Bengals at Titans
THE STORY: The surprising Cincinnati Bengals seek their fifth straight victory when they visit the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Cincinnati has reeled off four consecutive wins after dropping games against Denver and San Francisco by a combined seven points. With a triumph over Tennessee, the Bengals would improve to 4-1 on the road this season and have their longest winning streak since a six-game run in 1988. Their chances should improve with the return of running back Cedric Benson from a one-game suspension for violating the league's personal conduct policy. Tennessee is playing its third straight game at home, where it is 3-1. The Titans are hoping RB Chris Johnson can get untracked against a Cincinnati defense that ranks second in the league against the run.
TV: CBS, 4:05 p.m. ET. LINE: Titans -3, O/U 42.
ABOUT THE BENGALS (5-2): Cincinnati made team history in last Sunday's 34-12 win over Seattle with two punt returns of over 50 yards. One was a 54-yard return for a touchdown by Brandon Tate, the Bengals' first since Peter Warrick in 2003. Tate was named the AFC's special teams player of the week. The last team to have two punt returns of more than 50 yards in a game was New Orleans in 2008, when Reggie Bush recorded punt-return TDs of 71 and 64 yards against Minnesota. To make room on the roster for Benson, Cincinnati waived cornerback Morgan Trent. The third-year player was inactive against Seattle with a knee injury.
ABOUT THE TITANS (4-3): Johnson has gained only 302 yards this season for an average of 43.1 per game. The 26-year-old averaged at least 81.9 yards per contest in each of his first three years in the league. He will be hard-pressed to improve his numbers against the Bengals, who are allowing an average of 85.4 yards on the ground. Safety Anthony Smith was fined $7,500 for a late hit on Indianapolis quarterback Curtis Painter in last Sunday's 27-10 victory over the Colts. Smith received an unnecessary roughness penalty for hitting a sliding Painter late in the contest.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. The Bengals have amassed 358 yards on punt returns thus far this season, which is 100 yards more than their entire 2010 total.
2. Cincinnati's Andy Dalton is the first rookie quarterback in club history to win four consecutive starts.
3. Tennessee's Johnson is 100 rushing yards away from 5,000 for his career.