Read More: Cedric Benson (RB – CIN), Andre Caldwell (WR – CIN), Otis Hudson (G – CIN), Robert Sands (S – CIN), Cincinnati Bengals, St. Louis Rams

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andre Caldwell has been ruled out for Week 15 vs. the St. Louis Rams, but the team is calling it a “coach’s decision” unrelated to any injury. Caldwell is fourth on the team in catches and yards— with 37 and 317, respectively— and tied for third on the team in receiving touchdowns. The good news for the Bengals is that RB Cedric Benson will start on Sunday after being listed as probable earlier in the week.

Here is the full ianctive list for the Bengals in Week 15:

• WR Andre Caldwell
• G Otis Hudson
• RB Brian Leonard
• LB Dontay Moch
• FB Chris Pressley
• S Robert Sands
• OT Andre Smith

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. For more on the Cincinnati Bengals, check out Cincy Jungle. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Read More: Chris Crocker (S – CIN), Nate Clements (CB – CIN), Manny Lawson (LB – CIN), Gibril Wilson (S – CIN), Frostee Rucker (DE – CIN), Cedric Benson (RB – CIN), Brian Leonard (RB – CIN), Andre Smith (OT – CIN), Chris Pressley (FB – CIN), Carlos Dunlap (DE – CIN), Dontay Moch (LB – CIN), Cincinnati Bengals, St. Louis Rams

Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson had to miss practice on Wednesday with a back injury but was able to return on a limited basis Thursday, which is good news for the team heading into Sunday’s game against St. Louis. The full Cincinnati injury report is available here.

But five players were unable to practice on Thursday, including offensive tackle Andre Smith, cornerback Nate Clements, linebacker Dontay Moch, fullback Chris Pressley and running back Brian Leonard. Smith, Clements and Pressley are first string players.

Safety Chris Crocker, linebacker Manny Lawson, defensive end Carlos Dunlap, defensive end Frostee Rucker and safety Gibril Wilson also were limited. Crocker, Lawson and Wilson returned after missing practice on Wednesday.

Stay tuned to SB Nation St. Louis for more information, and for in-depth analysis on the St. Louis Rams be sure to visit Turf Show Times. For more on the Cincinnati Bengals, check out Cincy Jungle. Visit SB Nation NFL for more news and notes around the league.

Read More: James Harrison (LB – PIT), Troy Polamalu (SS – PIT), Ben Roethlisberger (QB – PIT), Vince Young (QB – PHI), Cedric Benson (RB – CIN), LaMarr Woodley (LB – PIT), Andre Caldwell (WR – CIN), Jerome Simpson (WR – CIN), Rashard Mendenhall (RB – PIT), Mike Wallace (WR – PIT), Antonio Brown (WR – PIT), Andy Dalton (QB – CIN), A.J. Green (WR – CIN), Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, San Francisco 49ers

Sunday afternoon couldn’t come sooner for Steeler Nation. After a heartbreaking 23-30 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday Night Football in Week 9, fans are hoping the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-3) can get back in the win column on the road against the surging Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) prior to their bye week.  The winner on Sunday will, at worst, have sole possession of second place in the AFC North. Were Baltimore to lose at Seattle, the winner would vault into first place in the division, and in the case of the Bengals first place in the entire AFC. 

Here’s a few facts, figures and trends for the two teams heading into Week 10:

PITTSBURGH STEELERS

 

• With win, Mike Tomlin can join HOFer Chuck Noll (193), Bill Cowher (149) & Raymond ‘Buddy’ Parker (51) as 4th head coach in club history to reach 50 regular-season wins.
• Steelers have won 8 of past 9 at Cin.
• QB Ben Roethlisberger is 6-1 at Cin. & has 10 TDs vs. 5 INTs & 98.7 passer rating. Aims for 4th straight game with 300+ passing yards (361, 365, 330).
• RB Rashard Mendenhall had 99 rush yards with 1 TD in last game at Cin. Mendenhall (24) needs 1 rush TD to become 8th player in Steelers history with at least 25 rush TDs.
• WR Mike Wallace aims for 3rd consecutive game with 100+ rec. yards (102, 110) at Cin. 
• WR Antonio Brown had career-best 109 rec. yards last week & has reached 100+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3.
• LB LaMarr Woodley  (48) needs 2 sacks to become 6th player in franchise history with 50 career sacks. Unfortunately, it appears as if Woodley will have to wait until after the bye week to accomplish that feat, as he’s been ruled out for Sunday with a lingering hamstring injury.
• LB James Harrison has 5 sacks in 5 games in ’11. Harrison has 3 sacks in past 4 vs. Bengals.
• S Troy Polamalu tied career-best with 2 INTs in last meeting vs. Cin., incl. 45-yard INT-return TD 

BENGALS:

• With win, Cincinnati can tie for 2nd-longest single-season win streak in franchise history (6 in ’73, ’75, ’88).
• Rookie QB Andy Dalton (2nd round, No. 35) had career-best 3 TD passes last week. Dalton has 12 TD passes, most by rookie in team’s 1st 8 games of season since merger (’70). Dalton aims to become 1st rookie QB w/ 6 straight wins since Vince Young (6) in ’06. Dalton (1,696) needs 159 passing yards to surpass Greg Cook (1,854 in ’69) for most passing yards by rookie in club history.
• RB Cedric Benson is averaging 81 rush yards per game in past 3 in Nov. (243 total).
• Rookie WR A.J. Green (1st round, No. 4) leads NFL rookies in rec. (40), rec. yards (599) & TD catches (5).
• WR Andre Caldwell recorded 2nd TD catch of season last week. 
• WR Jerome Simpson aims for 3rd consecutive game with TD rec…Bengals allow 85.4 rush yards per game in ’11, 2nd-best in NFL (49ers, 70.8)…Defense has recorded 9 FRs this season, 2nd-most in NFL (Bal., 10).

