Steeped in the midst of yet another month-long losing streak after a 31-23 loss to Denver on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals are grasping for positives wherever they can find them in the face of some bleak numbers.

Consider:

• The team has had at least one four-game losing streak in 16 of the past 22 seasons.
• In five of those seasons they had multiple four-game losing streaks, giving them a total of 21 in 22 years.
• In the 45-year history of the franchise, only once has the team rallied from a four-game losing streak to make the playoffs. The 1970 team lost six in a row to start 1-6 and still won the AFC Central Division with an 8-6 record.
• And according to the Elias Sports Bureau, since 1990 there have been 121 teams that have started the season 3-5. Only seven (6 percent) have gone on to make the playoffs, with the most recent being the 1996 Jacksonville Jaguars.

“The playoffs are far from our thoughts right now,” middle linebacker Rey Maualuga said. “It’s just about winning the next game. It sucks losing four in a row. We’ve got to find an answer. We’ve just got to keep climbing.”

Offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said he thought the team began the climb against the Broncos, despite the loss.

“We fought our tails off,” he said. “We played against a team that’s hot, a great football team. If we can play the way we did (Sunday) and eliminate some of the little mistakes, we’ll have a chance to put together a streak of wins. There’s no doubt in my mind we can do it.”

The offense, and quarterback Andy Dalton in particular, certainly made strides from the 185-yard effort the Bengals had in a 24-17 loss to Pittsburgh before the bye.

Dalton rebounded from going 14-of-28 for 105 yards against Pittsburgh to 26-of-42 for 299 yards against a Denver defense that entered the game ranked No. 9 in the NFL.

“Andy competed,” Bengals offensive coordinator Jay Gruden said. “He made some tough throws, made some big plays. For the most part he was under some pressure, and I was happy with the way he competed. He stood in there, took a few hits, but didn’t let the rush get to him mentally. I was happy to see that. I think we can build from there.”

Gruden and head coach Marvin Lewis have spent the last few weeks talking about the need for unscripted plays, and Dalton delivered a few of those against the Broncos.

Dalton scrambled out the pocket and hit tight end Jermaine Gresham with a 52-yard pass in the third quarter to set up the team’s first touchdown. And in the fourth quarter, Dalton escaped the rush and delivered a 19-yard strike to A.J. Green on third-and-15, only to have the play wiped out by a holding penalty on center Jeff Faine.

“We have to continue to get better pockets, but Andy a couple times did avoid (pressure) and made plays out of the pocket,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. “We’ve got to continue to do that.”

And they are going to have to do it against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants, who will be coming to Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday after a stinging loss to Pittsburgh in which they blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead.

There figures to be plenty of urgency as the Bengals try to avoid a fifth consecutive loss.

“It was urgent last week,” safety Chris Crocker said. “It was urgent the week before that. There’s really no heightened sense of urgency. We’re a very urgent team.”