PBS that featured a fourth-and-one 32-yard Carson Palmer bomb to wide receiver Chad Johnson with less than 10 minutes left in the game. Moments later T.J. Houshmandzaeh wiped out a 14-10 lead with a one-yard TD catch.
"If it didn't work, they would have burned down my house," said offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski.
»» There are only three players left from that Bengals team and two of the current captains were rookies. It was Andrew Whitworth's first career start at left tackle and nose tackle Domata Peko came off the bench. Geathers had one of his career-high 10.5 sacks, the highest Bengals total in 23 years.
»» Also in that game, Bengals RT Willie Anderson blanked future Hall-of-Famer Julius Peppers on the way to his fourth straight Pro Bowl.
»» Carolina offensive coordinator Mike Shula is the brother of former Bengals head coach Dave Shula.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 13th in scoring, 13th in offense (18th rushing, 11th passing); 6th in scoring defense, 27th in defense (27th rushing, 19th passing), T-9th in turnover margin at plus-3.
CAR: T-23rd in scoring, 25th in offense (30th rushing, 12th passing); 18th in scoring defense, 20th in defense (23rd rushing, 15th passing), T-6 in turnover margin at plus-4.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 93-91-1 in 12th season, 2-0 vs. Panthers.
CAR: Ron Rivera 28-26 in fourth season, 0-0 vs. Bengals and Lewis.
WEATHER
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for mostly cloudy skies with a 20- percent chance of showers and a game-time temperature of 62 degrees a northeast wind of five to 10 miles per hour.
NUMBERS GAME
54-35-1 - Bengals at PBS under head coach Marvin Lewis
15-6-1 - Bengals at PBS against NFC under Lewis
10-3 - Bengals QB Andy Dalton against NFC
5-2 - Dalton at PBS against NFC
0-8 - Panthers in last eight games vs. AFC North
18-8 - Dalton at PBS
6-1 - Dalton's record in games after a loss since 2012 bye week
19-26 - Lewis' record in October
52-40-1 - Lewis' record in November and December
32 - Points Bengals have averaged in 11-game winning streak at PBS
15 - Points Bengals have allowed per game in last 11 PBS games
11 - TD passes Bengals have allowed in last 11 PBS games
23.2 - Third-down percentage for foes in last 11 PBS games
42.4 - Panthers' third-down percentage
141 - Sunday's NFL game for Bengals DL Robert Geathers, passing OL Dave Lapham on the all-time list.
35 - Dalton's selection in 2011 NFL Draft
1 - Panthers QB Cam Newton's selection in the 2011 NFL Draft
52 - NFL starts for Dalton
52 - NFL starts for Newton
33-19 - Dalton's record
27-25 - Newton's record
86.6 - Dalton's career passer rating
87.1 - Newton's career passer rating
84 - TD career passes for Dalton
69 - TD career passes for Newton
7 - TD career rushes for Dalton
28 - TD career rushes for Newton
1 - TD career catch for Dalton
0 - TD career catches for Newton
92 - NFL-leading total TDs for Newton in first three seasons
87 - Total TDs for Dalton in first three seasons, behind Newton and Broncos QB Peyton Manning (88)
28 - Yards rushing for Dalton this season
42 - Yards rushing for Newton this season
106 - Panthers RB DeAngelo Williams' team-leading rushing yards
133 - Bengals RB Jeremy Hill's second-best rushing yards
326 - Panthers TE Greg Olsen's receiving yards
95 - Receiving yards for Bengals tight ends this season
1 - Sacks Bengals have allowed this season
12 - Sacks Panthers have this season
