Quick, get me rewrite.

That is what the columnist from the Chicago Tribune should be shouting following the Cincinnati Bengals’ – who were fired up by the almost possessed and determined Cedric Benson running- thrashing the Chicago Bears on Sunday evening 45-10 in Paul Brown Stadium.

In Sunday’s Tribune, the premise of the column was that the only type of running that the ex Bear was any good at was his running off at the mouth. According to the columnist the problem for Benson in Chicago, in addition to him constantly whining, was he was too soft, too slow and too distracting.

There might be some truth to those claims during the three troubled years that Benson spent with the Bears, but it hasn’t been since Benson joined Cincinnati 13 months ago. It definitely was not true on Sunday when Benson battered Chicago for 189 career high yards on 37 carries with one touchdown.

Benson said, a few times I might have been a bit too hyped up, maybe too antsy. On a couple of the drives I had to get myself calmed down and to stay poised I had to gather my emotions. After I was able to get past that, I was good and kept rolling.

After seven weeks this season, Benson is the leading rusher in the NFL with 720 yards.

Last year after Chicago cut Benson following disappointing play on the field as well as two run ins with the law, he thought that the Bears had spread some negative information around the league concerning him which black balled him. He wasn’t able to get a job until finally the Bengals gave him a chance.

Although last week he down played the claims with local media, Benson did bring it up during a conference call that was with Chicago sportswriters. The other day Chicago head coach Lovie Smith denied the claims and also said that at times changes of scenery helped a player.

That has been true for Benson going to Cincinnati. On Sunday his teammates seemed to be inspired to help Benson rub Chicago’s noses into the dirt.

Kyle Cook, Bengals center, said to tell the truth just about every guy in the room has some sort of chip on his shoulder for something. There are guys in here who other teams cut and let go because no one else wanted them.

Today we rose up all together. All that hype about Ced and the Tank (Tank Johnson, defensive tackle for the Bengals and former Chicago Bear), we lived up to it. Everyone was making such a big deal in the papers and streets about them but not all of us, Cook added.

The Bengals haven’t looked this good in years.

Chad Ochocinco reconnected with Carson Palmer in a way they haven’t for several years. Afterwards Ochocinco said about he and Palmer as he was holding court over at his locker: baby, we are back, we are and we’re better than ever.

Palmer’s performance was exceptional. He completed 20 of his 24 passes for a total of 233 yards along with five touchdowns. Palmer’s main target was Ochocinco who had 10 catches for a total of 118 yards along with two touchdowns.

The defense for the Bengals, even with their front line that has been decimated by the flu and injuries, was as dominant as their offense. Jay Cutler was picked off three times and the defense also recovered a fumble from the Bears.

Benson said that we all knew it would be a very emotional day. What a great day, what a wonderful thing it was to be able to get out there and strut our stuff.

Antwan Odom, Bengals defensive end, has a severely injured Achilles tendon. Cincinnati has lost their best pass rusher for an indefinite period of time.

Odom had been the league’s co-leader in sacks with eight when he sustained his injury in the first quarter of the Bengals loss to Houston 28-17 on Sunday. Marvin Lewis, Bengals head coach, said after the game that the injury was probably severe, but that tests would be needed to determine the extent of the injury.

During training camp Reggie Kelly, the Bengals starting tight end, also suffered a tear to his Achilles tendon. Kelly had surgery and will miss the entire season.

During the first quarter of Sunday’s game Domata Peko, starting defensive tackle, sustained a knee injury and did not return the game, leaving the defensive line depleted.

Lineman Tank Johnson, said we definitely were under manned big time. That’s the game.

During the Bengals’ 4-1 start Odom had been their best defensive player. In Cincinnati’s second game he had five sacks in the win over Green Bay, tying a franchise record. In Sunday’s game he broke into the backfield, blocking a field goal attempt of 28 yards from Kris Brown during the opening drive for the Texans.

On the next series, Odom was injured on a 12 yard pass for a touchdown from Matt Schaub to Owen Daniels. He was blocked while he was trying to reach Schaub and remained on his back after the play in pain. After looking at his right leg the medical staff had a cart brought in to carry him off of the field.

