Marvin Lewis says Bengals have been preparing for Seahawks since February

The Bengals have looked as good as any NFL team during their 4-0 start, but that came against teams that are a combined 6-10.

This Sunday, they'll be hosting a team that went 30-8 between 2013 and 2014 with two Super Bowl appearances. That's the kind of team Marvin Lewis strives to be, and that's why he's been preparing to face them for awhile, as he told Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson.

"Don’t worry. We’ve been on the Seahawks since February or whatever," Lewis said this week. "They set a standard that we would like to play to. They play the style of football we play over here in this division. You like that. This will be one of those games."

Facing Seattle is simply a different kind of task for any NFL team. They are arguably the most physical team you'll find and one that is hard to gameplan for both offensively and defensively.

On defense, the Seahawks feature three players among the best at their positions in safeties Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas to go with cornerback Richard Sherman. Star linebacker Bobby Wagner is also one of the game's better middle linebackers. The defense end duo of Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril puts fear into any opposing quarterback.

Andy Dalton knows facing them won't be easy, but he thinks this Bengals team is built in a very similar manner to that of Seattle.

"The ability, the type of players, how fast and how hard our guys play, I think is real similar," Dalton says of the two defenses. "The people that we have here play that way, a similar style, but from a purely schematic standpoint, it's different."

That defense ranks fourth in total yards allowed per game (278.3) going against a Bengals' offense that ranks second in yards per game (422). Seattle's own offense isn't nothing to brag about, but Russell Wilson is the game's best dual-threat quarterback. Containing him takes a lot of game planning, given he's the only NFL QB with 900-plus passing yards and 170-plus rushing yards this season.

Current Bengals tackle Eric Winston was a member of the 2013 Cardinals team that faced Wilson and the Seahawks twice, including a win in Seattle in which the Cardinals' defense limited Wilson enough to come away with a 17-10 win. Winston was also on the Seahawks during the 2014 preseason.

"Our defense stood on its head that day, we kept Russell Wilson in the pocket, and we shut down the run," Winston said of the Cardinals' win over the Seahawks from 2013. "They’re one of those teams that rely on other teams not willing to keep slugging the whole time. They kind of rely on you to say, "Uncle," and blink a little bit and that’s when they’ve got you.  I think if you’re willing to stay in there and say no matter what happens we’re willing to play toe to toe as long as you can."

This may very well be the toughest team the Bengals face this year, so it shouldn't be any surprise they've spent so much time getting ready for it.