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SEPTEMBER 8, 2013
TIME: 1 p.m. Sunday
PLACE: Soldier Field (Grass)
LOCAL RADIO: Play-by-play Dan Hoard and analyst Dave Lapham led by "Triple Cast" 700-AM WLW, 1530-AM ESPN and 102.7-FM WEBN on the 25-station Bengals radio network.
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NATIONAL RADIO:** Sports USA Radio-Larry Kahn play-by-play, Ross Tucker analyst, Troy West sideline reporter.
TV: CBS team of Jim Nantz play-by-play, Phil Simms analyst on Channel 12 in Cincinnati, Channel 7 in Dayton, Ohio and Channel 27 in Lexington, Ky.
INJURIES
CIN: Pro Bowl left tackle Andrew Whitworth (knee) has not practiced for the last two weeks and is doubtful. Backup CB Brandon Ghee (concussion) and backup OL Mike Pollak (knee) are out after not practicing this week.
CHI: None
» Complete Injury Report
THE SERIES
Bengals lead, 6-3, 4-1 in Chicago
NOTEWORTHY
» Except for expansion teams Carolina and Houston, nine meetings with an opponent are the fewest in Bengals history. The Bears are tied with the Giants and Redskins for the fewest games played against Cincinnati.
» It marks the sixth time in Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis's 11 seasons that he has faced a head coach in his first game with a new team on Opening Day. The Bengals beat the Romeo Crennel Browns in 2005, the Pat Shurmur Browns in 2011 in Cleveland, and the Herman Edwards Chiefs in Kansas City in 2006. They lost to the John Harbaugh Ravens in Baltimore in 2008 and the Josh McDaniel Broncos in 2009 in Paul Brown Stadium.
» Bengals secondary coach Mark Carrier returns to Soldier Field 23 years after the Bears made him the sixth pick in the draft and he was named the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He played for the Bears for seven seasons and went to three Pro Bowls.
» The last time the Bengals went to Chicago, they tied a club record with five interceptions off quarterback Kyle Orton in a 24-7 victory on Sept. 25, 2005.
» Bengals WR Andrew Hawkins, shelved on the injured reserve-recall list, played for Bears rookie head coach Marc Trestman on two Grey Cup championship teams in Montreal in the CFL.
NFL RANKINGS (2012 final)
CIN: 12th in scoring, 22nd in offense (18th rushing, 17th passing); 8th in scoring defense, 6th in defense (12th rushing, 7th passing), 11th in turnover margin at plus-4.
CHI: 16th in scoring, 28th in offense (10th rushing, 29th passing); 3rd in scoring defense, 5th in defense (8th rushing, 8th passing), 2nd in turnover margin at plus-20.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 79-80-1 regular season, 0-4 postseason in his 11th season; 2-0 vs. Bears
CHI: Marc Trestman 0-0 first season
WEATHER
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for partly cloudy skies at 75 degrees with winds out of the northeast at about 10-15 miles per hour and no substantial chance of rain.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
» 4-6 - Marvin Lewis's record on Opening Day
» 17-16 - Lewis's September record
» 35-45 - Lewis's road record
» 32-26 - Lewis's record on grass
» 8 - Interception returns for TDs by Bears in 2012
» 6 - Career TD interceptions for starting Bengals secondary (Terence Newman 3, Leon Hall 2, Reggie Nelson 1)
» 12 - NFL record punt returns for TDs by Chicago's Devin Hester
» 3 - Bengals punt returns for TDs under Lewis
» 111.5 - Career sacks for Bears DE Julius Peppers, second on NFL active list
» 99.5 - Sacks by Bengals top four sackers on D-line (Robert Geathers 33, Geno Atkins 23, Michael Johnson 23, Wallace Gilberry 20.5)
» .66 - Sacks per game by Peppers
» .48 - Sacks per game by Atkins
» 20 - Sacks for Atkins in past two seasons, most by an NFL DT
» 13 - Sacks for Bears DT Henry Melton in past two seasons, second among NFL DTs behind Atkins
» 47-29 - TD-INTs by Bengals QB Andy Dalton in first 32 NFL starts
» 48-31 - TD-INTs by Bears QB Jay Cutler in first 32 NFL starts
» 67 - Consecutive starts by Bengals LT Andrew Whitworth
» 62 - Combined NFL starts for Bears LT Jerman Bushrod (62) and RT Jordan Mills (0)
» 231 - Games played by long snapper Patrick Mannelly, most in Bears history
» 190 - Games played by Bears Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton
» 207 - Games played by cornerback Ken Riley, Bengals all-time record
