What looked improbable at the start of the season is gaining momentum by the week. The Cincinnati Bengals allegedly were in the midst of a rebuilding period after the promising Carson Palmer-Chad Ochocinco era came crashing to an end. Instead, under the guidance of longtime coach Marvin Lewis and with a rookie quarterback in Andy Dalton, they are poised to make a playoff push after a 23-20 win over Cleveland last week.

“This is a remarkable story. I really thought this team had a shot at the first overall pick in the draft,” NBC football analyst Cris Collinsworth said. “They had a new offensive coordinator. They had a rookie quarterback in Andy Dalton. They had a rookie wide receiver in A.J. Green. It is all falling together in a remarkable way. It now looks like we may well see three teams out of the AFC North going into the playoffs.”

Cincinnati can make an emphatic statement with a game at Pittsburgh this weekend. If that doesn’t work, the Bengals also face Houston and Baltimore at home. All three of those teams should qualify for the postseason. But they still might need to take at least one of those difficult games. Cincinnati sits at No. 6 in the AFC — the final playoff spot — with a 7-4 record. Denver, Tennessee and the New York Jets are all one game back at 6-5. Better than the alternative, of course, which is what everyone expected for 2011. It also helps that games against St. Louis and Arizona remain on the schedule.

“These guys aren’t only going to be fun to watch; they’re going to be dangerous,” NBC analyst Tony Dungy said.

- Brian McNally

bmcnally@washingtonexaminer.com

BALTIMORE – The Cincinnati Bengals have surprised quite a few people with their impressive start this season. The Baltimore Ravens are not among those on the list.

Cincinnati went 4-12 last year and still beat the Ravens. Baltimore is 5-4 in its last nine regular-season games against Pittsburgh and 3-6 against the Bengals.

So don’t go telling the Ravens (6-3) that Sunday’s showdown for first place in the AFC North is an unexpected development.

“I knew they were always on the brink of being a good team,” Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “Now they’re winning games.”

Suggs is the Ravens’ career sacks leader, but he didn’t have one last year against Cincinnati (6-3). On Sunday he will be chasing quarterback Andy Dalton, whose 14 touchdown passes over the first nine games is the most by a rookie since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

Four different Cincinnati receivers have at least 26 catches and two touchdowns, most notably A.J. Green (41 receptions, six TDs). Green’s return from a right knee injury sustained in last week’s 24-17 loss to the Steelers won’t be determined until game time, but coach Marvin Lewis still has plenty of options to send at the renowned Baltimore defense he ruled from 1996-2001.

“They’ve got some good weapons over there,” Suggs said. “This team is not only dangerous, but they’re special. Marvin Lewis knows that. They’re playing with a lot of confidence. We definitely have some work to do, especially after last week.”

Ah, last week. Coming off an uplifting win in Pittsburgh, the Ravens inexplicably lost at Seattle to tumble out of first place.

“We lost a game. Nobody feels good about it, but at the same time, we can’t really ride that wave and be on emotional highs and lows,” quarterback Joe Flacco said. “We have to get ready to play another game – a very important game.”

The winner climbs into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh, and the Ravens own the tiebreaker with the Steelers. The Bengals can ill afford to drop into third place with an 0-1 record against each of the top two teams.

“I think that’s really key, that (the Ravens) have kind of put their best foot forward already in the division by beating the Steelers twice,” Lewis said. “So for Pittsburgh and us and Cleveland … we’re all kind of playing uphill to the Ravens right now. This is a big football game that way. If you want to win your division, you’ve got to win the division games.”

Cincinnati is 4-1 on the road this season, but this will be its toughest test to date. The Ravens have won six in a row at home and 14 of 15.

“That’s our challenge, to win again on the road,” Lewis said. “We know that, like some places we’ve played this year, it can get loud. But we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do – be efficient on offense and be exact on defense. Then it just comes down to playing football.”

Cincinnati’s six wins are against teams with a combined 22-36 record, but the Bengals feel no need to defend themselves after their strong showing in defeat against Pittsburgh.

“It was tough that we ended up losing, but we were in the game the whole time,” said Dalton, who brought Cincinnati back from an early 14-0 deficit. “And so, we do have confidence we’re going to be in a lot of these games.”

After facing the mighty defense of the Steelers, Dalton now must rebound against a unit similarly stocked with veteran talent.

“It seems like when you talk about Baltimore and you talk about their defense, you talk about Ray Lewis you talk about Ed Reed,” he said. “It’s going to be fun to get a chance to play them.”

