CINCINNATI (AP) – Smile for the camera. Recite your name, position and alma mater. Do it in a way that sounds really cool to all the folks back home and envious buddies around the league.

Then, back it up by playing your best game in front of a national audience. Try not to think about how one bad play could define your career. Hope your team plays well enough to get invited back.

This is some gig.

“Yeah, it’s Monday night,” Denver quarterback Jake Plummer said. “Yeah, it’s this. Yeah, it’s that. What are you going to do?”

That’s the best question for Cincinnati’s first home Monday night game in 15 years: What are the Bengals (1-4) going to do?

Everybody knows what the Broncos (5-1) are going to do: approach it like just another game. And why not? The Broncos are Monday night regulars, appearing for 13 straight years, with as many as three games a season.

They’re so accustomed to the spotlight that they don’t even squint.

“I think we’ve got guys on this team that can separate themselves from the grandeur of the game and go out and just play football like they know how,” said Plummer, who will be playing in his third. “We’ve got a few guys that have played in Super Bowls, a lot of guys that have played in some big games.”

And the Bengals have … problems.

Their season is ready to unravel, just like the last 13. Despite a resolve to change, they’re back to being lovable losers – good for a few pratfalls, a few laughs and a half-dozen wins each season.

“If we win the game, everything is not going to be all positive again,” linebacker Brian Simmons acknowledged. “You can’t control what people say and how people think about you.”

All they control is how they think of themselves, and that’s another problem. They’re not very good in the self-image category.

They get skittish whenever there’s a chance to show the NFL they’re not as bad as everyone thinks, a recurring theme during their 14-year slump. Come Monday night, will the country see confident new Bengals or the same old Bungles?

“That’s another step that we fight all the time with our guys, but I’ve got to find a way to get that out of them,” coach Marvin Lewis said.

He won’t get many more chances. Such opportunities visit these parts about once a decade.

Cincinnati hasn’t hosted a Monday night game since Sept. 25, 1989, a 21-14 win over the Browns at Riverfront Stadium. Sam Wyche was the head coach, Boomer Esiason was the quarterback and Ozzie Newsome was catching passes for Cleveland.

The Bengals haven’t even played on Monday night since Oct. 19, 1992, a 20-0 loss at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium.

Since then, the Broncos have played 33 Monday night games – nine preseason, 24 regular season – while the Bengals have piled up lonesome losses in exile.

If they blow this chance, they may not get another.

“We don’t want to look bad on national TV,” right tackle Willie Anderson summed up.

Anderson hasn’t played on Monday night during his nine-year career – the price for playing in Cincinnati. Simmons is getting his first Monday night game in seven seasons.

Most of the Bengals have only fantasized about moments like this.

“Every kid does,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “I remember my dad would get home from work on Monday nights – it starts a lot earlier on the West Coast – and we’d eat dinner and watch the game. That was our Monday night tradition.”

The Broncos have quite a different Monday night tradition. They actually get to play on it.

“We’ve been on national TV quite a bit,” coach Mike Shanahan said. “So, to be honest with you, I don’t even think about it.”

Nor do most of his players, who have been through the say-your-name routine many times. To them, this is about seeing how many yards they can squeeze out against a woeful defense.

Denver is rushing for an averaging of just under 152 yards per game, best in the league. Cincinnati is giving up an average of just over 160 per game, worst in the league.

If they do what they want – get Reuben Droughns running free in Cincinnati’s secondary – they’ll most likely improve to 6-1, their best start since their 1998 Super Bowl season.

“You can be excited about it,” safety John Lynch said. “It’s a heck of a lot better than the alternative.”

No need to remind the home team.

AP-ES-10-22-04 1302EDT