Will Bengals Be Naughty or Nice? : Rams: Bettis gets a chance against one of the league’s worst rushing defenses.

Irv Eatman, Sean Gilbert and Jerome Bettis huddled in front of the TV camera as the Rams’ makeshift Christmas trio swung into an off-key rendition of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” for a national pregame broadcast.

But their second chorus wasn’t the same as the first. Messing with the lyrics, they substituted Bettis as the guy you had better watch out for.

Jerome Bettis is coming to town . Those words, no doubt, were ringing through the Cincinnati Bengals’ practices all last week. After gaining 212 yards in 28 carries against New Orleans last Sunday, the rookie tailback’s reputation preceded him to Riverfront Stadium for today’s game against the Bengals.

“They’re going to try to stop Jerome, no question about it,” said Ernie Zampese, the Rams’ offensive coordinator. “But they still have to physically stop him, and hopefully we can get some plays with the passing game and balance it out.

“Teams we play from here on out are not going to say they have to stop T.J. Rubley or Henry Ellard or Flipper Anderson. They’re going to have to stop Jerome Bettis and the running game.”

Cincinnati (1-12) ranks 26th in the league against the run, giving up 137.5 yards per game. Forecasts call for sun and 40-degree temperatures for today’s game--ideal conditions for running with the ball, but not necessarily for catching it.

So Bettis and Zampese expect the Bengals to stack eight defenders near the line of scrimmage, daring the Rams to beat them with a passing game featuring Rubley, a second-year quarterback who is 1-3 as the Rams’ starter.

“I hope this will open up some new avenues with the passing game,” said Bettis, who has gained 1,103 yards in 215 carries. “Now, they’re going to press the line of scrimmage and it should give us a chance to make some big plays.

“The big thing right now is how tough we’re playing because we’re running the ball.”

Even if the Bengals concentrate on rushing defense, don’t expect the Rams to use Bettis as a play-action decoy. He will get his share of carries.

“If you’re going into a game against an eight-man front and you’re going to try to run the football, usually the eight-man front is going to win,” Zampese said. “It doesn’t mean you can’t run it, but if you get that many bodies up there, you’re going to have some success against the run.”

This game still could be a breakthrough opportunity for Rubley, who struggled in losses to San Francisco and Phoenix. And last Sunday, he completed only five of 13 passes for 47 yards and a touchdown, but Zampese pointed out one important statistic--no interceptions.

Said Rubley: “In a game like that, throwing the ball away is the right thing to do because you don’t want to put your team in jeopardy. The ground-control game, what I’ve found in the past, has trouble coming back from turnovers. If you don’t turn it over and let Jerome and the offensive line go to work, you can always stay in the game.”

So should Rubley expect to be pitching out more than passing again this week?

“I assume so,” he said. “Any time a guy has a big day like that . . . I think we’ll go out and try to dominate the line of scrimmage and the offensive line and Jerome will take us where we want to go.”

The Bengals, who had the fifth pick in last spring’s draft but passed on Bettis, haven’t scored more than two touchdowns in a game five times this season. They lost to 2-11 New England last week in a battle of the NFL’s two worst teams, 7-2.

Bengal quarterback David Klingler has completed 145 of 260 passes for 1,421 yards with three touchdowns and nine interceptions. Carl Pickens, their third-leading receiver with 36 catches, isn’t expected to play because of a sprained foot.

And their top rusher, tailback Harold Green, has only 433 yards in 166 carries. The Bengals have scored only two touchdowns rushing all season.

The perfect opportunity for the Rams? A victory over the Bengals would give the Rams their first consecutive victories since 1991. The Rams haven’t won consecutive road games since 1990.

RAMS

TODAY’S GAME

* Opponent: Cincinnati Bengals.

* Site: Riverfront Stadium, Cincinnati.

* Time: 10 a.m. PST.

* Records: Rams 4-9, Bengals 1-12.

* TV: Channel 2.

* Radio: KMPC (710).

* Rosters: C14.