Aeneas Williams knows what you're thinking about this game. Arizona and Cincinnati? Why watch?

        “I'm quite sure our game won't be the marquee game,” the Cardinals cornerback said. “But hopefully, we can turn it into a game that people say, 'Man, you should have seen this game.”'

        There's one reason to think that two of the NFL's worst teams could be at their best today at Paul Brown Stadium: It's the last time that the Cardinals (3-9) and Bengals (2-10) will be better than a long shot to win a game.

        The Cardinals finish with games against resurgent Jacksonville and playoff-contending Baltimore and Washington. The Bengals also play two contenders — Tennessee and Philadelphia — around a game against Jacksonville.

        For this week, at least, there's hope.

        “It's a game that both teams think they can win,” Williams said. “They're two teams that just want to get a victory in the worst way.”

        They've spent the week trying to motivate themselves for an uncharacteristically good performance.

        In Cincinnati, rookie receiver Peter Warrick went around trying to pump up his teammates' spirits for a game that couldn't generate much enthusiasm. Scalpers took out newspaper ads offering tickets “dirt cheap.”

        “I'm going to make more noise this week, just try to get 'em hyped,” Warrick said. “It's the end of the year. It's winding down. There's no playoffs or nothing like that. But we can still get better as a team.”

        In Arizona, they were looking to their high-strung coach and their tablehopping safety for that little extra emotion — and maybe a laugh, too.

        “He's kind of a wired guy,” Williams said of interim coach Dave McGinnis. “In the locker room, he performs even more. We get fired up. He kind of ignites Pat Tillman. Pat seems to follow suit sometimes — he jumps on tables and stuff like that. So sometimes you don't know whether to keep a serious face or smile.”

        These two teams have done little smiling in dreary seasons that are remarkably similar.

        Both elevated their defensive coordinators — McGinnis and Dick LeBeau — to head coach during the season. Neither is sure of his future beyond this season.

        Both teams have been horrible at holding onto the ball — Cincinnati leads the NFL with 16 lost fumbles, Arizona is next with 15.

        Injuries have taken a big bite out of two already-thin rosters. The two quarterbacks — Arizona's Jake Plummer and Cincinnati's Scott Mitchell — are expected back after missing one game because of injuries.

        Both teams have a victory over Cleveland and a surprising win over a contender — Arizona beat Washington, Cincinnati beat Denver. Otherwise, it's been a dreary season with a month left to go.

        “It's definitely not all that exciting, to be honest with you,” Mitchell said. “There's nothing more exciting than going down the stretch and having a chance of making the playoffs. That's the only reason we're here and when you don't have that opportunity, it's hard.”

        A victory ould provide a feel-good moment — not much consolation, but better than the alternative. It could very well come down to Corey Dillon.

        The Bengals running back is trying for his 18th 100-yard game, which would set a team record. He's 178 yards shy of the franchise record for yards in a season — James Brooks ran for 1,239 in 1989.

        Dillon has run for more than 178 yards three times during his four-year career, including his NFL-record 278-yard game against Denver this season.

        Arizona has one of the league's worst run defenses, giving up an average of 149 yards per game on the ground, so another big number is a possibility.

        “The one thing you can be dead-right on and you can saddle up on is they're going to hand the ball to Corey Dillon a lot of times,” McGinnis said.

        After this week, it gets a lot tougher for the two stand-in head coaches. McGinnis is 1-4, LeBeau is 2-7. Neither has a contract for next season, both are trying to keep down-and-out teams going for one more month.

        “This will be a challenge for us,” LeBeau said. “We don't stick our heads in the sand on that one.”

LeBeau's job rides on today's game Saints' offer still haunts Bengals Last chance for a W Who's got the edge? Bengals-Cardinals by the numbers Players to watch NFL Insider

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