Bengals DL Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlap are part of a defense that has made significant strides the past two weeks. (AP Images)

A month shouldn't feel so long ago.

But in the NFL, it feels like a year.

The Bengals' defense holds thankful of that fact.

When Cincinnati played the Browns in Week 2, the Bengals' defense was in disarray. Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer led a group ranked in the bottom of the league in most defensive categories. Most notably, following Trent Richardson's 19-carry, 119-yard showing, the Bengals' defense, which ranked seventh to close 2011, had allowed at least 120 rushing yards in back-to-back weeks.

The trend continued when the unit allowed 202 yards rushing at Washington a week later.

But during the past two weeks the defense finally found the 2011 mojo. The leading rusher in the NFL last year, Maurice Jones-Drew, was held to 38 yards on 13 carries. To follow, Reggie Bush rushed 19 times for 48 yards.

So, entering this rematch with Richardson, the defense enters with a fresh perspective and renewed faith in themselves.

“Everyone is settling down,” DT Domata Peko said. “We got off to a rough start and we're trying to catch up. It seems like now that we've settled down we're starting to feel each other out and get our chemistry going. It seems like we're getting back to where we left off last year, trying to be that swarming defense where everyone hustles to the ball and runs around like their hair is on fire and playing with excitement and playing with emotion.”

Nobody's hair stuck out more than MLB Rey Maualuga. He drew public scrutiny for his play early in the year, but along with the rest of the defense, showed improvement the past two weeks.

Maualuga missed seven tackles through the first three weeks, including two that led to Richardson touchdowns. But over the past two weeks he's missed two tackles and stuffed more plays against Miami than he had in all the previous games combined, according to ProFootballFocus.com.

“There's a lot of bad press out there, people saying he hasn't been playing the best and what not,” Peko said. “To me and to everyone in this locker room, he's the best middle linebacker out there. If you play with confidence you can play a lot better. We're just trying to tell him that, and he knows that. He seems to be playing confident and playing better. It wasn't just him. Defense is a group thing.”

The linebacker's coverage in space continues to be a work in progress, made obvious by the tight sweat-drenched sweatshirt Maualuga wore around the locker room this week. He's attempting to drop to 250 pounds. His reporting weight was 260. He said he's 252.

Football's evolution into a game played in space means Maualuga evolves along with it. If not, he'll be left behind. Regardless, for now, he appears to be at the head of this defense's return to reputation. Showing how much the defense changed in four weeks won't be told with locker room quotes. It will lie in Richardson's numbers Sunday.

“Only time will tell how much better we are when we play Cleveland again,” Maualuga said. “We know that we don’t want to give up those big plays that we did give up when we played them first.”

Follow Paul Dehner Jr. for Bengals updates on Twitter at @CBSBengals.