Following the 2007 season, Odom was the top defensive signing for Cincinnati. The former Tennessee free agent signed a five year contract worth $29.5 million, with $11.5 million guaranteed. But things have not gone very well for Odom in Cincinnati.

Last year he suffered a severe sprain to his left foot in the first practice of training camp. The injury continued to linger into the regular season. Last season he also sustained a shoulder injury which kept him out of four games during Cincinnati’s 4-11-1 season. He finished the year with just three sacks.

Carson Palmer, Bengals quarterback, said injuries to the defensive line had made an impact.

He said, it hurts losing Antwan Odom. He is a big pass rusher. We also didn’t have some of our other key guys. It made it tough.

Matt Schaub eliminated the drama.

On Sunday Schaub threw four touchdown passes tying his career high as the Houston Texans, who have had problems at the end of their games, pulled away in this one without giving the Bengals a shot to coast to a 28-17 win over Cincinnati.

Everyone knew if the final outcome were to come down to the last minutes that the Texas (3-3) would have been at a disadvantage.

Schaub said, all their games went all the way to the wire. They deserve the credit because of the fact that they found a way to win the games. We had to put away the game.

Cincinnati (4-2) never got the chance to work their last minute magic.

The Bengals, prior to the game on Sunday, had won three games in a row during the last 22 seconds of the game by pulling off unlikely finishes after their opponents didn’t finish them off. There was one chance for escape for the Bengals on Sunday when Steve Slaton fumbled as the Texans were within range of a field goal with 6:12 minutes left to play.

But there wasn’t any drama this time. Two plays later Cincinnati fumbled right back, a sure sign that their luck was running out.

Chad Ochocinco, Bengals receiver said, that was our fault. We have been saying all along that we can not keep winning games with how we have been playing. We need to be consistent for four quarters.

Schaub didn’t rally give them a chance. He was able to pick the defense apart that lost their starting tackle and best pass rusher during the first quarter. Schaub completed 28 out of 40 passes for a total of 392 yards, the second highest in his career. Schaub last week in the Arizona game set his career highs. He completed 35 passes out of 50 attempts.

Gary Kubiak, Texans coach said, Matt had continued to put great numbers up while on the road.

Carson Palmer ran a predictable Bengals offense. Other than the final two minutes not too much got done. During the last 48 seconds of the game before half time, Cincinnati scored 10 points, giving the Bengals a 17-14 lead. In this game the offense didn’t go anywhere during the second half.

During the second half of their last games the Texans defense has shut their opponents out. They clinched this game when Brian Cushing picked off a pass from Palmer with 1:49 left in the game. Palmer, who played the game wearing a glove over his left hand (non-passing) to help support his sprained thumb, completed 23 out of 35 passes for a total of 259 yards.

Frank Bush, Houston’s defensive coordinator, challenged his troops to stop the then leading rusher in the NFL, Cedric Benson. The Texans limited Benson to only 44 yards rushing on 16 carries, which was his worst game of the season by far.

During the third quarter Houston only allowed six yards in nine plays, the finest third quarter performance in the Texans franchise history.

Dunta Robinson, Texans cornerback said, we were swarm tackling. We all had our job to do. We made them a one dimensional team. Our defense played well.

Cincinnati suffered a big loss when Antwan Odom, defensive end, who is the NFL co-leader in sacks, injured his Achilles tendon. Marvin Lewis, Bengals coach said, it was probably severe. There will be tests performed to determine how extensive the injury is.

On The Texans’ first possession, Odom charged the line, blocking a Kris Brown field goal attempt from 28 yards. Later during the first quarter Odom injured his right Achilles during a Schaub touchdown pass of 12 yards to Owen Daniels. Odom was taken off in a cart. The injury cost Cincinnati their leading pass rusher.

Also during the first quarter Domata Peko, Bengals defensive tackle, injured his knee. Houston was playing without their starting guards, who have both been lost for the season due to injuries.

