Cincinnati Bengals: Why Benson Should Run Wild Sunday Against the Texans

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Despite the team's disappointing season, Cincinnati Bengals running back Cedric Benson ended the 2008 season on a positive note. Not only did he help the Bengals finish the regular season on a three-game winning streak, but he did so by averaging just over 118 yards rushing per game.

Many analysts kept an eye on Benson during the off-season and labeled him as a potential sleeper this season after the way he finished his 2008 campaign. Through the first five games of the 2009 season, he has proven that the way he finished last season was no fluke and he has what it takes to be a serious threat at the running back position.

Last Sunday, Benson ended the Baltimore Ravens 39-game streak of not allowing a rusher to break the 100-yard mark when he ran for 120 yards and a touchdown in a 17-14 win. All of a sudden, he is being considered one of the top running backs in the league and looking like the type of player many expected to see when he was drafted by the Bears in 2005.

After his 120-yard performance, Benson moved to the top of the list in rushing and leads the league entering Week Six with 487 yards, just six ahead of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. With a matchup at Paul Brown Stadium against the Houston Texans, the Bengals have every reason to believe he will remain atop of the list and have another strong performance on Sunday.

Benson will be rushing against a Texans team whose rushing defense ranks 26th by allowing 140.8 yards per game. They also find themselves at the bottom of the rankings with nine rushing touchdowns allowed through the first five weeks of the season.

With these statistics, Benson could be looking at another field day against a Texans defense who has struggled to stop the run so far in 2009. In Week Two, the Texans allowed Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson to rush for 197 yards and two touchdowns on just 16 carries.

The Texans have allowed a 100-yard rusher in three of their first five games of the 2009 season against the New York Jets, Titans, and Jacksonville Jaguars (Thomas Jones, Chris Johnson, and Maurice Jones-Drew). The two teams that failed to record a 100-yard rusher against the weak Texans rushing defense were the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals, who both rank in the bottom-five in rushing yards per game.

Through five games, Benson is averaging a career high 4.4 yards-per-carry on 111 touches. Not only is his yards-per-carry average up but his worst performance so far in 2009 was Week Four against the Cleveland Browns, where he ran for just 74 yards on 21 carries (which is quite impressive for his worst performance).

With the Bengals sitting at 4-1 in first place of the AFC North, look for the Bengals to run wild against the Texans with the help of another impressive performance from Benson.

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