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," Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530) and WEBN-FM (102.7) on the 41-station Bengals radio network.
NATIONAL RADIO: Sports USA Radio with Larry Kahn (play-by-play), Hank Bauer (analyst), Troy West (sideline).
TV: Cincinnati's Channel 19, Channel 45 in Dayton, Ohio, and Channel 56 in Lexington, KY. FOX broadcast crew of Thom Brennaman (play-by-play), Charles Davis (analyst), Tony Siragusa (sideline).
INJURIES
CIN:
OUT: CB Darqueze Dennard (dislocated shoulder) went on season-ending injured reserve Friday and undergoes surgery in the next two weeks.
QUESTIONABLE: Starting CB Adam Jones (foot) after going limited Thursday and Friday and sitting out Wednesday. He missed last Sunday's game after missing practice all that week. But the designation could bode well. Right end Michael Johnson (back) went from doubtful to questionable last week and played. Backup DT Pat Sims (knee) went limited all week after missing last week and he may get the nod with a big running back coming to town.
PROBABLE: WLB Vontaze Burfict (knee) went limited Wednesday and Thursday and full Friday. S Shawn Williams (ankle) went full for the second time this week on Friday after missing a good part of the Arizona game. QB Andy Dalton (groin) went full Thursday and Friday after being limited Wednesday.
STL:
OUT:Starting RG Andrew Donnal (knee)* *
QUESTIONABLE:QB Case Keenum (concussion) went limited for the second straight day and The St. Louis Post-Dispatch expects Nick Foles to play. Starting RE Robert Quinn (hip, back) didn't practice this week. Starting CB Trumaine Johnson (thigh) didn't practice this week. Starting RT Rob Havenstein (calf) didn't practice this week.
THE SERIES
The 8-2 Bengals lead the 4-6 Rams, 7-5; 4-2 in Cincinnati, 1-0 at PBS
NOTEWORTHY
»» The Bengals try to get to 9-2 for the first time in the Green-Dalton era under head coach Marvin Lewis.
»» After coaching against them 19 times as head coach of the Oilers/Titans, Jeff Fisher gets his first shot at the Bengals with St. Louis in his fourth season running the Rams. Fisher, 12-7 against the Bengals, has teed it up in six different buildings against them: Riverfront Stadium and Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, the Astrodome in Houston, Adelphia Coliseum and Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, and the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
»» The Bengals had a hand in getting Fisher his first head coaching gig with the Houston Oilers at the height of Blakemania in quarterback Jeff Blake's third NFL start on Nov. 13, 1994. Even though his defense got ripped for 11 catches and 188 yards by wide receiver Carl Pickens to fuel Blake's 354 yards and Doug Pelfrey's 40-yard-field goal at the gun for a 34-31 Bengals victory, Fisher succeeded the fired Jack Pardee the next day.
»» Lewis and Fisher have spent a lot of time together during the past decade. Lewis serves on the NFL competition committee that Fisher co-chairs.
»» Fisher was the head coach in Tennessee in 2005 when the Titans made Bengals cornerback Adam Jones the sixth pick in the draft when he was coming out of West Virginia.
»» The series began with an Oct. 22, 1 972 game in Los Angeles. The Rams won, 15-12, even though Bengals safeties Tommy Casanova and Bernard Jackson picked off Rams quarterback Roman Gabriel and Cincinnati held Gabriel to 100 yards passing.
»» Special teams have a local flavor. Bengals punter Kevin Huber played at Cincinnati's McNicholas High School and the University of Cincinnati. Rams long snapper Jake McQuaide played at Cincinnati's Elder High School and Ohio State.
»» The one time the Bengals faced Rams QB Nick Foles, the Bengals beat his Eagles, 34-13, in Philadelphia on Dec. 13, 2012. They held Foles to 16 of 33 passing for 180 yards, one TD and an interception.
NFL RANKINGS
CIN: 5th in scoring, 7th in offense (12th rushing, 9th passing); 4th in scoring defense, 16th in defense (13th rushing, 15th passing), 8th in turnover margin at plus-four.
STL: 31st in scoring, 31st in offense (7th rushing, 32nd h passing); 10th in scoring defense, 12th in defense (16th rushing, 9th passing), T-10th in turnover margin at plus-two.
COACHES
CIN: Marvin Lewis 108-98-2 in 13th season, 2-1 vs. Rams.
STL: Jeff Fisher24-33-1 in fourth season, 21st overall at 171-159-1; 12-7 vs. Bengals, 2-2 vs. Lewis.
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PHILIP RIVERS WEATHER UPDATE
The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio is calling for a game-time temperature of about 50 degrees under mostly overcast skies and winds out of the northeast at five to 10 miles per hour with a 50-60 percent chance of scattered showers,
NUMBERS GAME
.604 - Bengals winning percentage under head coach Marvin Lewis at home
.666 - Bengals winning percentage under Lewis at PBS against NFC
.666 - Bengals winning percentage with starting QB Andy Dalton at PBS against NFC
.750 - Bengals winning percentage with Dalton against NFC
.310 - Rams' road winning percentage under coach Jeff Fisher
.676 - Bengals' winning percentage in Dalton's 37 PBS starts
.500 - Rams QB Nick Foles' winning percentage in 18 road starts.
11 - NFL-leading receiving TDs for Bengals TE Tyler Eifert
8 - TD passes for Rams QBs
326 - Receiving yards for Bengals RB Giovani Bernard
306 - Receiving yards for Bengals RB James Brooks in 1989 Pro Bowl season
175 - Rams' NFL leading sacks since 2012
142 - Bengals' sacks since 2012
3 - rushing TDs Bengals RB Jeremy Hill needs for 10 this season to become the first Bengal to rush for double-digit TDs since Rudi Johnson with 12 in 2006. It will also be first time Bengals have a player with double-digit TD rushes and a player with double-digit receiving TDs
7 - Players who have at least 20 career interceptions with the Bengals. S Reggie Nelson joined the group last Sunday night.
27 - Nelson's career interceptions, ninth on the active list
4.9 - Dalton's career touchdown percentage, ninth on the active list
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