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PREVIEW
OCTOBER 4, 2009
TIME: 1 p.m., Sunday
PLACE: Cleveland Browns Stadium, Grass
TV: CBS team of play-by-play man Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon (analyst) live on Channel 12 in Cincinnati, Channel 7 in Dayton, OH, and Channel 27 in Lexington, KY.
RADIO: Play-by-play man Brad Johansen and analyst Dave Lapham on 1530-AM (Homer) and 102.7-FM WEBN on Cincinnati flagships of the 25-station Bengals radio network.
INJURIES
CIN: RT Andre Smith (foot) out. CB Johnathan Joseph (foot) and DT Tank Johnson (foot) both missed Wednesday and Thursday practices but were on the field Friday. SLB Rey Maualuga (knee) missed Wednesday but came back Thursday as did RB Cedric Benson (knee) and S Chinedum Ndukwe (hamstring). S Roy Williams (forearm) was limited Wednesday but didn?t work Thursday. All were on the field Friday.
CLE: RB Jamal Lewis (knee), K Phil Dawson (calf) and RG Floyd Womack (ankle) didn?t work Wednesday and Thursday. Defensive lineman Corey Williams (knee) didn?t go Thursday. Of the handful of players that were limited, the most significant were nose tackle Shaun Rogers (foot) and LG Eric Steinbach (knee).
THE SERIES
Bengals lead, 36-35; Browns lead in Cleveland, 21-14; Bengals lead at Cleveland Browns Stadium, 6-4.
NOTEWORTHY
? Marvin Lewis observes his 100th regular-season game as Bengals head coach in the stadium where he celebrated his first win, 21-14, on Sept. 28, 2003.
? A total of six players are still on the roster from that day. Tight end Reggie Kelly, who caught the winning touchdown, is on injured reserve with a ruptured Achilles.
? Lewis has eight victories against the Browns, two behind Sam Wyche and three behind Paul Brown on the Bengals coaching list.
? Lewis has two wins against Butch Davis and six against Romeo Crennel. Brown beat three Cleveland coaches in Blanton Collier, Nick Skorich and Forrest Gregg. Wyche beat five: Sam Rutigliano, Marty Schottenheimer, Bud Carson and Bill Belichick, as well as interim Jim Shofner.
? In the Bengals? last three games in Cleveland, they?ve allowed 51 points. All came in the 51-45 loss in 2007 fueled by Derek Anderson?s five touchdown passes. In ?06 the Bengals blanked Charlie Frye and in ?08 Ken Dorsey.
? In the last nine games against the Browns the Bengals have had a 100-yard rusher seven times in amassing a 6-1 record.
? Quarterback Carson Palmer has taken advantage with 20 career TD passes against the Browns against 13 picks for a 90.3 passer rating.
? Browns running back Jamal Lewis owns three of the biggest rushing games against the Bengals in their history. His 216 yards on Sept. 16, 2007 is the second most against Cincinnati next to only the 227 yards of Baltimore?s Priest Holmes in 1998. As a member of the Ravens, Lewis went for 186 against the Bengals in 2004 and 180 in 2003.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 15th in scoring, 24th in offense (14th rushing, 22nd passing); 16th in defense, (11th rushing, 19th passing), tied for 24th in turnover margin at minus two.
CLE: 31st in scoring, 32nd in offense (29th rushing, 31st passing), 30th in defense (30th rushing, 16th passing), tied for 31st in turnover margin at minus-seven.
COACHESCIN: Marvin Lewis 48-50-1 regular season, 0-1 postseason in his seventh season, 8-4 vs. Browns, 1-1 vs. Eric Mangini.
CLE: Eric Mangini 23-29 in his fourth season, 0-3 in first season with Jets, 1-1 vs. Lewis, 11 vs. Bengals.
THE WEATHER
There is a 40 percent chance of scattered showers for Sunday?s 1 p.m. Bengals-Browns game in Cleveland on what looks to be a chilly and damp day. According to the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio, the forecast is for mostly cloudy skies with a game-time temperature of 55 degrees and winds out of the west between 15 to 20 miles per hour.
