By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

There will be no moral victory Sunday for the Bengals.

"There's no more, 'We played hard, we're getting better.' Marvin's not going to put up with that," right tackle Willie Anderson said Thursday.

Coach Marvin Lewis has raised expectations. Winning is the new standard.

But Bengals fans might find some solace in a good performance against the Broncos, one of the NFL's traditional powers.

Denver comes to town sporting the league's third-ranked offense and sixth-ranked defense in 2002.

"We've got to play to win," Anderson said. "Denver's not coming here to play well."

But if the Bengals do play well, compared to, well, last year's 34-6 opening day drubbing to San Diego, there could be reason for optimism in Cincinnati.

A good Bengals performance would feature few, if any, turnovers by the offense and at least one takeaway on defense. The Bengals were minus-7 in the preseason.

The score would be close, and Denver would win the game, as opposed to the Bengals losing it with physical or mental errors - or both.

The Bengals also would make no major errors on special teams. Holds would be clean. New kicker Shayne Graham would be perfect. The Bengals' defense also would prevent the Broncos' big-play offense from springing tailback Clinton Portis for a long run. It would pressure quarterback Jake Plummer in his first Denver start.

Bengals' fans didn't buy coach Dick LeBeau's claims that his 2002 team was improving because - in their eyes - it wasn't.

"The first game is always important," Bengals quarterback Jon Kitna said. "But as you look at it, it's not going to make or break your season one way or another."