=== Bengals face must-win situation ===

By Brian Gillespie, NFL Analyst

(My Sportsbook) - Last season, the Cincinnati Bengals were able to shrug off a slow start to make a run at the playoffs. Cincinnati dropped four of its first five games before winning six of its next seven contests to put the pressure on Baltimore in the AFC North race.

It remains up in the air whether or not head coach Marvin Lewis can circle the wagons for the second consecutive year. The pressure has been turned up substantially on Lewis with his decision to make second-year signal caller Carson Palmer the starter over Jon Kitna, who engineered the 2003 turnaround.

"Last year, 1-3 was almost a relief," Lewis said. "This year, for some people, it has them on panic, on the edge of your chair. That's the biggest difference. Last year, the expectation was not there. This year it's a disappointment more than anything."

The Bengals have an opportunity to make things better on Sunday, when they take on the arch-rival Cleveland Browns at Cleveland Browns Stadium. Last season, Cincinnati won in Cleveland before suffering a killer loss at home against the Browns in the season finale.

Look for the Bengals to try to grind out a victory over Cleveland on the ground. If they are to utilize the run in critical situations, the Bengals must avoid penalties and sacks that put them in long 3rd downs.

"You have to be able to keep it about third-and-four so you can run the ball. Or run it twice if you're in four-down territory," Cincinnati offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said. "But you can't do that on third-and-nine. We are trying to run the ball. We're over the average of NFL teams [with nearly 28 carries per game to the league's 25], but we're not scoring and we have to finish off drives."

Its not that the Bengals haven't tried to run the ball in their first four games, as Rudi Johnson is on his way to a franchise-record for carries in a season. The problem has been that Johnson has mustered only 3.9 yards per attempt.

While Johnson has gotten plenty of carries, Palmer has also been forced to throw the ball an amazing 154 times. The USC product has thrown for 875 yards and three touchdowns, while being picked off seven times. Palmer has amassed a sub-par 58.8 quarterback rating.

"From what I understand, I've been told we have too many passes and Rudi [Johnson] has carried the ball too many times," Lewis said. "I don't know how we can solve that. That's tough to analyze. . .As the guy said in "Friday Night Lights," ‘What are you really trying to say?"

One Cincinnati offensive weapon that hasn't had a breakout game yet is wideout Chad Johnson. Although he has made a team-high 20 catches for a team-best 297 yards, Chad Johnson has scored only one touchdown.

INJURY REPORT -- Wide receiver Peter Warrick (shin) is expected to play in Sunday's game. Safety Rogers Beckett (concussion) is out Sunday for sure. while center Rich Braham (knee), safety Kim Herring (foot) and defensive lineman Carl Powell (knee) are questionable.

UP NEXT -- The Bengals take the field versus the arch-rival Cleveland Browns on Sunday.