By Joe Kay
The Associated Press

CINCINNATI - They hit golf balls. They watched football on television. Mostly, they sat around and felt miserable.

The Cincinnati Bengals and Tennessee Titans spent last weekend learning just how bad the bye can be when the record isn't very good.

"The only time I enjoyed was being with my son for a couple of days," Bengals right tackle Willie Anderson said. "Other than that, it was terrible for me. The whole time you're just thinking, 'We're 0-6."'

At 2-4, the Titans concede they're not much better than the NFL's only winless team - a painful comeuppance for a team that expected to rebound in 2002.

"We're one or two plays away from being in the same situation," quarterback Steve McNair said.

Pleasant bye-week thoughts, eh? Imagine what one of the teams will be thinking following their game Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium in front of a small, snarly crowd.

The Titans can come away feeling rejuvenated in the AFC South, where they're two games out. Or they can fall to 2-5 for the first time since 1995, Jeff Fisher's first full season as head coach.

The difference is dramatic.

"Teams in front of us have started to fall apart," defensive tackle John Thornton said, referring to 4-2 Indianapolis and 3-3 Jacksonville. "We have just got to pick up and not worry about what happened at the beginning of the season."

The Bengals know they're headed for a 12th straight forlorn finish, no matter what happens on Sunday. Still, a win would provide a temporary reprieve from misery.

Another lopsided loss could get their quarterback derby revved up again, the last thing the players want.

"When the team is struggling like we are, the quarterback almost has to play flawlessly," said Jon Kitna, the NFL's lowest-rated starting passer. "You can't afford any mistakes at the quarterback position, so that's the thing I've been trying to concentrate on."

Kitna had one of his best games against the Titans last season, throwing for 340 yards in a season-ending 23-21 victory. The Bengals haven't won a game since.

"They play an all-out game against us," Titans tight end Frank Wycheck said. "It seems as if these games always go down to the fourth quarter."

And they always seem to come down to two players: Eddie George and McNair.

George has played 12 games against the Bengals and run for 100 yards five times, his highest total against any team. He's coming off his first 100-yard game of the season, 113 on 31 carries in a 23-14 win over Jacksonville.

"That's what I'm accustomed to getting, that many carries," George said. "We had the opportunity to have that kind of a day where we were able to get the running game going."

If the Bengals stop George, McNair usually has a big day. He has thrown 17 touchdown passes in 11 games against Cincinnati, by far his best total against any team.

The Bengals usually play the Titans close, and they usually lose. Their season-ending win last January ended a streak of seven straight wins by the Titans.

Cincinnati's best chance of finally getting elusive win No. 1 is its history. The Bengals have started 0-6 five times since 1991, often breaking out with a surprisingly strong game.

In 2000, Corey Dillon set the NFL single-game rushing record with 278 yards in a 31-21 victory over a flat Denver team.

"The last time they were 0-6, Corey Dillon set the record and they had 400 yards rushing against the Broncos," Fisher said. "We're very much aware of that. The difficulties they've had are their own doing. They are potentially dangerous, and they are potentially a good football team."

The question is whether they've given up on their potential after listening to all of the jokes about their ineptitude during a miserable bye week.

"It was a bad off-week," Anderson said, dropping his head. "It was bad."

It can always get worse.

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