CINCINNATI — With their most lopsided victory in seven years, the Cincinnati Bengals had everything they wanted heading into their bye week.
CINCINNATI — With their most lopsided victory in seven years, the Cincinnati Bengals had everything they wanted heading into their bye week. Confidence. Healing time. A share of first place. "It’s a good spot to be in," quarterback Carson Palmer said. They played their best all-around game of the season on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium, a 45-10 win over the surprisingly inept Chicago Bears. Palmer threw five touchdown passes, and Cedric Benson ran for a career-high 189 yards against his old team. The Bengals (5-2) had called it a must-win game. The victory kept them tied with Pittsburgh atop the AFC North, with a week to rest for two decisive games coming out of their bye. They play Baltimore at home in their next game, which represents a chance to knock the Ravens from the ranks of front-runners. The Bengals already have won at Baltimore and have a 3-0 mark in division games, an important playoff tiebreaker. After that, they head to Pittsburgh for a rematch with the Steelers, who are also 5-2. Winning those two games would leave them in control of the division with an easier stretch of the schedule ahead: Oakland (2-5), Cleveland (1-6) and Detroit (1-5) in consecutive weeks. The last time Cincinnati opened 5-2 was 2005, when it won the division and lost to Pittsburgh in its opening playoff game, the one in which Palmer got his left knee torn up on his first pass. That’s the Bengals’ only playoff appearance — in fact, their only winning record — in the last 18 years. Since the start of training camp, coach Marvin Lewis has called it the best of the seven teams he’s had in Cincinnati, a unit that is short on experience but seems to have a lot of determination. "This team has a great opportunity to be good," Lewis said. "I think they’re a more grounded football team than we’ve had before. There’s a stronger foundation of guys. It’s younger, and maybe that’s a good thing because they don’t know any better, so they keep playing." The determination has carried them through some extreme performances that make it difficult to judge how good they are as a team. They opened 4-1, with all five games decided in the final 22 seconds. The offense would go for more than two quarters without a first down, then rev up for a winning drive in the closing minutes. The defense would have a stellar game, then slip the next week. The defense got torn apart and the offense did next-to-nothing during a 28-17 loss at home to the Houston Texans that dropped them to 4-2 and made everyone wonder if the Bengals were little more than a lucky team. They followed their worst game with their best. The offense scored on its first seven possessions, the defense shut down the Bears, and special teams were solid. Palmer had more touchdowns (5) than incompletions (4) while putting up the best passer rating of his career at 146.7. "We wanted to send a message, and I think we did that," offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said. "We wanted to leave no doubt that we’re a team to be reckoned with." Their ability to run on the Bears, who hadn’t allowed more than 105 yards on the ground all season, was the biggest eye-opener. The Bengals put tight ends in the backfield to block and lined up extra offensive linemen in tight-end spots, allowing them to plow a path for Benson. The line was motivated to help Benson, who was the Bears’ first-round pick in 2005 but had a stormy time in Chicago and was let go last year. He was eager to show them what they were missing. "The proof is on the stat sheet," offensive guard Bobbie Williams said. "Cedric doesn’t say much, but when he talks, we listen. He wanted to have a big game, but we wanted it more for him than he wanted it for himself." Benson stayed in the game until the end because fullback Jeremi Johnson and second-string running back Bernard Scott suffered knee injuries that don’t appear to be severe. The two of them can use the extra week to heal. The defensive line also can use a week off. Tackle Domata Peko played on Sunday despite a sprained left knee. End Jonathan Fanene filled in for Antwan Odom — out for the season with a torn Achilles’ tendon — despite missing practices with an illness. Tank Johnson is playing despite plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
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