Bengals, Palmer taking cautious route

Oct 8, 2008 - 7:40 PM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer is hopeful that he will be able to play in Sunday's game against the New York Jets.

Palmer has been nursing a sore throwing elbow that caused him to miss the Bengals' contest against Cleveland on September 28, ending his streak of 51 consecutive starts.

He returned last week and threw two touchdown passes in Cincinnati's 31-22 loss at Dallas, but admitted he lacked the arm strength to go deep.

On Wednesday, Palmer said that he will not over-extend himself in practice this week.

"We'll use the same approach as last week and hopefully I can play on Sunday," he said. "Throw as little as possible, rest as much as possible. Make a decision later on in the week. See what the doctors say."

As the NFL's only 0-5 team, the Bengals are in desperate need of a spark. Cincinnati is 31st in total offense (239.2 yards per game) and 29th in scoring (14.8 ppg).

In his four starts this season, Palmer has thrown only three touchdown passes and four interceptions. His quarterback rating of 69.0 ranks 27th in the NFL.

If Palmer plays Sunday, he will be going against a man who has been nearly indestructible throughout his career. Jets quarterback Brett Favre will be making his NFL-record 258th consecutive start.

"I've said it before," Palmer said. "It's the single greatest record or achievement in all of sports. Three weeks ago, I wanted to shoot for that record. I thought I could do that."

Palmer fell more than 200 games shy of Favre's iron-man record, but he does have one thing in his favor - a 1-0 career record against the three-time league MVP.

On October 30, 2005, Palmer beat Favre's Green Bay Packers, 21-14, at Paul Brown Stadium. Favre contributed to his own demise in the game with five interceptions.

"All I remember is winning, and we haven't had one of those in a while," Palmer said.