By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Bengals figure to have a significant advantage Sunday with their pass offense against Arizona's pass defense.

The Cardinals' defense, though it has done a relatively good job in total yards (314.4 a game, ranked 15th), has put no pressure on opposing quarterbacks, with just six sacks and three interceptions.

If the Cardinals don't hurry Jon Kitna, the Bengals quarterback could have another productive, error-free day. Kitna has eight touchdown passes against just one interception in the past four games. He has an 8-0 touchdown-interception rate in the three victories.

Kitna is completing 20.7 passes a game, a pace that would set a franchise record of 331 and break Jeff Blake's mark of 326 in 1995. Blake will start for Arizona.

If the Cardinals can't slow Kitna and his receivers, the Bengals will come home with a 4-4 record.

TURNOVER TERRORS: Arizona (2-5) is the lowest-ranked NFL team in turnover differential, at minus-14.

In their five losses, the Cardinals are a combined minus-15 in turnovers.

"In the five losses, we absolutely murdered ourselves by turning the football over," Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said. "We played a game this week (a 16-13 win over San Francisco), much as we did against the Packers, where we didn't turn it over. It doesn't guarantee you a win, but it gives you a chance to be in the ballgame."

Blake has thrown nine of the team's 12 interceptions, and the Cardinals have lost seven fumbles. Their turnovers have led to 55 points for the opponent.

But in the past two weeks, in two consecutive victories, nobody has been better than the plus-8 Bengals, and they scored 27 points as a direct result of takeaways. They are now plus-4, 10th-best in the league.

In three victories this season, the Bengals are plus-9. They are minus-5 in the four losses.

The Bengals' plus-5 turnover effort Sunday against Seattle was only the second time in the last 244 games that the Bengals have reached that mark.

Win the turnover battle Sunday and win the game.

IRRELEVANCE BOWL: Coach Marvin Lewis has said all week that the Bengals won't look past Arizona to consecutive home games against Houston and Kansas City.

In case they're tempted, here are a few more logs to toss onto the motivational fire.

Though the Bengals and Cardinals have been lumped together as the NFL's worst franchises in the past decade, the Cardinals actually have had more success. Since the Bengals last played in a postseason game, following the 1990 season, the franchise has a 58-141 record.

Arizona is 12 games better, at 70-129. The Cardinals also went to the playoffs and won a wild-card game following their 9-7 season in 1998. That 9-7 also represents something the Bengals haven't had since 1990 - a winning record.

How could a 3-4 team - especially a Bengals team - look past anybody?

Sunday's game will be the 200th in the regular season for the Bengals since their last playoff appearance, longest drought in the league.

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