Although Dalton has been intercepted nine times, the Bengals have lost only one fumble and own a plus-3 turnover differential.

“I think that they’re winning in the same way they played last year,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “They’re just doing it a little bit better in the sense that they’ve really protected the football. That’s probably the No. 1 key. They’re playing excellent defense and they’re moving the football. They are a well-rounded football team.”

It’s nothing Harbaugh hasn’t seen before from Cincinnati.

“They’ve beaten us plenty of times. We’ve always had a ton of respect for the Bengals,” he said. “It’s a big rivalry game for us. It’s one of the toughest games we play every single year. One of the most physical games we play, and that’s what we’re gearing up for.”

Baltimore has won its last 11 games following a loss – the longest current streak in the NFL – and is 14-4 in that situation during Harbaugh’s three-year tenure. Ravens fans lamented the defeat the Seattle for days, but the players quickly went into bounce-back mode.

“It hasn’t been difficult,” Suggs said. “We’re all professionals here.”

BALTIMORE – The Cincinnati Bengals have surprised quite a few people with their impressive start this season. The Baltimore Ravens are not among those on the list.

Cincinnati went 4-12 last year and still beat the Ravens. Baltimore is 5-4 in its last nine regular-season games against Pittsburgh and 3-6 against the Bengals.

So don’t go telling the Ravens (6-3) that Sunday’s showdown for first place in the AFC North is an unexpected development.

“I knew they were always on the brink of being a good team,” Baltimore linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “Now they’re winning games.”

Suggs is the Ravens’ career sacks leader, but he didn’t have one last year against Cincinnati (6-3). On Sunday he will be chasing quarterback Andy Dalton, whose 14 touchdown passes over the first nine games is the most by a rookie since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

Four different Cincinnati receivers have at least 26 catches and two touchdowns, most notably A.J. Green (41 receptions, six TDs). Green’s return from a right knee injury sustained in last week’s 24-17 loss to the Steelers won’t be determined until game time, but coach Marvin Lewis still has plenty of options to send at the renowned Baltimore defence he ruled from 1996-2001.

“They’ve got some good weapons over there,” Suggs said. “This team is not only dangerous, but they’re special. Marvin Lewis knows that. They’re playing with a lot of confidence. We definitely have some work to do, especially after last week.”

Ah, last week. Coming off an uplifting win in Pittsburgh, the Ravens inexplicably lost at Seattle to tumble out of first place.

“We lost a game. Nobody feels good about it, but at the same time, we can’t really ride that wave and be on emotional highs and lows,” quarterback Joe Flacco said. “We have to get ready to play another game — a very important game.”

The winner climbs into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh, and the Ravens own the tiebreaker with the Steelers. The Bengals can ill afford to drop into third place with an 0-1 record against each of the top two teams.

“I think that’s really key, that (the Ravens) have kind of put their best foot forward already in the division by beating the Steelers twice,” Lewis said. “So for Pittsburgh and us and Cleveland … we’re all kind of playing uphill to the Ravens right now. This is a big football game that way. If you want to win your division, you’ve got to win the division games.”

Cincinnati is 4-1 on the road this season, but this will be its toughest test to date. The Ravens have won six in a row at home and 14 of 15.

“That’s our challenge, to win again on the road,” Lewis said. “We know that, like some places we’ve played this year, it can get loud. But we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do — be efficient on offence and be exact on defence. Then it just comes down to playing football.”

Cincinnati’s six wins are against teams with a combined 22-36 record, but the Bengals feel no need to defend themselves after their strong showing in defeat against Pittsburgh.

“It was tough that we ended up losing, but we were in the game the whole time,” said Dalton, who brought Cincinnati back from an early 14-0 deficit. “And so, we do have confidence we’re going to be in a lot of these games.”

After facing the mighty defence of the Steelers, Dalton now must rebound against a unit similarly stocked with veteran talent.

“It seems like when you talk about Baltimore and you talk about their defence, you talk about Ray Lewis you talk about Ed Reed,” he said. “It’s going to be fun to get a chance to play them.”

Although Dalton has been intercepted nine times, the Bengals have lost only one fumble and own a plus-3 turnover differential.

“I think that they’re winning in the same way they played last year,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. “They’re just doing it a little bit better in the sense that they’ve really protected the football. That’s probably the No. 1 key. They’re playing excellent defence and they’re moving the football. They are a well-rounded football team.”

It’s nothing Harbaugh hasn’t seen before from Cincinnati.

