By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Marvin Lewis placed a revised practice and workout schedule in each player's locker to mark another Victory Monday.

"Congratulations - once again," the Bengals coach wrote at the bottom of the sheet. "Win the month of December."

Winning the month, starting with a victory Sunday at Baltimore, would put the Bengals in the playoffs for the first time since 1990.

The Bengals and Ravens are tied atop the AFC North at 7-5. A Cincinnati victory would give it a one-game lead in the standings and the edge in the first tie-breaking formula - a 2-0 head-to-head advantage.

A 2-1 mark in the last three games - after a win at Baltimore - would give the Bengals the division title even if the Ravens went 3-0 to finish in a 10-6 tie.

But Lewis is looking only at the Ravens.

"We don't have to worry about that," he said Monday when asked about playoff expectations. "We just have to worry about this next game. We are not in a situation where we can look ahead of ourselves, because everything is right there in front of us."

Lewis has instilled the one-game-at-a-time attitude - or the "keep-shoveling-dirt" mentality, replete with shovel - in his players, said eighth-year Bengal right tackle Willie Anderson.

"We're now being coached like a Fortune 500 company with a mission statement," Anderson said. "`Win here, don't worry about all of those other teams.'"

A loss at Baltimore puts the Bengals at a decided disadvantage down the stretch. They have home games against the 49ers and Browns sandwiched around a trip to play the 9-3 Rams.

The Ravens have won four of their last six games, including two in a row in which they've scored 44 points twice behind new starting QB Anthony Wright. He has six TD passes and three interceptions. Receiver Marcus Robinson has five TDs in the past two games.

But the Ravens' offensive personality is still tailback Jamal Lewis, who has rushed for 1,442 yards in 12 games.

"We have to contain Jamal and not let Anthony make too many big plays," said Bengals middle linebacker Kevin Hardy.

Lewis ran for 101 largely cosmetic yards in the Bengals' 34-26 victory against the Ravens on Oct. 19 at Paul Brown Stadium. The game saved the season, improving the Bengals to 2-4 and starting a 6-1 run that put them into playoff contention in December for the first time since the 1990 season.

The Ravens know the Bengals of Week 14 are different than the Bengals of Week 7.

"Going in the first game, our mindset was, 'It's going to be the same old Bengals. We should go in there and win,' " linebacker Peter Boulware said. "Now, our mindset is, 'This is a great football team.' "

The game's subplot is Lewis' first return to Baltimore, where he was defensive coordinator for six seasons and worked for coach Brian Billick to win Super Bowl XXXV.

Lewis already beat Billick once, and Lewis split with his former boss and former high school rival, Steelers coach Bill Cowher. Two weeks ago, Lewis took his team to San Diego and beat Marty Schottenheimer, a fellow graduate of Fort Cherry High School in McDonald, Pa.

Lewis expressed relief that the "Marvin Lewis NFL Reunion Tour" has almost come to an end.

"It's not about me. It's about these guys," he said of his team.

Billick also dismissed the personal rivalry Monday, but anticipated the start of a heated series between the Ravens and Bengals. The Ravens had won seven of eight against the Bengals under Billick before the October loss. And the Bengals have lost six in a row at Baltimore.

"Marvin's really got them playing well and confident," Billick said. "So this is a great rivalry that should build from this point forward."

Bengals-Ravens breakdown

Category	Bengals	Ravens
Record	7-5	7-5
Avg. points for	22.3	25
Avg. points against	22.2	19.8
Avg. rush yards for	121.1	158.2
Avg. rush yards against	118.1	101.9
Avg. pass yards for	221.5	143.4
Avg. pass yards against	216.5	180
Turnover differential	plus-4	minus-2
Possession time	31:39	29:45
Record final 3 opponents	18-18	11-25
@ Head to head	1-0	0-1
# Division record	3-1	1-2
% Common opponents	5-4	6-3

@ 1st tiebreaker; # 2nd tiebreaker; % 3rd tiebreaker

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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