Green Bay Packers: Grading Cedric Benson's Debut vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Newly-signed running back Cedric Benson made his Green Bay Packers debut Thursday night in Cincinnati. While he didn't start—second-year back Alex Green did—Benson was the one who impressed against the Bengals. 

The 29-year-old back played 20 or so snaps, carrying the football six times for 38 yards and making one reception for 10 more. Benson didn't hit the 100-yard mark like he wanted to, but this was a performance that should guarantee he's the Packers starting running back come Sept. 9. 

Below, we break down each of Benson's snaps and give a final grade for his Packers' debut. 

1. On Benson's first snap, the Packers line up in an I-formation, with Benson and fullback John Kuhn in the backfield. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers takes the snap, fakes a hand off to Benson and rolls right—launching a 60-yard heave to Jordy Nelson that should have been called for pass interference. The Bengals defense bit hard on the Packers fake to Benson. 
2. The Packers again go play-action to Benson, with Rodgers rolling to his left on a bootleg. Cincinnati's defensive line crashes hard to the run side, with Rodgers given a free lane to make a dart throw to Greg Jennings on the sidelines for a first down. 
3. Once again, another play-action. This time, the Packers line up in shotgun with a zone-read action to Benson. The blitzing corner takes the bait, and Rodgers has an easy pitch to Jennings. 
4. Packers throw, and Benson goes out into the flat. Rodgers doesn't look his way.
5. Packers again throw, but Rodgers is flushed out of the pocket—scrambling for a touchdown. Benson doesn't touch the ball on his first drive. 
6. More play-action to Benson on the second drive, but the Bengals don't bite. Rodgers scrambles around before throwing an incomplete pass. 
7. Benson finally gets a carry. Working out of the shotgun, Benson receives the hand off and makes one cut to get into the second level. The run goes for seven yards on first down.
8. Benson gets his second carry three plays later. He bounces off one tackler in the hole and gets nine hard-fought yards. 
9. Play-action to Benson, and Rodgers breaks contain of the pocket. First-and-goal. 
10. Benson carries out of the shotgun from the 6-yard line, but the Bengals have him bottled up. No gain.
11. Benson chips a rusher before watching Rodgers scamper into the end zone for another touchdown.
12. Benson carries up the middle out of a one-back set. Three yards but the blocking wasn't there.
13. On Rodgers' interception, Benson steps up and stonewalls a blitz. Pressure didn't cause the bad throw. 
14. Play-action to Benson, but Rodgers throws incomplete.
15. Another shotgun carry, and Benson makes one cut in the hole for a 10-yard gain. The Packers simply haven't had runs like this one in the recent past.
16. Benson escapes the backfield and makes a catch, eluding one defender for another 10-yard gain. Looked comfortable catching the football. 
17. Another eight yards for Benson out of the shotgun set. One cut, makes a defender miss. 
18. Rodgers looks for Benson on a swing route out of the backfield, but the ball is tipped. 
19. Benson helps block an outside blitz, but there was never really a threat from Benson's man. 

What did we learn from Benson's debut? 

For starters, this is still going to be a spread-you-out, pass-heavy offense. Benson saw just a handful of carries in a power formation. He was most effective when the Packers went to shotgun, anyway. 

Play-action will be a big part of the game plan with Benson in the backfield. The majority of his snaps were used with him as a decoy for a passing play.

Benson is a natural runner when the ball is in his hands. He understands how to create holes with just a single cut, and he's hard to bring down once he finds the hole. The Packers simply haven't had a running back capable of putting that entire package together since Ryan Grant was at his 1,200-yard days. 

There wasn't much room for worry with Benson in the passing game either. He looked confident catching the football, and pass protection didn't look overwhelming. Depending on who you talk to, both areas were seen as concerns for Benson coming into this offense. 

Overall, I'm not sure Benson or the Packers could have asked for a better debut. Unless there is some kind of practice injury over the next two weeks, Benson should be the team's starter when the Packers open up the regular season against the San Francisco 49ers. 

Grade: A