TIME: 8:30 p.m., Sunday
PLACE: University of Phoenix Stadium (grass under retractable roof)
LOCAL RADIO: Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst) led by "triple cast," Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 41-station Bengals radio network.
NATIONAL RADIO: Westwood One Sports with Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and James Lofton (analyst).
TV: Cincinnati's Channel 5. NBC broadcast crew of Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst), and Michele Tafoya (sideline).
INJURIES
CIN:
DOUBTFUL: Starting CB Adam Jones (foot) didn't practice all week. It looks like he'll miss his first game in 57 straight, dating back to Nov. 14, 2011. Starting RE Michael Johnson (back) practiced on Wednesday but didn't work Thursday or Friday. Johnson missed only one game in his first five seasons with the Bengals and had a 68-game streak snapped in his last season here in 2013. Backup DT Pat Sims (knee) didn't practice all week.
PROBABLE: Starting RT Andre Smith (concussion) went full Thursday and Friday after missing last the two games. Starting LE Carlos Dunlap (shoulder) went full Thursday and Friday. Starting WLB Vontaze Burfict (knee) went full Friday. Backup S Shawn Williams (ankle) went full Thursday and Friday.
ARI:
OUT:Backup DT Cory Redding (ankle)
DOUBTFUL:Starting RG Jonathan Cooper (knee) didn't practice all week.
QUESTIONABLE:Starting WR Michael Floyd (hamstring) didn't practice all week. Starting LG Mike Iupati (neck-concussion) went limited Thursday and Friday and reports say he'll play. No. 3 WR John Brown (hamstring) went limited Thursday and Friday.
THE SERIES
The 8-1 Bengals lead the 7-2 Cardinals, 6-4; Arizona leads at home, 3-0; 0-0 at University of Phoenix Stadium
NOTEWORTHY
»» The Bengals try to go 9-1 for the first time in history. The only other time they reached 8-1 was in 1975, when they finished 11-3 and made the playoffs in Bengals founder Paul Brown's last season as head coach.
»» They'll be trying to do it in a franchise first third straight prime time game.
»» It is the Bengals' first trip to Arizona since head coach Marvin Lewis' first season in 2003, current Cardinals QB Carson Palmer's rookie in Cincinnati. Palmer, the only player remaining sat behind Jon Kitna that season and saw former Bengals QB Jeff Blake lead the Cards to a 17-14 victory at Sun Devil Stadium on Nov. 2, 2003.
»» This is the 10th time a former Bengals QB starts against his old team. The Bengals are 3-6 against them, but QB Andy Dalton has won the last two, besting Palmer when he was in Oakland in 2012, and Buffalo's Ryan Fitzpatrick in 2011.
»» The Bengals face two of their first-round draft picks in Palmer and TE Jermaine Gresham (2010). They also face 2006 third-rounder in Cards DT Frostee Rucker.
»» The Bengals practice at Arizona State's Dickey Dome on Saturday and that's a homecoming for WLB Vontaze Burfict and rookie DT Marcus Hardison. as well as offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, an ASU assistant from 1992-95 under Bruce Snyder.
»» It is the first meeting between Lewis and Cards head coach Bruce Arians, but Arians went against Lewis' Bengals for eight years from 2004-2011 as the Steelers offensive coordinator. Then Bengals head coach Dick LeBeau interviewed Arians for the Bengals offensive coordinator job after the 2000 season before hiring Bob Bratkowski.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 5th in scoring, 7th in offense (13th rushing, 11th passing); 1st in scoring defense, 11th in defense (13th rushing, 13th passing), T-10th in turnover margin at plus-three.
ARI: 2nd in scoring, 1st in offense (8th rushing, 4th passing); T-11th in scoring defense, 3rd in defense (4th rushing, 7th passing), T-13th in turnover margin at plus-one.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 108-97-2 in 13th season, 1-2 vs. Cardinals.
ARI:Bruce Arians28-14 in third season, 0-0 vs. Bengals and Lewis.
NUMBERS GAME
.470 - Bengals winning percentage under head coach Marvin Lewis' on the road
.639 - Bengals road winning percentage with QB Andy Dalton
.579 - Cardinals QB Carson Palmer's career home winning percentage
23 - Dalton's road wins in 73 starts, tied with Dan Marino, Ben Roethlisberger, and Matt Ryan for most road wins by a QB in his first five seasons
19 - Palmer's Bengals road wins in 50 starts.
47 - Lewis' road wins
4 - Consecutive road wins by the Bengals this season, tying a franchise record set seven times
5 - Club record for consecutive road wins over any stretch, set by in last game road game of 2008 and first four road games of 2009.
48 - Dalton's victories in 73 starts
38 - Palmer's victories in first 73 starts as a Bengal
117 - Dalton's TD passes in 73 games
121 - Palmer's TD passes in first 73 games as a Bengal
38,114 - Palmer's passing yardage in 153 games, 19th all-time
37,920 - Boomer Esiason's passing yardage totals in 187 games, 20th all-time
36,009 - Dalton projected passing yardage in 153 games
284 - Fewest points against Bengals in a 16-game season, 1978
270 - Projected points against Bengals this season
291 - Fewest points allowed in Marvin Lewis era, 2009
734 - Yards rushing for Cards RB Chris Johnson
906 - Yards rushing for Bengals RBs Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill
Plus-16 - Arizona's NFL-leading TD differential
Plus-12 - Bengals' third-leading TD differential
Plus-134 - Arizona's NFL-leading point differential
Plus-83 - Bengals' third-leading point differential
