By Matt Canamucio, NFL Analyst -- The Buffalo Bills will try to keep their playoff hopes intact this week, as Mike Mularkey's streaking team heads to the Queen City to take on Cincinnati.

The Bills have won seven of nine since an 0-4 start, and last week took Cleveland to the woodshed by a 37-7 count. Buffalo sits one game back of Baltimore and Denver for the final wild card spot in the AFC.

The Bengals, meanwhile, effectively waved goodbye to their postseason opportunity with a 35-28 loss to the Patriots. Quarterback Carson Palmer left the game after spraining his left knee, and is questionable for the Buffalo contest. Marvin Lewis' club, which sits in third place in the AFC North, had won four of five games prior to last week's loss.

SERIES HISTORY

Buffalo leads the all-time regular season series with Cincinnati, 11-9, and has won six straight head-to-head matchups dating back to the 1989 season. Five of those six took place in Buffalo, with the Bills' 33-20 victory during the 1998 season ranking as the only such contest to be held in Cincinnati. The Bengals last defeated Buffalo during the 1988 season at home. Buffalo was a 22-16 overtime winner when the teams met last season at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

In addition to the regular season series, the teams have met twice in the postseason, with the Bengals prevailing in both games. Cincinnati earned a 28-21 victory in a 1981 AFC Divisional Playoff, and took a 21-10 home decision in the 1988 AFC Championship.

Lewis is 0-1 against the Bills in his career, with the aforementioned 2003 loss ranking as his only head-to-head tilt with the team. Mularkey will be facing both Cincinnati for the first time as a head coach.

BILLS OFFENSE VS. BENGALS DEFENSE

Buffalo's offense wasn't called upon to do much last week, as its D limited Cleveland to a mere 17 net yards on the day. The Bills' rushing attack, however, still went ahead and accounted for 215 yards on 42 carries, including 27 rushes for 105 yards from Willis McGahee (922 yards, 9 TD). McGahee has gone over the century mark in six of his nine games since becoming the starter -- averaging 95 yards per- contest. Rookie back Shaud Williams even got some touches versus the Browns, carrying 10 times for 42 yards and a touchdown. Overall, the Bills rank 15th in the NFL in rushing offense (116.1 yards per game).

Cincinnati allowed the Patriots' Corey Dillon to go for 88 yards on 22 attempts, and two of New England's scores last week came on the ground. This was a week after Baltimore's Chester Taylor scampered for 139 yards on 23 attempts versus Lewis' club. The Bengals have been vulnerable on the ground all season, as they rank 28th against the run. Linebacker Brian Simmons led the team with nine tackles versus New England, and tops the team with 87 this season.

The Bills' Drew Bledsoe let his defense and running game do most of the work last Sunday, as he completed 12-of-27 passes for only 100 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Bledsoe (2388 yards, 18 TD, 15 INT) has got himself somewhat on track after hitting rock bottom with a career-low rating of 14.3 Week 10 against New England. Since then, Bledsoe has tossed nine touchdowns and five interceptions. Eric Moulds (878 yards, 5 TD) caught three passes for 38 yards against Cleveland last week, while Lee Evans (587 yards, 6 TD) hauled in four balls for 33 yards and a second-quarter touchdown. Evans has scored four TDs in the last three games combined.

The Bengals were picked apart by New England's Tom Brady last week, as the two-time Super Bowl champion completed 18-of-26 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns. Cincinnati failed to intercept Brady once, and picks have been a key to any defensive success this season. The Bengals are tied for sixth in the AFC with 16 INTs so far, led by cornerback Tory James' seven. Cincinnati sacked Brady once, courtesy of defensive end Duane Clemons, who has seven quarterback takedowns on the season. The Bengals dropped to 15th in the NFL against the pass overall (206.8 yards per game).

BENGALS OFFENSE VS. BILLS DEFENSE

Jon Kitna, last year's NFL Comeback Player of the Year, may get the start under center for Cincinnati, as Carson Palmer continues to nurse a sprained left knee suffered versus the Patriots. Palmer (2897 yards, 18 TD, 18 TD) is listed as questionable on the team's injury report. Last week he completed 18-of-14 passes for 202 yard, two touchdowns and an interception. One of Palmer's picks was returned for a score in a frantic second quarter. Palmer sustained his knee injury in the second half, and he yielded to Kitna, who made his first appearance of the year. Last year, Kitna threw for 2591 yards and 26 touchdowns as he led the Bengals to within an inch of the postseason. Kitna would have some weapons to work with if forced into action, as Chad Johnson (1151 yards, 7 TD) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (800 yards, 3 TD) continue to produce. Houshmandzadeh has 22 catches for 316 yards and a touchdown in the last two games combined.

Buffalo simply embarrassed the Browns last week, holding Cleveland's Luke McCown to 8-of-20 passing for 62 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. The Bills got to Browns quarterbacks with eight sacks for 79 yards worth of negative yardage. Tackle Sam Adams led the way with two sacks, as the Bills moved to second in the AFC with 38. Buffalo also received a boost from veteran cornerback Troy Vincent, who returned to the lineup after missing nine games with a knee injury. Vincent managed a pick, fumble recovery and a sack in the tilt, and his takedown of McCown resulted in an 11-yard loss on the Browns' first play from scrimmage. Overall the Bills are tied for third in the NFL against the pass (176.4 yards per game).

Cincinnati's Rudi Johnson carried 24 times for 89 yards against the Pats last week, and as a team the Bengals went for 150 yards on 31 carries on the ground. Johnson (1194 yards, 7 TD) has had success against top run-stopping teams this season, averaging 114 yards per-game against Pittsburgh, Denver and Washington -- all top five run defenses. As a team, the Bengals are 16th in the NFL in ground production (113.8 yards per game).

Buffalo allowed the Browns only 29 rushing yards on 17 carries -- including five yards on 11 rushes by feature back William Green. And it cannot even be said that the shutting down of Green was a fluke, because just two weeks prior the Bill held Seattle star running back Shaun Alexander to 39 yards on 13 carries. Against Cleveland, former Bengal linebacker Takeo Spikes and cornerback Terrence McGee led the team with seven tackles apiece. Spikes, who will visit Cincinnati for the first time since leaving the Bengals in 2003, is second on the team in tackles with 83 (MLB London Fletcher leads with 118). Overall the Bills rank fourth in the NFL against the rush (92.3 yards per game).

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Bills defense is coming off a historic effort versus Cleveland, but will face a Cincinnati team that has averaged 37 points per-game the last three weeks, including a close 27-26 win against the stingy Baltimore defense on December 5. The x-factor here could be Kitna, who will have to shake off the rust and try to get back near the level he reached last season if called upon.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Bills 24, Bengals 21