“They’ve beaten us plenty of times. We’ve always had a ton of respect for the Bengals,” he said. “It’s a big rivalry game for us. It’s one of the toughest games we play every single year. One of the most physical games we play, and that’s what we’re gearing up for.”

Baltimore has won its last 11 games following a loss — the longest current streak in the NFL — and is 14-4 in that situation during Harbaugh’s three-year tenure. Ravens fans lamented the defeat the Seattle for days, but the players quickly went into bounce-back mode.

“It hasn’t been difficult,” Suggs said. “We’re all professionals here.”

INDIANAPOLIS —
This is going to be a busy weekend of football for Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis and his wife Peggy.

First up is today’s Indiana State homecoming game, where Lewis’ son Marcus will be playing for the Sycamores against Western Illinois at Memorial Stadium. And then, of course, there’s Sunday’s I-74 interstate battle between the Bengals (3-2) and the winless Indianapolis Colts (0-5).

Due to team obligations in Cincinnati, Lewis will remain with the Bengals for an early-afternoon walkthrough practice at Paul Brown Stadium. Peggy Lewis, meanwhile, will make the three-plus-hour trip west to Terre Haute to watch the Sycamores and Leathernecks.

“I won’t be able to see [the Indiana State game], but my wife doesn’t miss a game over there,” Lewis said in a midweek teleconference. “We’re off next week, so I may travel [to Illinois State].”

Marcus Lewis is a senior linebacker for the Sycamores and was a member of Trent Miles’ first recruiting class at ISU. Miles and Marvin Lewis are long time friends, having coached together at the University of New Mexico from 1987-89.

“I’m excited for the Sycamores over there. It’s great to see. I know that the community has been so behind Trent. It’s just great to see their coaching staff’s and athletic department’s hard work. And now they’re reaping the benefits out there on the football field. It’s fun to watch and fun to experience.

“We got a chance to go up and watch them play [Penn State] up at State College. I know this is a big weekend for homecoming [at ISU]. It’s fun to watch the [program’s] turnaround and be a part of something like that.”

• More ISU/Bengals connections — Cincinnati’s offensive control coach, Kyle Caskey, is a former Sycamores assistant coach. Caskey worked with the offensive line and tights under former Indiana State coach Lou West and Miles.

Bengals backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski is the nephew of former Sycamores offensive guard Mark Gradkowski.

• Lewis big fan of Freeney, Mathis — As a former National Football League defensive coordinator with Baltimore [where he won a Super Bowl] and Washington, Lewis’ attention usually goes to opposing team’s defensive players.

That’s a big reason why he keeps a special video handy of Colts defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis.

“My video cutups that I have on my machine here, I have hundreds of [Freeney and Mathis]. When I have nothing to do, I will just sit and go through their defense and cut clips of them rushing the passer and chasing the ball down to show our young [defensive] ends,” the Bengals coach said.

“I have Freeney and Mathis tapes everywhere. I have [Colts defensive line coach John] Teerlinck tapes.”

• Clark says nothing wrong — Tight end Dallas Clark is usually one of Indianapolis’ more sure-handed receivers. So the fact that Clark had three crucial dropped passes in last Sunday’s loss to Kansas City certainly raised a lot of questions.

Was his medically repaired right wrist giving him issues? He underwent surgery last season and missed most of the year with the injury.

“The wrist is great,” Clark said this week. “When you get a chance to make a play, you’ve got to make it. When it doesn’t happen, for whatever reason it doesn’t happen, you look at it, improve, make the corrections and move on.”

His 14 receptions rank third on the team, while he is averaging 9.7 yards per catch and has just one touchdown.

“You’ve just got to come back the next week, improve and get better,” Clark said, talking about the dropped passes. “It’s kind of the way this is. Obviously, you’d love to go back to certain games and take plays back, but that’s not the way it works. We’ve just got to get better and move on.”

• Friday’s injury list — Did not practice: RB Joseph Addai (hamstring), OT Anthony Castonzo (ankle), DT Drake Nevis (back), CB Jerraud Powers (hamstring), WR Reggie Wayne (personal). Limited: QB Kerry Collins (concussion). Full: OG Ryan Diem (ankle), TE Brody Eldridge (knee), DE Dwight Freeney (rest), DE Robert Mathis (rest).

• Trading places — Diem has practiced at offensive guard and offensive tackle this week. He was the Colts’ starting right offensive guard at the beginning of the season after spending most of his NFL career as Indianapolis’ starting right offensive tackle.