I like the Bengals on Sunday, but what do I know?

This morning, I'm writing my Edge matchup breakdown for the Sunday paper.

I'll be heading over to WCPO for the noon news show to make my prediction for the Bengals-Falcons game. "Curnutte's Call," my friends at Channel 9 call the segment. Perhaps it should be "Curnutte's Con." (There's a nice softball for readers who want to post comments. You're welcome, in advance. Have at it; I deserve the grief.)

I've lost four in a row. I picked Pittsburgh over the Bengals, then the Bengals over New England and Tampa Bay. Then I liked Carolina against the Bengals last week.

Defensive tackle Shaun Smith, maybe the sharpest needler in the locker room, got me good Sunday after the 17-14 victory against the Panthers. Shaun has a booming voice. "Hey, Mark, you thought we would lose, 27-20."

"Very good, Shaun, you even remembered the score," I said.

"Hey, Justin, Mark thought we would lose," Shaun said to teammate Justin Smith.

"Yeah, Shaun, and I picked your sorry (rear ends) to beat New England and Tampa Bay."

Two points for me. I silenced Shaun Smith. At least temporarily.

Those are good times. The interplay with some genuinely good people, such as Shaun, is one of the joys of this job.

Atlanta will give up a lot of pass yards -- the Falcons are 27th in the NFL at 230.8 yards allowed through the air a game. But they'll tighten (bend, don't break) to keep teams out of the end zone. Even after allowing 38 to the Steelers, the Falcons are eighth in the league in average points allowed at 17.8 a game. The philosophy in Atlanta is stop the run (the Falcons are 11th at 98.5 yards a game allowed) and limit points. Pass yards be damned.

Still, I like the Bengals at home this week. I'm working on a score. But I see it in the 20s for both team.

But what do I know? I was 13-4 picking Bengals games last season. I missed all three Steelers-Bengals games and didn't see the Christmas Eve loss to Buffalo. Otherwise, pretty solid.

This year, I'm 2-4. Not good. Not good at all.