The Steelers didn't exactly miss Willie Parker in the first meeting with the Cincinnati Bengals, not after the way Mewelde Moore performed in his absence in a 38-10 victory. But Parker certainly missed playing against the Bengals.

And why not?

Parker has averaged 113.7 yards per game in six career games against the Bengals, including an average of 130.3 yards in three games at Paul Brown Stadium.

Talk about horses for courses.

"It's the matchup," Parker said. "But it's not just me, it's the whole offense. If the offense has a good day, the quarterback has a good day, then it's like the whole unit is doing their job."

Parker has always done his job very well against the Bengals, one of the reasons the Steelers have won 11 of the past 14 meetings. But, despite his average, he has had only one 100-yard game against them at Heinz Field, which is where the teams meet again at 8:15 tonight.

After missing the previous six games with knee and shoulder injuries, Parker returned last week to rush for 115 yards on 25 carries against the San Diego Chargers, his third 100-yard performance this season.

"You could look at it either way," Parker said. "Certain teams match up better against other teams; and certain defenses, like the Eagles, their defense matched up pretty well against our offense. So that's how it is."

The Sept. 26 game in Philadelphia was the low-water mark for the running game, for several reasons. The Steelers managed just 33 yards rushing on 19 attempts against the Eagles, and Parker sprained the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, forcing him to miss the next four games. But the knee is no longer an issue with Parker. And he didn't appear to have any problems wearing a brace to protect the dislocated shoulder and torn labrum he sustained against the Washington Redskins.

"I wouldn't say I feel good; I've felt better," Parker said. "But I'm not like banged up from hits or nothing like that."

It might be something of a stretch to suggest the Bengals have tightened their run defense. They are allowing an average of 131.1 yards per game.

But, after allowing four runs of 33 yards or longer in their first six games, they haven't allowed a run longer than 24 yards in their past five -- and that was to Moore, who rushed for 120 yards on 20 carries Oct. 19 in Cincinnati.

Moore and Tennessee's Chris Johnson (109) are the only backs to rush for more than 100 yards against the Bengals this season.

One of the ways the Bengals have tried to improve their run defense is by using rookie defensive tackle Pat Sims, their No. 2 draft choice from Auburn. At 6 feet 2, 320 pounds, Sims gives the Bengals two big, stubborn tackles when he is next to 325-pound Domata Peko.

That creates more space for middle linebacker Dhani Jones, who leads the team and is second in the NFL with 96 tackles.

"They got a lot of young players in the secondary and, when you're young, sometimes you miss a few more tackles than a veteran in that secondary," Parker said. "Young players take more chances; they don't play sound football. They'll hit in the hole and, if they have an outside gap, they'll stay inside. They do stuff like that. That's a result of being young. You have to learn."