Before the game, a moment of silence was held for Vikki Zimmer, the late wife of Mike Zimmer, defensive coordinator. On October 8 she died of natural causes unexpectedly. During the third quarter Connor Barwin, the former star from the University of Cincinnati, got the first sack of his career against Palmer. There were approximately 70 relatives and friends in the stands. The career high for Schaub is 414 yards which he got last December 7 versus Green Bay. Andrew Johnson had eight catches for a total of 135 yards, while Slaton caught six for a total of 102 yards, including one of 38 yards for a touchdown. Ochocinco had five catches for a total of 103 yards. It was his first receiving day for 100 yards since the last game in 2007. Cincinnati has scored 54 out of their total 118 points during the last two minutes of both halves as well as overtime.

In what was an AFC North battle for first place, the Cincinnati Bengals once again were able to find a way to win yet another close game.

For their opponent, the Baltimore Ravens, the outcome was a familiar loss.

Bengals quarter Carson Palmer connected on a touchdown pass of twenty yards to Andre Caldwell with just 22 seconds left in the game, capping an 80 yard drive which was kept alive by Ravens penalties which allowed the Bengals to escape with a 17-14 win on Sunday.

The point margin in all five games for the Bengals this season have been seven or fewer points. Cincinnati has won three games in a row by a margin of three points each time. It almost seems at this point they wouldn’t want things to be any other way.

Marvin Lewis, head coach for the Bengals said, they believe no matter the circumstances that they can win. We keep discussing it. Don’t worry, don’t flinch, just keep playing.

The 4-1 Bengals appeared to be destined to fall short in this game until Palmer was able to mastermind their final drive, which was also helped by three penalty yellow flags.

Chris Carr drew a penalty for illegal contact, Ray Lewis for unnecessary roughness, and Frank Walker for pass interference on third down and 16 from Baltimore’s 30 yard line.

On the play after the pass interference penalty Palmer connected with Caldwell down the middle to score the winning touchdown.

Following the ensuring kickoff, the crowd of 71,161 let out a derisive chant against the referees.

Cedric Benson, Bengals running back, rushed for 120 yards, and became the first player to go over 100 yards in 40 games versus the Ravens. Palmer went 18 for 31 for a total of 271 yards. Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco caught seven passes for 94 yards.

Ochocinco said, we were not as sound as needed to be. We had a few turnovers offensively. But we got a few breaks and were able to make our way. On that last drive we managed to capitalize.

The Ravens (3-2) have lost two games in a row after they started the season 3-0 for only the second time in their franchise history. In their game last week, two calls for roughing the pass played a key role in their 27-21 loss to New England.

The Ravens drew 10 penalties for a total of 76 yards against Cincinnati. Several of the calls seemed to come at the worst times.

Kelly Gregg, Ravens defensive tackle said, there were some tough calls today. But you can’t just leave things in their hands.

Several of Gregg’s teammates repeated the mantra.

Trevor Pryce, defensive end said, I am not going there. I don’t talk about the referee thing. If you dominate then the calls won’t matter.

Simply put, Baltimore didn’t come close at all to dominating. After they averaged 32.5 points during the first four games this season, they only had one offensive touchdown against Cincinnati. Their defense gave up 403 yards, with 142 rushing.

That is one of the main reasons why Baltimore wasn’t heavily criticizing the referee.

Walker said, the referees just call the game. They are close games because we are letting them be close.

With Baltimore trailing 10-7, Joe Flacco threw a screen pass to Ray Rice, who then turned upfield to face several tacklers. He ducked Brandon Johnson, linebacker, and then was able to stay upright through planting his fingers into the artificial turf and completing the play for 48 yards.

Then it was time for Palmer.

Ochocinco said in the huddle Carson was very confident, keeping all of us calm. When he talks like that in the huddle and with all that swagger and confidence we don’t have any doubt that we will score.

It wasn’t the first time the Bengals had trailed in the game and needed to rally. Reed’s interception return of 52 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter had given Baltimore a 7-0 lead. Later Reed was able to knock a ball loose from Chad Ochocinco which the Ravens were able to recover on their 16 yard line.

During the third quarter the Bengals took the lead at 10-7 on an 84 yard drive that was kept alive on a penalty called against Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth. On a third down play, with Palmer being sacked, Foxworth was flagged for illegal contact. Benson, four plays later, was able to break out on a touchdown run of 28 yards, which gave him over 100 yards for the game.

