The Bengals still want to come out of tonight's preseason finale with a victory, but the responsibility will fall on several backup players, rookies and undrafted free agents.

        Up to seven starters or projected starters are likely to miss the game against Detroit.

        Backup quarterback Scott Mitchell might play an entire half against his former Detroit teammates, but he'll line up without the Bengals' best offensive lineman, Willie Anderson, in front of him.

        Journeyman Jamain Stephens, a former first-round draft pick by Pittsburgh, will start in place of Anderson at right tackle. Anderson didn't practice all week because of an abdominal injury.

        On defense, four new faces will get a lot of playing time.

        Cornerbacks Mark Roman and Robert Bean, the Ben gals' second- and fifth-round draft picks, will see their first prolonged action of the preseason.

        Undrafted free-agent linebacker Armegis Spearman, who's trying to unseat Billy Granville as the sixth linebacker, will play, as will safety JoJuan Armour, who in jured his groin in the intrasquad scrimmage.

        “We're going to see some guys we need to find out about,” coach Bruce Coslet said Thursday. “That's where we're going with this thing.”

        Roman, who held out for 18 days until he signed, played a few snaps against Atlanta in Week 2 of the preseason and saw a little more action against the Bears in the third game.

        Artrell Hawkins, the starter at right cornerback, is questionable for the Lions with an injured foot.

        Roman, the backup at right corner, looked “OK. Just OK” against Chicago, Coslet said. “He's not playing fast yet. He's still thinking through it. He's doing OK, but he missed a lot of training camp.”

        The Bengals like the 5-foot-11, 188-pound Roman because he is a natural at covering receivers. He played safety his first three seasons at LSU and made a smooth transition to cornerback as a senior.

        Bean, 5-11, 178, out of Mississippi State, isn't as fluid as Roman but has made several big plays since training camp opened. He blocked an extra point in the scrimmage, intercepted a pass at Atlanta, has three passes defensed and seven tackles.

        Bean, who also has two special teams tackles in the preseason, is third on the depth chart at left cornerback behind starter Tom Carter and Rodney Heath.

        Armour, the two-time Mid-American Conference defensive player of the year as a linebacker at Miami University, is the Bengals third strong safety. Backup Lawrence Wright will get the start against Detroit because starter Cory Hall has a bad ankle.

        The Bengals like Armour's speed and size at 5-11, 220 pounds.

        Spearman, a 254-pound linebacker, will get a long look, especially because starting linebacker Takeo Spikes (hip) might not play — and if he does, it will be for only a series or two.

        As for Akili Smith, he won't play more than two quarters because Coslet wants to get backup QB Mitchell several series on the field.

        Mitchell, a free-agent signee, was the Lions' starter for four seasons and led them to three playoff games. He ranks second in Detroit's career passing yardage but was ousted after throwing an interception in overtime that the Bengals' Corey Sawyer returned for a touchdown in Week 2 of 1998.

        Mitchell was replaced by Charlie Batch and never played in Detroit again.

        Batch is recovering from an injury and won't be ready to play until the regular season opener Sept. 3, so Detroit's starting QB tonight will be Stoney Case.

        Case replaced Mitchell as Baltimore's starter in Week 3 last season.

        The Bengals will come out with emotion in the second game at Paul Brown Stadium, Coslet said, but he wants it tempered a bit with the focus on execution and poise.

        He has three goals for the Lions game.

        “I told the players no more big plays on defense — it's killing us — and we have to get the running game going,” Coslet said.

        The Bengals are averaging 88.7 yards rushing in the preseason, down from their NFL sixth-best 128.2 yards a game in 1999.

        Coslet's other area of concern is kickoff coverage. The Bears' five drives after Cincinnati kickoffs started at the 30-yard line.

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