Cedric Benson Reminds Cincinnati Bengals of the Formula for Success

For one day everything seemed right in Bengaldom.

The Bengals broke their 10-game losing streak with a 19-17 victory over the Browns in the "Battle of Ohio." Cincinnati may have been blacked out from watching the game, but they didn't miss much. It was a typical AFC North battle of the trenches that doubled as an incredibly boring game.

The player of the game was without a doubt Cedric Benson. He bullied the soft Browns interior defense for 150 yards on 31 carries and a touchdown.

The offensive line was knocking players down and Benson was hitting the holes hard. He showed the evasiveness and ability to get those extra two or three yards after being hit.

There weren't any fumbling issues and the offense fed off of Benson's energy. He was a man on a mission, something that hasn't been seen in 2010.

Now the cynic in me understands that Benson will be a free agent in less than a month and he saw dollar signs dancing in his head as he recorded his second straight 1,000-yard rushing season on Sunday.

Benson wants to get paid and he is making sure his stats get him there. It's pretty clear that Benson despised the fact that Terrell Owens became the No. 1 option of the offense. He made comments when the Bengals were 2-1 about his displeasure of the direction the offense was going.

A 10-game losing streak later and Benson has decided to keep quiet. He is smart enough to know that making his opinions heard would do nothing but cause more unnecessary controversy in Cincinnati.

Benson was the workhorse last season in the Bengals' 10-6 campaign. He played hard each and every game and the Bengals were able to control the tempo in the process. He racked up over 1,200 yards in only 13 games last season. In 14 games in '10, he has 1,006 yards.

The O-line hasn't played as well, but the fact that Benson has 25 fewer carries in one more game is a telling sign that Benson was put in the rearview mirror by offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski and Lewis.

This season the team insisted on giving T.O. special attention. He had 139 targets in essentially 13 games. That number beats Chad Ochocinco by 14. A guy is signed at the end of July and has 14 more targets than a player that has been with the team since 2001?

Not sure if this was the game plan implemented by Brat and Lewis, if Carson Palmer wanted to keep T.O. happy and out of the headlines or owner Mike Brown ordered it from above, but clearly this idea was awful.

Is it a coincidence that the Bengals won their first game in 11 chances when T.O. went down in the first quarter?

I think not.

The Bengals won the AFC North last season by pounding the ball with Benson and controlling the clock. On Sunday the Bengals held on to the ball for almost 40 minutes.

Palmer went back to his game-manager role that resulted in fewer mistakes and a much more relaxed QB.

Watching the game this Sunday made fans remember the "good ole days" of last season. The '09 formula still works and it's a shame it took until the end of December for Lewis and Co. to figure it out.

Now the Bengals are posed with a tough question...do you keep Benson?

He has proven to be an above-average back that can break off a 20-yard play or get that tough yard. He is already familiar with the Bengals system and philosophies. But that goes out the window if the coaching staff is shown the door on January 3rd.

He was a cheap pick-up for the Bengals ($6.5M for two years), and he led them to a playoff game.

Benson was given a second chance by the Bengals and who knows if he is playing in the NFL if the Bengals don't make that phone call in October of 2008.

If the Bengals decide to not re-sign Benson they will be forced to either draft his replacement or overpay for one in free agency. Bernard Scott is a great backup, but his body can't endure the rigors of carrying the ball 20-25 times a game. Benson has proven that he is able to handle the load.

When you consider the Bengals will have to worry about replacing their QB and two top wideouts, maybe locking up Benson for another two years isn't such a bad idea.

It's hard to tell if Benson wants to come back, but for the Bengals, the safe bet is to stick with "Ced" and feed him the rock like it's 2009.