Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals

2009 record: 9-5, with two victories each over Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Cleveland, along with Green Bay, Chicago and Detroit. They’ve lost to Denver, Houston, Oakland, Minnesota and San Diego.

Last year’s record: 4-11-1. The Bengals started the season with eight straight defeats and at one point Cincinnati’s record was 1-11-1. But they got it together and won their last three games of the season, including the season finale, a 16-6 decision over the Chiefs at Paul Brown Stadium.

Record for the last five seasons: 38-41-1, with only one trip to the playoffs back in 2005 when they won the AFC North, but lost in a first-round game to Pittsburgh 31-17. That ‘05 season was also the club’s last winning season.

Last appearance in the playoffs: came in 2005 with that loss to the Steelers. The last time the Bengals won a post-season game was nearly 20 years ago. They beat the Houston Oilers 41-14 in the first round of the AFC playoffs after the 1990 season. They lost the next weekend to Oakland.

Head coach: Marvin Lewis is in his seventh season as Bengals head coach, posting a 55-55-1 record, with a 0-1 record in the playoffs. Lewis is a native of McDonald, PA, also the home town of Marty Schottenheimer. He played LB at Idaho State and began his coaching career in 1982 at Penn State. The 51-year old worked his way up the coaching ladder, joining the NFL in 1992 with the Steelers. He was defensive coordinator.

Coordinators: Bob Bratkowski, offensive coordinator (18 seasons in NFL); Mike Zimmer, defensive coordinator (16 NFL seasons) and Darrin Simmons, special teams (12 seasons in NFL.)

Roster overview: At one time the Bengals invested a lot of money into unrestricted free agency, largely because they were having so many problems with their draft picks and keeping them on the team, and sometimes out of jail. The ‘09 roster is built with draft choices and developmental players in mind. There are 22 Bengals draft choices, seven college free agents, 17 street free agents, three unrestricted free agents, two waivers and one trade. Of those 22 draft picks, 13 were in the first, second or third rounds. That includes five players who were first-round, with three of those on defense. There are only eight players with the Bengals who are 30 or older and there are nine who are 23 years of age or younger.

Quarterback:
Carson Palmer is in his seventh season with the Bengals, since he was the first player selected in the 2003 NFL Draft out of Southern California. He did not take a single snap as an NFL rookie in ‘03, but has been Cincinnati’s starter ever since. Only regular season time he’s missed came last year, when an elbow injury limited him to four games. Palmer has thrown 126 TD passes compared to 78 interceptions. Palmer is 1-2 in three starts against the Chiefs, winning in 2006, but losing the year before and the year after. Against KC, Palmer is 44 of 70 for 501 yards, 2 TDs and 2 INTs.

Offensive threats: The Bengals have been running the ball this season and their play selection is almost 50-50. RB Cedric Benson has run for 1,118 yards on 272 carries and six touchdowns, while missing some playing time with an injury. Larry Johnson has 33 carries for 155 yards since signing with Cincinnati. Chad Ochocinco remains the Bengals leading receiver with 68 catches for 1,016 yards and eight touchdowns. Nobody else is even close. Ten-year veteran WR Laveranues Coles was signed as a UFA this year from the Jets, but has not had much of an impact with 37 catches for 452 yards.

Defensive stars: Cincinnati pays a 4-3 and three of their back seven players are first round selections. CBs Johnathan Joseph and Leon Hall are a pretty good tandem, with 11 interceptions between them this year and 24 over their careers; Joseph is in his fourth season, Hall in his third. DE Jonathan Fanene is the team’s leading sacker with six so far this season. MLB Dhani Jones is the leading tackler with 124 total tackles.

Special teamers: K Shayne Graham has been inconsistent, hitting 22 of 27 FGs and missing three times inside the 40-yard line. He’s made 11 in a row, including a 53-yarder … rookie P Kevin Hubar has punted 72 times, and 34 have been returned for an average of 9.7 yards … the Bengals have blocked one FG and had one blocked, with no punts blocked or allowed … rookie Quan Cosby has been handling most of the return duties lately, and is averaging 11.2 yards on punt returns and 18.4 on kickoff returns … rookie RB Bernard Scott returned one kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown … Cincy coverage units have not allowed a TD, and no return longer than 58 yards.

By the numbers: the Bengals are 19th in offensive yards, averaging 328.6 yards per game. They are sixth in rushing yards, at 131.4 yards per and 21st in passing yards, with a 197.1–yard average per game … they are plus-eight in sack ratio … they are plus-two in the turnover ratio and they are plus-44 in the points ratio.

Top ‘09 draft picks: 1st-round OT Andre Smith was a long holdout in the pre-season and has appeared in just four games so far this season … 2nd-round LB Rey Maualuga has started all 14 games at the weak-side LB spot, with 76 total tackles and one sack … 3rd-round pick DE Michael Johnson has played in al 14 games, with 15 total tackles and two sacks, along with seven tackles on special teams … 3rd-round choice TE Chase Coffman did not play at all because of continuing injury problems and is currently on the IR list … 4th-round C Jonathan Luigs has played in eight games … 5th-round P Kevin Huber has averaged 43.7 yards a punt, with a net punting average of 36.9 yards.

Familiar faces: Of course there is Larry Johnson, who opened the season and played the first half of the schedule for the Chiefs. The starting tight end right now is John Paul Foschi, who played in seven games with the Chiefs last season, but did not catch a pass. Starting at strong safety for the Bengals is Chinedum Ndukwe, a third-year man out of Notre Dame. He’s the brother of Chiefs G-T Ikechuku Ndukwe. Serving as the Bengals tight ends coach for the past seven seasons is former Chiefs TE Jonathan Hayes. He played nine seasons in KC (1985-93), after being selected in the second round of the 1985 NFL Draft out of Iowa. Hayes caught 135 passes for 1,541 yards and 12 touchdowns during his time in a Chiefs uniform.