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Pittsburgh (at Cin.): Willie Parker tweaked his knee at Monday's practice, and it looks unlikely that he'll play. He didn't practice Wednesday. If he sits, that would make Mewelde Moore an intriguing fill-in option. Moore is a capable backup, and the Steelers typically pound the Bengals. Moore played well in the win at Jacksonville two weeks ago, running for 99 yards on 17 attempts. He's not a real big guy, so the Steelers likely would spell him with other runners and lift him at the goal line -- they would also use Gary Russell and Najeh Davenport. That's all if Parker sits, of course; prior to the Jacksonville game, Parker said he was healthy enough to play in that game -- that he was being held out solely as a precaution. The Steelers have a remarkably strong track record in terms of running the ball against Cincinnati. In both of the 2006 games, Parker ran for 133-plus yards and scored 2 TDs against the Bengals. In each of his last two other games at Paul Brown Stadium, he's run for over 125 yards and 1 TD. Parker ran for only 87 yards (with no TDs) in his last game against the Bengals, but he's certainly ripped up this opponent. The Steelers aren't running the ball quite as well this season -- they're down at 20th right now, at 106 yards per game -- but Cincinnati's defense is as soft as ever. The Bengals rank 5th-worst in run defense, allowing 157 yards per game. They've also allowed 8 rushing TDs. ... Even without Parker,

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we would like the Steelers in this matchup. Pittsburgh is 13-4 in this series the last eight years, and it's scored at least 23 points in seven of the last nine. We'll roll with that model for another game. The Steelers are 4-1 and playing well, while the Bengals are 0-5 and starting inexperienced Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback. The Cincinnati offense should struggle, so the Steelers should find themselves in plenty of favorable field-position situations. ... We're also flagging this as an above-average game for Pittsburgh's other players. They tend to move the ball and score lots of points against this opponent, and the Bengals are struggling on defense. Hines Ward has scored 8 TDs in seven games against Cincinnati the last three years; he scored twice in each of the games last year. Santonio Holmes has caught 10 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown in his last two against the Bengals. Ben Roethlisberger put up five TDs in the two games last year; he tends to be better when the Steelers are supporting him with a good running game. When the Steelers fall behind and start having to pass a lot, that's when you see Roethlisberger start to hang onto the ball too long, take sacks and dish up interceptions. ... Heath Miller doesn't have a great track record against the Bengals -- 20 catches and 1 TD in seven games. But this is his kind of matchup. The Steelers should be in the red zone often, and that's where he becomes an option to catch a short scoring pass. Miller also might benefit from the Parker injury. ... Pittsburgh selected Limas Sweed in the second round, but the physically talented receiver hasn't yet made it on the field. The Steelers are coming off their bye week, so maybe this is the game where he finally gets some snaps. But we don't envision Sweed challenging to be one of the team's top 3 receivers this year -- the Steelers like Nate Washington. More realistically, Pittsburgh will continue to develop him, and he'll challenge for a spot next season. Hines Ward is getting up there in years and takes a beating with his physical style of play. In a dynasty format, we see Sweed as a possibility to pick up right before the final roster freeze at the end of the season -- maybe he develops into something in 2009 or 2010.

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