Pittsburgh coaches expected to have most of their injured starters back this week, but questions remain about halfback Willie Parker, nose tackle Casey Hampton and offensive tackle Marvel Smith, all current or former Pro Bowl players.

Parker, who topped 100 yards in each of his first two games, sprained the MCL in his left knee in the third game and missed the following two. He was on schedule to return this week until he stepped in a "hole" on the practice field Monday and re-injured his knee. He ran in practice Thursday but missed the drills with his teammates for the second straight day and will be re-evaluated Friday.

So too will Hampton and Smith. Hampton had limited work for the first time since he was injured in the fourth game of the season, and Smith did not practice at all. Hampton has a groin injury and Smith, who has a history of back issues, has back "spasms" that caused him to leave the Oct. 5 game in Jacksonville in the fourth quarter.

If Parker does not play, Mewelde Moore will make his second straight start. He gained 99 yards on 17 carries against the Jaguars. Max Starks, who remained a backup even after the Steelers made him their $7 million transition player, would make his first start of the season, at left tackle for Smith. And Chris Hoke would again replace Hampton.

--The Steelers won't say it but they own the Bengals in Cincinnati, where they've won seven in a row. And without starting quarterback Chris Palmer, the Bengals seem to lack the teeth to prevent it from becoming eight straight when they play Pittsburgh Sunday in Paul Brown Stadium.

In fact, backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and his 0-5 record will face the teeth of a strong Pittsburgh pass rush Sunday. Fitzpatrick has been sacked eight times to go with Palmer's 11, and the Steelers hope to add to that Sunday.

"We've watched some film and seen he can be sacked so we're going to pin our ears back and go," defensive end Brett Keisel said.

The Steelers have 18 sacks, half of their total from all of last season. Outside linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley have combined for 12.

They're ahead of the pace to break their team record of 55 sacks, and they're doing it, for the most part, without sending the kind of exotic blitzes that coordinator Dick LeBeau often uses.

"Actually, we haven't called many blitzes," Harrison said. "We haven't really called too many of our complicated zig-zag blitzes that we do. We haven't shown many."

Harrison led the Steelers with 8.5 sacks last season and already has 6.5 after five games. The team record is 15, set in 1987 by Mike Merriweather, who also played right outside linebacker in a 3-4 defense.

No Steeler ever led the NFL in sacks. Harrison is half a sack off the lead, held by Atlanta's John Abraham, who has seven in six games. Woodley, in his first season as the starting left outside linebacker, is eighth in the NFL with 5.5 sacks.

The two compete with each other for sacks, and Woodley believes Harrison can wind up as the league sack champ.

"Of course, and I can be right behind him because the more he gets the more he puts pressure on me," Woodley said.

The best one-two sack punch the Steelers had were Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene, who played in the mid-1990s for the Blitzburgh defense.

"Both (Woodley) and James are unbelievable right now," inside linebacker Larry Foote said. "Hopefully they keep it going. If you can pressure without blitzing, that's the key. We definitely have it available for us."

Both are among 32 outside linebackers on the AFC Pro Bowl ballot.

"We're going to continue to come," Woodley predicted. "I think we're going to continue to constantly bring pressure. It's not only me and James Harrison but you have those guys up the middle. There are a lot of guys who continue to bring pressure."

One of these days, they might even start using the exotic blitzes, although the Bengals probably will not see them on Sunday.

"If you can get pressure on the quarterback without blitzing, it shows what kind of defense you have," Woodley said. "It shows the guys up front and the guys in the back, everybody is doing their job.

"And then when you finally do call a blitz, you have a real high chance of getting home then, because if they can't stop four guys, how are they going to stop the blitz?"

SERIES HISTORY: 76th regular-season meeting. Steelers lead the series 45-30, plus 1-0 in the playoffs. Pittsburgh has won its past seven games in Cincinnati, including a playoff after the 2005 season. They are 21-17 overall in Cincinnati. The Steelers have won 10 of the past 14 overall against the Bengals, including their last meeting in Heinz Field, 24-10 on Dec. 2.