The Bengals missed the extra point. However Baltimore drew a flag for illegal formation. Shayne Graham then converted on the extra point.

Notes
The last running back to rush for over 100 yards versus the Ravens was Larry Johnson of Kansas City in 2006. Over the past six years Cincinnati has a 4-2 record versus Baltimore. Cincinnati down is 8 for 9 on their fourth down conversions this season.

Jack Brennan, Cincinnati team spokesman, confirmed that Mike Zimmer, defensive coordinator for the Bengals, traveled with the team on Saturday and will be coaching in Sunday’s game versus the Ravens.

Late Thursday Vikki, Zimmer’s wife, died. It was questionable whether Zimmer would be coaching in this week’s AFC North showdown for first place.

Zimmer, who kept his family close by, traveled with Bill, his father, Adam, a son, and Corri, his daughter. Another son of Zimmer’s as well as his mother stayed in Cincinnati.

Zimmer’s wife, Vikki Zimmer, 50, passed away while at home. There have been no details released regarding her death. Funeral arrangements were still being finalized.

It is Zimmer’s second season as the defensive coordinator for the Bengals. In 2007 he held the same position with the Atlanta Falcons, and prior to that for seven years with the Dallas Cowboys. Zimmer was on the Cowboys coaching staff from 1994 to 2006.

On Friday Rob Ryan, defensive coordinator for the Browns, said that Shayne Graham, kicker for the Cincinnati Bengals, missed to the right on his field goal from 31 yards that won the game in overtime to defeat the Browns on Sunday 23-20.

An end zone view of Graham’s kick, which is on youtube.com, does show that Ryan could have a point.

At the Friday news conference Ryan responded when asked about the trade of Braylon Edwards and the effect it had on the team. Oh I thought that you were referring to the missed field goal. Oh did I just say it out loud? Someone should really looked into it or do some research. That was disappointing.

Ryan knew that his remarks could end up costing him.

I do not want a fine, Ryan said. I am paying a lot of money on the house in California that I don’t live in. Watch the tape. I am not going to say anything, but those posts sure were crooked.

Ryan added, I am not trying to make it into a big story. I was disappointed though. I did think it missed. I was miffed of course when we gave up the quarterback scramble on fourth down when he has never scrambled his whole life. The Bengals threw into double coverage for a touchdown. Maybe I am just seeing things a different way. You know I am no expert. That’s why I said, maybe someone should look into it. One thing I know is that I am sick of us losing.

Greg Aiello, a spokesman for the NFL, in a response by email said that the league agreed with the ruling made on the field. He said that the field judge who was standing directly underneath the upright had called it good. We reviewed multiple videos from many different angles and didn’t see anything to disagree with the call.

At least two Browns players didn’t think it was good.

Brandon McDonald, Browns cornerback said, they made that call and we can’t do anything about it. From my angle I for sure thought he missed it. It did not look like the ball went in the uprights, but really couldn’t tell.

Edwards, who on Wednesday was traded to the New York Jets, agreed with what McDonald said.

After the game Edwards said from the sideline, the kick appeared to be wide to the right.

Browns kicker Phil Dawson (injured right calf) and linebacker D’Qwell Jackson (injured hamstring) are both doubtful for the game next Sunday in Buffalo and didn’t practice with the team on Friday.

Jacked missed practice on Thursday as well as Friday. Dawson missed the entire week, and has been nowhere in sight for several weeks in Berea. Billy Cundiff will probably fill in for Dawson for the third week in a row, and David Veikune, rookie linebacker, might replace Jackson.

Jackson said he was getting treatment and seeing how he felt. I might feel better in two days, a day, an hour. You never know. Jackson said he didn’t want to try to rush back and end up missing more time than necessary.

Jackson said, if I do step out on the field on Sunday, it will be for playing here on out and not to miss more practices or anything else.

Ryan said about Jackson that he was getting rehab something like nine times each day. He definitely wants to play. The guy loves playing. We are hopeful. It will probably come right down to game time. If Jackson isn’t able to play, we have been workout out lots of guys. There could be a few rookies playing, David Veikune, Kaluka Maiava. These guys have been working really hard. If they do end up getting in there, they will need to do a really good job, step up and help us win.

