By Mark Curnutte
Enquirer staff writer

From a pure football perspective, prime time hype aside, the Bengals' matchup tonight against Denver could not be much less promising.

Twelve years in the making, and the Bengals draw red-hot, 5-1 Denver in their first Monday night game since 1992.

Name a Bengals' weakness, and there is a Broncos' strength ready to exploit it.

Denver is first in the NFL in rush offense at 151.7 yards a game and fifth in total offense at 370.7 yards a game.

The Broncos are 12th in scoring at 26 points a game.

The Bengals are last in run defense at 160.4 yards.

Denver coach Mike Shanahan will run the ball repeatedly, and when Bengals safeties creep toward the line, look for the Broncos to throw deep in the direction of wide receiver Rod Smith.

The flipside isn't much more optimistic for the Bengals, who come in 1-4.

Denver's defense is ranked first in yards and second in points allowed.

The Bengals' offense is ranked 25th in total yards and 24th in points scored.

In 300 minutes of play this season, the Bengals have held the lead for just 44:13. Playing from behind so often has put too much pressure on first-year starting quarterback Carson Palmer, who already has thrown 190 times in five games.

By comparison, Denver quarterback Jake Plummer has thrown 184 times in six games.

It's simple to state offensively but more challenging for the Bengals to execute: Control the run, run the ball, mix in the pass. As for the Bengals defense, the less Denver has the ball the better.

FIRST DOWN

Lights, camera, action

One more piece of Monday night trivia. The Bengals are making their first Monday night appearance since 1992 and first at home since 1989. Since then, Denver has appeared 25 times.

"We've been on national TV quite a bit," said Mike Shanahan, Denver's coach since 1995. "So, to be honest with you, I don't even think about it."

The Broncos have played on Monday night 19 times under Shanahan and have won 10.

Three-and-out

The Bengals have had 64 offensive possessions in 2004. They have punted after running three plays - otherwise known as going three-and-out - on 18 of those possessions.

Pac-10 stars

Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer (USC, 2002) and Denver's Jake Plummer (Arizona State, 1996) will form a meeting of former Pac-10 Offensive Players of the Year.

Brush with greatness

Shanahan's daughter, Krystal, is a graduate of the University of Texas, where she was a roommate of Jenna Bush, daughter of President George W. Bush.

The list, 1

Denver enters the game ranked first in rushing average, 151.7 yards. The Bengals enter last in rush defense at 160.4. The Bengals' rush defense has struggled mightily the last nine games.

Opp.	Att.-Yards	Result
Ravens	45-223	Bengals loss
49ers	27-171	Bengals victory
Rams	31-143	Bengals loss
Browns	40-264	Bengals loss
Jets	34-219	Bengals loss
Dolphins	20-25	Bengals victory
Ravens	34-254	Bengals loss
Steelers	40-165	Bengals loss
Browns	46-139	Bengals loss

Per carry average: 5.1 yards

Per game average: 178.1 yards

The list, 2

Coaches with 100 victories for one team through the first 10 years with that team:

Coach, Team	Years	Wins
Joe Gibbs, Redskins	1981-90	113
John Madden, Raiders	1969-78	112
Don Shula, Dolphins	1970-79	112
George Seifert, 49ers	1989-96	108
Mike Ditka, Bears	1982-91	107
Marv Levy, Bills	1986-95	107
Bud Grant, Vikings	1967-76	106
Bill Cowher, Steelers	1992-01	105
M.Schttnheimer, Chiefs	1989-98	104
Mike Shanahan, Broncos	1995-04	103
Bill Walsh, 49ers	1979-88	102
Dennis Green, Vikings	1992-01	101

SERIES HISTORY

• Denver leads the series 15-7.

• The Broncos won the last meeting, 30-10, at Paul Brown Stadium in the 2003 opener.

• The Broncos have won nine of the last 10 meetings in the series. The Bengals' only victory was in 2000, when Corey Dillon rushed for a then-record 278 yards in a single game.

• The Bengals are 5-5 against Denver in Cincinnati.

• The Bengals' first victory as a franchise came against the Broncos, 24-10, on Sept. 15, 1968 at Nippert Stadium.

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