After starting the season with an NFL-best 16 sacks through the first four games, the Cincinnati Bengals have seven in their previous four.

And Sunday against Denver they were blanked for the first time in more than two years, a span of 33 games.

“Teams know we have the pass-rushing ability that we have, and they’re doing a good job trying to eliminate or slow us down,” defensive end Carlos Dunlap said.

“Everything in the NFL is cyclical,” added defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. “You don’t play the run good, you start harping on the run. You don’t play the pass good, you start harping on the pass.

“Some offensive lines are way better than others,” Zimmer continued. “They keep more guys in in protection, they use different protections. Let’s just count them up at the end and see what happens.”

Zimmer has a point. The Broncos rank second in the NFL in sacks allowed (10) and haven’t surrendered one to a 4-3 defense all season, while Cleveland, another team the Bengals faced during their dry spell, is tied for fifth (14).

Still, the Bengals know they need to find a way to get more pressure regardless of whom they are facing.

“We need to get after the quarterback,” said defensive tackle Geno Atkins, whose seven sacks lead NFL interior linemen and have him on pace to break the franchise’s single-season record of 13 set by Eddie Edwards in 1983.

Defensive end Michael Johnson also ranks among NFL leaders with six sacks, but the Bengals have gotten only a combined 2.5 sacks from the other end of the line, a position shared by Robert Geathers and Dunlap.

“We’ve got to get off the football and go,” head coach Marvin Lewis said. “Those guys continue to progress, but we want it to happen as quick as we can.”

“I wish they’d come along faster,” Zimmer added.

The challenge this week will be their toughest yet as the New York Giants lead the NFL in fewest sacks allowed with nine, although four have come in the last two games.

“They play really well together,” Lewis said. “That’s one of their battle cries, their strengths – how well they do together. They’re kind of interlocking on the run game and on the protection scheme. Everybody sees it through the same eyes. You don’t see many unblocked guys coming clean on them.”

The Giants’ five offensive linemen have a combined 38 years of NFL experience but only four Pro Bowl appearances (right guard Chris Snee has three, right tackle David Diehl has one).

“They play as good together as any offensive line in the NFL,” Zimmer said. “They’re all veteran guys, tough guys. That’s why they’re good and that’s why they won Super Bowls, because they’ve got good backs, they’ve got a good quarterback, they’ve got good receivers, good tight ends, a good line.”

While the primary focus of the Bengals defensive linemen will be on the Giants offensive line, you can expect them to sneak a peek or two at New York defensive line, which is considered one of the best in the NFL with three Pro Bowlers in Justin Tuck, Jason Pierre-Paul and Osi Umenyiora.

“They’re considered one of the top D-lines, but I feel we’re up there just as well as them,” Dunlap said. “We do both: We stop the run very well and we get after the quarterback when we’re able to. I feel like pretty soon they’ll be talking about us up there with the other D-lines in the league.

“We have to show up in big-time games, get to the big-time quarterbacks,” Dunlap added. “In order for us to be the best, we have to perform and do it. And we haven’t done that yet.”