(My Sportsbook) - The Battle of Ohio will take on extra significance Sunday afternoon, when the desperate Bengals take on the arch-rival Cleveland Browns at Paul Brown Stadium.

Cincinnati no longer controls its own destiny after falling 27-10 to the St. Louis Rams last Sunday at the Edward Jones Dome. The Bengals are now in a must-win situation, while hoping for a Pittsburgh victory in Baltimore to vault them to the AFC North crown and their first playoff berth in 13 years.

"After 13 years, did you think it would be any other way? We've done it the hard way the last 13 years," said right tackle Willie Anderson. "This week, it's going to be a dogfight. It's going to be a dogfight when we play Cleveland Sunday [afternoon]. Then on Sunday night, we're going to sit on pins and needles to see if Pittsburgh beats Baltimore, which they will."

The Bengals won't be easy to beat at home, as they have won five straight in their friendly confines. Cincy hasn't posted six consecutive home victories since the 1996-97 seasons. The Bengals will also be attempting to record nine wins for the first time since 1990.

"We have to take care of what's in our hands, and we just have to go out and not worry about what comes later," said Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna. "The thing is, we have to end the season on a good note. We have a chance to be 9-7, and that hasn't been done around here in a long time. There's enough on the line. We want to end the season on a good note. If the playoffs happen that's great, but we want to take care of what we can."

Cincinnati's offense was a shell of its usual self against the Rams, as it had trouble moving the ball. Kitna didn't have his best day by any stretch, completing just 16-of-29 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown and season-high three interceptions. Kitna was picked off multiple times for just the second time in seven games.

"Don't even think about pointing any fingers at him. This guy's carried the team for this whole season," said running back Corey Dillon of Kitna. "Dude, if it wasn't for his play, who knows where we'd be? Everybody has a bad game. Everybody has their bad moments."

One major problem for the Bengals was that they never got the running game going, which resulted in them being one dimensional in the contest. Dillon ran the ball seven times for 37 yards, while Rudi Johnson managed only 30 yards on 11 attempts. Dillon seemed to be playing well early in the game, but for some reason Lewis chose to go away from him in favor of Johnson.

"Early on, I thought we were going to run Corey and Rudi [Johnson]. They couldn't stop it. We were physically beating them up. Then we got away from it and that's their game plan," Anderson said.

Cleveland can't afford to get caught keying on the run or the Bengals could beat it with the play action pass. Cincy Pro Bowl wideout Chad Johnson is extremely dangerous in the passing game with 86 catches for 1,326 yards and 10 touchdowns on the season. Johnson had a decent day against the Rams, catching seven passes for 115 yards.

Johnson was effective despite the absence of fellow starting wideout Peter Warrick due to knee surgery. Warrick is healing and is listed as questionable for this contest. Rookie Kelley Washington did a decent job in Warrick's spot, reeling in three balls for 26 yards and a touchdown.