The 0-7 Bengals will play at Reliant Stadium Sunday against the 2-4 Texans.

The Bengals have never lost to the Texans, and they must extend that streak this week to avoid reaching the 2008 season's midway point without a victory. Cincinnati appeared to have a chance to upset division leader Pittsburgh at Paul Brown Stadium last week, only to see a 17-10 game turn into 38-10 during a fourth quarter won 21-0 by the Steelers.

The Bengals were 0-7 in 2002 when they went to Houston and defeated the first-year Texans in what would be a franchise-worst 2-14 season.

"Coach (Marvin) Lewis got into us pretty good about not finishing," wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco said following the setback. "Bad as this year has been, it's really the first time we've let that happen."

"It's very simple right now," starting center Eric Ghiaciuc said. "The only attitude we can take is, 'Be men and play football.'"

Lewis, to say the least, is not happy. And he will face Houston without his starting quarterback for the fourth time in eight games. Carson Palmer has an inflamed right throwing elbow, and Ryan Fitzpatrick will start.

"I'm angry," Lewis said after the Steelers game. "It's not good. This game was not what pro football is all about. We had some momentum in the fourth quarter (trailing 17-10). We had Cedric Benson's run (a 15-yarder for a first down at the Steelers 37). And at that point, we seemed to dissolve in every area. You can't have that happen.

"When you're in the game and you've got the ball across midfield down by a touchdown, you've got an opportunity there. But we didn't get the thing done."

Palmer continues to rest a sore right elbow, with week-to-week evaluation. Given that, the most encouraging sign from last week's loss was a rise in consistency from the offense under Fitzpatrick. Against one of the NFL's premier defenses, the Bengals had their best numbers of Fitzpatrick's three starts for gross passing yards (164), net rushing yards (84), first downs (16) and time of possession (29:25). Cincinnati's 92-yard TD drive in the second quarter was its longest in the last 36 games, and on the drive, Fitzpatrick was 9-for-10 passing for 84 yards.

"It was hard to look at the scoreboard at the end and see the final score was 38-10," Fitzpatrick said. "Going into the fourth quarter, we thought we had a great shot at winning the game. Our offense had picked up and was putting things together."

Fitzpatrick was sacked seven times, bringing to 26 the number allowed this season.

"We did not protect our quarterback worth a darn," Lewis said. "And that responsibility falls on everybody, not just the five linemen."

Defensively, the Bengals continue to play well for stretches but not for 60 minutes. After giving up a TD on Pittsburgh's first drive, the defense held the Steelers to only a field goal on their next four possessions. But the Steelers scored touchdowns on four of their final possessions, and had 375 yards, compared to 212 for the Bengals.

SERIES HISTORY: 4th regular-season meeting. Bengals lead the Houston Texans 3-0. Cincinnati is 1-0 at Reliant Stadium. The Bengals won 38-3 there in 2002, and have posted home victories of 34-27 in 2003 and 16-10 in 2005.