The Cincinnati Bengals have to wonder which team will show up Sunday - the one that opened the season with a poor effort against the New England Patriots or the one that was able to grind out a tough win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The Carolina Panthers have to hope they look like a different team than the one that has opened the season with consecutive losses when they take on the visiting Bengals on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium.
After a dismal defensive performance in a season-opening 38-24 loss to New England, the Bengals held Baltimore to 259 total yards in a 15-10 victory last week. The secondary was especially stout in the victory, intercepting Joe Flacco four times, and now that unit gets a shot at an inexperienced quarterback.
Rookie quarterback Jimmy Clausen will make his first start for Carolina after coming on in relief of Matt Moore in each of the first two games. Clausen is 7 for 15 for 59 yards with one interception this season.
On the other side, veteran Carson Palmer is off to an up-and-down start, completing 58.8 percent of his passes for 512 yards and two touchdowns. He put up huge numbers in the second half against the Patriots, but hasn't done much otherwise. Palmer threw for 240 yards and two touchdowns in his only meeting with the Panthers.
The Bengals are averaging 340.5 total yards, but they had a tough time finding the end zone last week, settling for five Mike Nugent field goals.
One player looking to get in the end zone this week will be receiver Chad Ochocinco, who leads the team and the AFC with 16 catches and 203 yards. With his next touchdown reception - the 64th of his career - Ochocinco will surpass Carl Pickens for the franchise record.
Cincinnati (1-1) is still trying to get its running game going, as Cedric Benson has averaged only 60.5 yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry through two games.
The Panthers (0-2) could use more help from their running game as well. Led by the duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, Carolina boasted the league's third-best running game a year ago, averaging 156.1 yards per game. That number has dipped to 104 yards per game so far this year, which ranks 16th in the league.
The bigger concern for Carolina, though, is its inability to hold onto the ball. The Panthers have committed eight turnovers - five interceptions and three fumbles. That was the impetus behind the move to start Clausen, as Moore was responsible for six of those turnovers (four interceptions, two fumbles).
Carolina's defense also has been inconsistent. The Panthers forced four turnovers but allowed 376 yards in a 31-18 loss to the New York Giants in the opener, and they improved to 273 yards but didn't have any takeaways in last week's 20-7 loss to Tampa Bay.
Carolina has won two of three all-time meetings, but Cincinnati won the most recent contest 17-14 at home in 2006.