NASHVILLE, Tenn. —

The confident Cincinnati Bengals keep building momentum with every win. The Tennessee Titans have been so up and down with Chris Johnson and their running game that they’re just trying to find their way forward.

Something will give Sunday.

The Bengals (5-2) can win a fifth straight game for their longest streak since 1988 when they went to their second Super Bowl with coach Sam Wyche. This is the franchise that has been 6-2 only twice since then in 2005 and 2009, when they won the AFC North both times for their only two winning records in the past 20 years.

“We knew we were going to be a good team,” Cincinnati center Kyle Cook said. “If we could come together as a team and have good second halves and not make the same mistakes we had last year, we kind of knew we could be in this position or even better.”

Cincinnati is tied with Baltimore a half-game behind Pittsburgh in the AFC North thanks to winning four straight, including last week’s 34-12 victory at Seattle. But the Bengals beat teams in that streak currently with a combined 9-21 record, and the schedule only gets tougher after Sunday with games against Pittsburgh, at Baltimore, Cleveland, at Pittsburgh and Houston.

“We can’t be satisfied with where we are, and we know that,” said Bengals rookie quarterback Andy Dalton. “The last game we played wasn’t perfect. There’s a lot of room for improvement and a lot of room to get better. It’s about taking the mistakes that we made in the last game and getting better from it.”

The game also features the return of Adam “Pacman” Jones to Tennessee to play the team that drafted him sixth overall in 2005. But Jones hurt a hamstring returning a punt in Seattle, so he may only stand on the sideline.

The Titans (4-3) wrap up a three-game homestand and are coming off a 27-10 win over Indianapolis.

They also have a big win over Baltimore. Being outscored 79-24 in consecutive losses before beating the Colts has them still tweaking their defense against the run and looking to run for more than 68.9 yards per game – if only to stop all the questions about why Johnson can’t run anymore.

“The inconsistency is probably the part that we are most frustrated with, and we hope that part is behind us and that we come out and play a game,” Titans coach Mike Munchak said. “It’s going to be a big game for us. Last week, we thought was a huge game for us because we couldn’t afford to lose that game, and this one is even bigger because one to show that we can take the next step up now, and we can win a game against a team that is a very good football team.”

Running won’t be easy against Cincinnati. The Bengals rank second in the NFL, giving up 85.4 yards rushing per game. They also are allowing only 17.6 points per game, fourth-stingiest in the league.

“We know that, which makes it fun,” Munchak said. “It makes it exciting, and we will be ready for the challenge. We will see on Sunday how we do and we are looking forward to obviously, playing a lot better than we have.”

The Bengals have been winning even with a rookie quarterback passing to rookie top target A.J. Green. There’s also the running of Cedric Benson, who returns from his one-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.

Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan has been impressed with Dalton, who is completing 64.4 percent of his passes for 760 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions away from Cincinnati.

“He’s excellent at what he does. He gets the ball out fast,” Finnegan said. “He’s three-stepping, he can put the ball on a dime on the deep ball. A.J. Green’s dynamic. They’ve got a really good football team.”

Cincinnati is protecting Dalton well, too, allowing one sack in the past two games and 12 this season.

“I think a lot of people expect us to be a run-only type team with having a young quarterback and young receivers,” Cincinnati left tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “I think teams are doing a great job of crowding the box and making it tough to run the ball, but we can still do it and we just have to do it more effectively and more efficiently. But we’re on our way.”

The Bengals did give up a season-high 350 yards passing to Seattle, and Matt Hasselbeck is playing pretty well for Tennessee with an 89.2 passer rating. The Titans are 4-1 when Hasselbeck has a passer rating of 90 or higher, and he has thrown six TDs in his two previous games against Cincinnati.

“Matt has really solidified that position for them,” Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis said. “They’ve played very, very efficiently and well offensively in all of their wins.”

—

AP Sports Writer Joe Kay in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

—

Follow Teresa M. Walker on Twitter at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker

CINCINNATI – Cedric Benson was back at practice on Wednesday, ready to resume his role as the Cincinnati Bengals’ top running back following a two-week break.

Benson was home in Texas for the last two weeks, getting some unwanted rest. The Bengals (5-2) had their bye, followed by Benson serving a one-game suspension for violating the NFL’s conduct policy.

The Bengals beat Seattle without him. He’s ready to take most of the carries Sunday in Tennessee (4-3).

The only good part for Benson was that the league reduced his suspension from an original three games to one. He said on Wednesday that he was surprised the NFL did that.