Bengals-Raiders Preview: Cincy Looks to End Recent Struggles in Oakland

The Cincinnati-Bengals-Examiner~y2009m11d20-BengalsRaiders-preview-Cincinnati-looks-to-end-recent-struggles-in-Oakland" title="7-2 Cincinnati Bengals travel to the west coast Sunday to take on the 2-7 Oakland Raiders">7-2 Cincinnati Bengals travel to the west coast Sunday to take on the 2-7 Oakland Raiders in pursuit of their sixth-straight road win.

While the Bengals have ridden their way to the top of the AFC North standings on a three-game winning streak, the Raiders have won once in their last seven games.

However, the Raiders recent success against the Bengals should have Cincinnati extra cautious heading into Sunday's match-up.

The Raiders have defeated the Bengals four straight games in Oakland and 13 of the last 14. Still, it's difficult to imagine Cincinnati struggling against Oakland considering how well they have performed this season, especially on defense.

The Bengals defense has been nothing short of outstanding in 2009. Through nine games, they are allowing just 16.3 points per game, with only the Indianapolis Colts ahead of them when it comes to best in the league. Their 25 sacks has them ranked fourth in the NFL with three other teams and they continue to find ways to apply pressure on opposing quarterbacks each week. Last week, they sacked Ben Roethlisberger four times in Pittsburgh-Steelers" target="_blank">the team's 18-12 win over the Steelers .

With the way the Raiders offense has played this season, there's every reason to expect another big day from the Bengals defense.

The Raiders have the second worst offense in the NFL, ahead of only the Cleveland Browns. Their offense is averaging just 9.8 points per game, with their highest total coming in a 24-20 loss in Week One against the San Diego Chargers.

This week, Raiders head coach made the decision to bench quarterback JaMarcus Russell and replace him with Bruce Gradkowski.

Russell has one of the worst quarterback ratings in football at 47.7 He's completed just 46.8 percent of his passes, throwing for 1,064 yards, two touchdowns and nine interceptions this season.

Whether or not Russell will receive another chance at starting quarterback this season remains to be unknown. The Raiders now turn to Gradkowski, who will be making his first start of the season against the Bengals. The fourth-year quarterback will be making his 13th career start against a defense that has been nearly flawless the last three weeks, allowing just 29 points combined against the Bears, Ravens and Steelers.

While the defense has shined over the last few weeks for the Bengals, Marvin Lewis and company know they will need a strong performance from their offense as well if they want to leave Oakland with a win. Once again, the team will rely on quarterback Carson Palmer to lead the way, just like he has all season long.

Even though he has yet to throw for 300 yards in a game, Palmer is arguably having the best season of his seven-year career and appears to be back to his dominate form from 2005. During the team's three-game winning streak, he has been nearly perfect, completing 58-of-87 passes for 635 yards, six touchdowns, and zero interceptions.

Part of the reason behind Palmer's success this season is because of the re-emergence of wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, who is back to his old ways as one of the top wide-outs in the league.

Through nine games, he has already surpassed last season's disappointing numbers (540 yards and four touchdowns), hauling in 46 receptions for 686 yards and five touchdowns. He is on pace to finish with over 1,100 yards for the seventh time in his nine-year career and has been a major factor for the Bengals offense this season.

Along with Ochocinco, wide receivers Laveranues Coles and Andre Caldwell have stepped it up for Palmer on offense ever since Chris Henry was placed on injured reserve with a fractured arm.

After a slow start where he struggled to hold on to balls thrown his way, Coles has emerged as one of the top wide-outs the last two games for the Bengals. Against the Ravens (six catches for 72 yards and a touchdown) and Steelers (five catches for 67 yards), he led the team in both receptions and receiving yards.

While the passing game has performed well enough over the last few weeks to help the team win, the Bengals look to take advantage of a weak Raiders rushing attack that ranks 29th in the NFL, allowing 155.6 yards per game. While the team averages 122.3 yards per game on the ground, the only question that remains to be answered for the Bengals is which player Palmer will be handing the ball off to the most on Sunday.

Bengals running back Cedric Benson has rested the last two days while keeping an eye on a hip injury he re-aggravated against the Steelers in Week 10. Whether or not he will start Sunday will most likely remain a mystery until right before the start of Sunday's game.

Lucky for the Bengals, they have a few options to go with if Benson is unable to suit up against the Raiders.

If Benson rests, the Bengals can rely on backups Bernard Scott and Brian Leonard to carry the load at running back. However, Lewis may want to consider using newly-acquired Chiefs-running-back-Larry-Johnson-signs-oneyear-deal-with-Cincinnati-Bengals" target="_blank">Larry Johnson, who signed a one-year deal Tuesday as the team's No. 4 running back .

Johnson has adjusted to playing the Raiders twice each season considering they play in the AFC West with the Kansas City Chiefs. In the five career games he's played in Oakland, Johnson has never lost, rushing for 498 yards and five touchdowns. His previous success against the Raiders could provide the ground game an extra advantage if Benson is unable to play.

Benson ranks sixth among rushers in the NFL with 859 yards and six touchdowns. While his presence at running back has been a key part to the Bengals 7-2 record, this may be the one week where the team can afford to rest him and rely on Scott, Leonard, and Johnson to carry the ground game.

At the end of the day, Lewis has to consider whether starting Benson is worth the risk against the league's 29th ranked rushing defense, especially with the Bengals making a strong case to be a threat come playoff time.

Dan Parzych is the Cincinnati Bengals Examiner for Examiner.com

He is also the founder of WhoDeyBengals.com