By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

BENGALS AT RAIDERS

Kickoff: 4:15 p.m. Sunday. TV: Ch. 12, 7. Radio: WCKY-AM (1360), WOFX-FM (92.5). Inside: Bengals linebacker Riall Johnson will be on the field Sunday in Oakland against younger brother Teyo Johnson, a Raiders tight end. Teyo Johnson was Oakland's second-round draft pick in April and made his NFL debut Sunday night at Tennessee.

The high-scoring Raiders are likely to score 20-30 points Sunday, and the pressure will be on the Bengals' offense - yes, offense - to keep the Bengals in the game.

The offense could quiet the loud, hostile Network Associates Coliseum crowd, with its notorious Black Hole end zone section, by getting an early lead and controlling the clock.

If the Raiders offense hits its stride - it was second in the NFL in scoring in 2002 with 450 points and first in passing yards - the Bengals' offense will have to try to keep up.

And if the game becomes a shootout, the offense must perform better than it did in the Week 1 loss to Denver.

To improve offensive line play, coach Marvin Lewis on Wednesday moved Rich Braham into the starting lineup at center, shifted Mike Goff from center back to right guard and sat down right guard Matt O'Dwyer.

"Right now, we're struggling a little bit, and hopefully this will help," Lewis said after practice. "We'll see what our best combination is. We'll put Rich in the mix with Matt and Mike, and I think it takes all three guys for us."

Braham, re-signed as a backup in the offseason, started 56 games at center for the Bengals in the past four seasons.

"Now it's an opportunity to go in there and perform and play well," Braham said.

Wholesale lineup changes are not an option. Depth is not the Bengals' strength. Top players are starting.

The Bengals' offensive problems against the Broncos began with line play: Jon Kitna was sacked four times and hurried 13 other times. Three passes were tipped at the line. The offense committed three of the four turnovers. The Bengals gained just 51 rushing yards (34 for Corey Dillon). They had a five-minute disadvantage in time of possession.

In their 25-20 loss Sunday night at Tennessee, the Raiders had a 10-minute disadvantage in possession. The Titans held the ball for 34:57 and kept Oakland's offense on the sideline.

"Tennessee did an excellent job with that," Lewis said. "No. 9 (quarterback Steve McNair), I'd say, did an excellent job of that. I'm going to ask Jeff if we could borrow him."

Jeff Fisher is the Titans' coach.

Lewis said he remains confident that the offense will be productive Sunday.

"It's a one-game thing," Lewis said. "We have to go play. You're only as good as what you did last week. We've got to go play the Raiders now and move the football effectively, have to take care of the football, we have to make first downs."

Besides the three offensive turnovers against the Broncos, the Bengals missed on two of three big-play opportunities. Kitna overthrew both Peter Warrick and Chad Johnson on deep balls that - if completed - might have been touchdowns.

The pressure is on Kitna - who won his first NFL start for the Seattle Seahawks at Oakland in 1997. The Bengals have a capable backup in Shane Matthews, and rookie No. 1 draft pick Carson Palmer is being groomed as the quarterback of the future.

After Sunday's game, Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe said Kitna played as if he were "looking over his shoulder."

Asked Wednesday about Sharpe's comment, Kitna responded as tersely as he has in two-plus difficult seasons with the Bengals.

"Shannon Sharpe is like an expert on our team now?" Kitna said. "I went out there and played the game to the best of my abilities and tried to make plays for this team, and a couple of them backfired, and that's what's going to happen.

"When you're trying to make plays to win the game, sometimes you're going to be part of the reason you lose."

Kitna and the offense are in their third season with the Bengals in coordinator Bob Bratkowski's offense.

"The whole group, man for man, we at times lost our poise a little bit," Bratkowski said.

Said tight end Reggie Kelly, who had only one incomplete pass thrown his way: "Coach Lewis said it best this morning - stay poised and play our game. We can't worry about what they're doing."

E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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