Other players who are listed as questionable with limited time on Friday are safety Mike Adams (injured groin), guard Rex Hadnot (injured knee), guard Floyd Womack (injured ankle), and Jamal Lewis, running back, with an injured hamstring.

Donte Whitner, Cleveland native and Bengals safety, was ruled out.

Keyshawn Johnson, current analyst for ESPN and former receiver for the Jets, gave Edwards some advice in the New York Daily News. He said, play football. You are no actor and Hollywood isn’t messing with bums. If you do mess up, then you will have nothing. Win playoff games. Help your team to win the championship. Then the stuff will come to you, a la Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Strahan.

Trent Dilfer, former quarterback for the Browns and another ESPN analyst told the Daily News, it is scary. You are playing with fire. There are a lot of distractions in New York. Then again Braylon has now been humbled. Hopefully he realizes that all his extracurricular interests are not going to happen if he does not produce like he did in 2007.

In overtime the last minute Bengals pulled one out. A field goal from 31 yards by Shayne Graham on the last play of the game in overtime gave Cincinnati a 23-20 victory on Sunday over the Cleveland Browns who have not won a game yet this season. The field goal was set up on a 15 yard running play on fourth down from Carson Palmer.

Marvin Lewis, head coach for the Bengals, decided not to settle for the tie and gambled on fourth down and 11 from Cleveland’s 41 yard line with 1:04 remaining in overtime. Palmer dropped back like he was going to pass and then put the ball under his arm and raced up the middle to get the first down.

The Bengals ran two more plays to get into field goal position. Graham, who had had a field goal and extra point blocked, was able to drill the ball through the uprights.

All four of the Bengals (3-1) games have come down right to the wire. Last week they defeated the defending Super Bowl championship team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, by the same 23-20 score after Palmer with 14 seconds left in the game threw a four yard touchdown pass.

Cleveland (0-4) has now lost 10 games in a row, including last season. Derek Anderson, Browns quarterback, was able to spark Cleveland during his first start of the year. Anderson had one touchdown throwing and one running.

Graham’s field goal capped the fourth possession for the Bengals in overtime, salvaging the game for the offense of Cincinnati which had stalled for three quarters. They were lucky that they were given the additional fifteen minutes to pull the game out.

Palmer went 23 for 44 on 230 yards and connected on two touchdown passes with Chad Ochocinco. For the game Ochocinco had just three catches.

Just like last week, when the stakes were the highest, Palmer performed his best. On the Bengals’ final drive he was able to complete two third down and ten passes, connecting on a 20 yard pass with Chris Henry up the middle and one with Laveranues Coles. However what will be remembered is his deciding to take off on the run to get the biggest first down of the game.

If the gamble had backfired, Cleveland would have received the ball near midfield. The Browns would have had the opportunity to go for the win, and pundits would have second guessed Lewis for weeks, despite getting Cincinnati off to the team’s best start of the season since 2006.

Anderson, who made his first start since Brady Quinn was benched by coach Eric Mangini, went 26 for 48 for 269 yards and connected on a two yard touchdown pass with Steve Heiden. Anderson was also able to find some instant chemistry with Mohamed Massaquoi, the rookie, who caught eight passes for a total of 148 yards.

There were also bad moments for Anderson. With Cleveland down 14-7 he had a pass intercepted in the end zone. He later atoned for his mistake with a scoring run of one yard.

For three quarters Cincinnati’s offense didn’t do anything. With a loss possibly looming, they suddenly woke up.

After they gained 156 yards during the first quarter, the Bengals had seven possessions in a row where they didn’t get a first down. In the fourth quarter Cincinnati trailed 20-14. Palmer then led the Bengals on a 70 yard drive. With 1:55 left in regulation, Palmer threw a two yard touchdown pass to Ochocinco which tied the game at 20-20.

Cincinnati seemed poised for yet another dramatic win. However, the point after from Graham was low and Shaun Rogers, nose tackle, blocked it. In the first quarter Rogers had deflected a field goal attempt from 23 yards out.

The Browns defense boxed the Bengals offense up for three quarters. However, late fourth quarter Cincinnati started to find passing and running lanes.

