By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Bengals, having won four in a row at home, face the only three-game road stretch in the NFL this season. And they start in a place that has been the least successful of their destinations - the West Coast.

The Bengals play Sunday at San Diego, one of five West Coast stops where the Bengals have won just one of 13 games since 1990.

"With the way we travel, we just have to play," coach Marvin Lewis said Monday. "We just haven't won. It's just time to go win."

The Bengals are 0-2 out West under Lewis, losing to Oakland and Arizona.

Lewis now has the Bengals traveling out West on Friday, giving them an extra night to acclimate.

"Leaving on Saturday, there was no time to compete," tackle Willie Anderson said. "You were dead."

Said cornerback Artrell Hawkins, "Guys hate going out there, but we're going to have to come away with a victory."

San Diego has one of the NFL's worst defenses, but Bengals nemesis Doug Flutie will start at quarterback. How do the first-place Bengals, at 5-5, not look past the 2-8 Chargers?

"You don't let this win ride too high," linebacker Kevin Hardy said. "We come back in Wednesday and get back to business."

The Bengals are 4-2 at home, but 1-3 on the road, winning only at Cleveland. The Bengals have not won outside of Ohio this season.

Lewis coached on two Super Bowl teams that were near .500 at mid-season. The 1995 Steelers were 3-4 and won eight in a row; the 2000 Ravens were 5-4 and won seven in a row.

"Both times in midseason, we weren't a whole lot better than this," Lewis said. "The team that gets hot ... keeps getting better ... has a chance to go very far."

After San Diego, the Bengals travel to play at division rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore. Four of their final six games are on the road.

West Coast woes

• The Bengals are 0-7 on the West Coast (San Diego, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco and Seattle) since Nov. 6, 1994, when the Bengals defeated the Seahawks 20-17 in overtime.

• The Bengals are 1-12 on the West Coast since defeating the L.A. Rams 34-31 in overtime on Oct. 7, 1990 at Anaheim.

• The Bengals have lost four games in a row at San Diego (2001, 1996, 1994 and 1992.)

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