The last time the Bengals faced such an aggressive defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers sacked Ryan Fitzpatrick seven times. The New York Jets sacked him five times the week before.

Bengals offensive players were encouraged by their performance against Jacksonville in their most recent game, particularly the performance of the offensive line. They will find out Sunday if it was a sign of improvement or a fluke.

"It's one of those games where if they do get the big plays, then we're not going to have a chance," Fitzpatrick said.

The Bengals have allowed 30 sacks, tied for fourth-most in the league. The Eagles have recorded 28 sacks, fourth-most in the league. They have a talented four-man defensive line and a defensive coordinator in veteran Jim Johnson who likes to force the offense's hand.

"They're going to bring extra guys all the time," guard Andrew Whitworth said. "They challenge your team as a whole in pass protection. They challenge your backs, they challenge your tight ends, they challenge everybody with all their blitzes."

Bengals players and coaches have been quick to say the entire offense shares blame for the high number of sacks allowed: Some resulted from breakdowns on the line, some from missed blocks by running backs and tight ends, some because the quarterback held the ball too long or a receiver ran the wrong route and did not get open in time.

But the same players and coaches singled out the offensive line for praise after a 21-19 win over the Jaguars. The Bengals allowed only four sacks in the past two games, for a total loss of 16 yards, and had their two best rushing performances.

"(The Jaguars) are a physical team, but our guys were a little more physical up front," running back Cedric Benson said.

Tackle Levi Jones and center Eric Ghiaciuc bristled when it was suggested the line has played better of late; they insisted the line played well from day one while taking unnecessary criticism. Whitworth agreed with the notion the line has improved in recent weeks, and he thinks the success against Jacksonville could be a turning point.

"Teams are just teeing off on us," Whitworth said. "When you haven't shown you can run the ball good, every chance they get when they think it's a passing situation, they're going to bring pressure. Now we've shown we have the ability to run the Football, so it should change the game plan a little bit."

Offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski has become comfortable enough with the protection in recent weeks to call a few deep passes, but he is not convinced the problems have been solved.

"I think you have to judge things on a body of work," he said. "If we have continued improvement, then I'll say, 'Yeah, we've made strides.' I'm not sure we've made any strides yet."

\ Notable

Benson (back) and safety Chinedum Ndukwe (foot) returned to practice yesterday after missing the previous two days. They are expected to start Sunday. Antwan Odom (shoulder) is not likely to play, Lewis said.

spriestle@dispatch.com