Cincinnati Bengals
Bengals hitched to Benson
By Paul Dehner Jr., CNATI.com Posted December 27, 2009 6:26 PM ET
The Bengals entered the locker room at halftime to a barrage of boos from a crowd fearing the unthinkable and dreading the suddenly possible. They jogged out of the cold digesting a first half of 53 total yards and three points.
Fifteen minutes later, the Bengals emerged and did what they do best.
They gave the ball to Cedric Benson.
On the first play from scrimmage Benson made one quick cut in the hole and broke loose for a 33-yard gain that set the works of an AFC North title in motion. A 20-yard burst on the game-winning, 98-yard drive helped secure it.
Though the frustrations from the crowd filled Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday over the choices in calling Benson's number 29 times, the Bengals give the gift of another game to that fan base because of his ability to turn them into 133 yards.
"We stayed consistently with it," Benson said. "We didn't shy away from it. Usually when we do that, we get the best outcome."
Not usually, Cedric. Always.
The Bengals are now 6-0 on the season when Benson rushes for more than 100 yards. Those six century-mark efforts are good for a new team record.
"That means a lot," lineman Bobbie Williams said. "We should have got a Christmas gift for that one."
Williams and company certainly deserve credit. This was the eighth 100-yard rushing day by a Cincinnati back this year, which is also a new team mark.
Benson also has 1,251 yards this season, which includes missing 2 ½ games with a hip flexor injury. The accolades continue to rack up for the Chicago castoff and could have another addition on Tuesday when the Pro Bowl selections are announced.
"There have been a lot of firsts in my career this year," Benson said. "And it has been a wonderful year and just a big blessing."
It may not be pretty, and for most of Sunday it surely wasn't. Benson himself admitted "we are not as good as we need to be going into the postseason." But in the Bengals locker room, anyway, it was viewed as another physical win with Benson's 225-pound body print stamped all over it.
"He's a tough player," Andrew Whitworth said. "He plays low to the ground and he is hard to tackle. He just keeps coming. You might get him on the ground, but he's going to spin through there eventually."
Sitting 98 yards away from the playoffs in the fourth quarter, the Bengals turned to Benson. When he lost a yard, they turned to him again. In the end, the drive that earned the second postseason trip in 19 years was comprised of seven Benson carries.
"That was us playing our game, the way the Bengals play football at its best," Benson said. "We pounded it down the field and finished it off with Carson and Chad (Ochocinco)."
While many fans and critics may have clamored for a more explosive offense and aerial magic, that wouldn't have made sense in this crucial victory.
This team hitched itself to Cedric Benson and that's not going to change.
"That's who we are," Whitworth said.
Categories: Cincinnati Bengals, Featured Stories, News
Tags: Andrew Whitworth, Bengals, Bobbie Williams, Cedric Benson
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