Jerome Harrison, running back for the Browns, started for injured Jamal Lewis. Harrison had 121 yards rushing on 29 carries.

Browns kicker Billy Cundiff had two field goals. Joshua Cribbs of the Browns returned the ball for 230 total yards.

This is a locker that is full of items that are eye catching. Resting on a shoe rack there’s even a pair of shiny gold cleats. Sweet Revenge, written in Spanish on a laminated list, is tacked up and names all the cornerbacks that the Cincinnati wide receiver intends on burning this year.

The contents in Chad Ochocinco’s locker make one thing clear. There’s a diva at work.

Andre Caldwell, two lockers down, stores his gear. There’s no bling, no list, nothing fancy. As he stops to talk he has two rosaries around his neck. He has on regular gym shoes, blue jeans and a sleeveless t shirt to show off all of his tattoos, which includes one of Jesus’ face that is on his left bicep.

Caldwell’s ego? He checked that at the door.

Caldwell said, I just leave mine aside so I can focus on the team. In just his second year Caldwell is becoming a major contributor for the Bengals, one of the surprise teams this year in the NFL. He improvised his route and caught a touchdown pass of four yards from Carson Palmer during the final seconds of Sunday’s 23-20 victory over the Steelers, the defending Super Bowl champions.

The first NFL touchdown for Caldwell broke the Steelers eight game winning streak in Cincinnati. It also gave the season for the Bengals some hope. With a record of 2-1 and an upcoming game in Cleveland, Cincinnati is a lot better off now than they were last season when they lost eight games in a row to start the season.

A lot of the attention in the offseason focused on Cincinnati signing Laveranues Coles to replace T.J. Houshmandzadeh who they lost to free agency. However, Caldwell probably has the bigger burden. The former third round draft pick out of Florida is taking over Houshmandzadeh’s place at slot receiver and expected to make the tough catches up the middle.

Palmer said, he is playing in T.J.’s spot so he will get lots of those kinds of plays. After the first three games, Caldwell and Ochocinco are tied with 14 catches and one touchdown each to lead the team. Facing the Steelers Calder had six catches, a team high. Three of the catches came on the Bengals’ winning touchdown drive.

His last catch demonstrated he is starting to develop a similar rapport with Palmer that Houshmandzadeh did. On the play Caldwell was intended to get behind linebacker James Farrior. However when Farrior dropped back deeper than what was expected Caldwell made an adjustment to his route. With just 14 seconds remaining in the game, he turned and ran in front of Farrior and caught the touchdown pass to win the game.

Caldwell said, it was like playing backyard football. I just turned and got in front. Carson was able to read it and got the ball to me. On the play we were thinking the same thing. He hit me right on time. You have to be able to read the other guy’s mind out there. Sometimes on the run you have to make adjustments that are not part of the game plan.

As a rookie Cincinnati had wanted to be able to break Caldwell into their offense. However he was limited to only 11 catches in seven games due to foot injuries. During the offseason, Caldwell and Jerome Simpson, Cincinnati’s 2008 second round draft pick, went to California and stayed in a hotel to work out with Palmer so they could develop that passing bond.

Palmer said it was a big commitment and I appreciate that. It has paid off. You love having a guy like Andre on the team. He doesn’t have a lot to say, just goes out to do his job. If he is asked to block a linebacker, he does it. If he is asked to run a certain type of route against a certain type of coverage, he just does it without complaining or whining.

He never says, I blocked the whole game and the ball wasn’t thrown to me. He understands how he’s part of the team. He is the ultimate when it comes to being a team player, Palmer added.

Caldwell was given the starting job after Houshmandzadeh left to go to Seattle. He was able to learn a lot watching Houshmandzadeh for a year running his precise routes and catching the ball while he was getting clobbered.

Caldwell said he incorporated Houshmandzadeh’s game into his. That was very big. What I learned was how to be a player in the NFL, to be a man, and how I should carry myself as a receiver. Without all of that, I might not be where I am now.

Carson Palmer says he expects that teams are going to start paying a lot more attention to Caldwell. That will free up Ochocinco occasionally from double coverage which he has been facing in every game.

Palmer said, that hopefully as more teams started to fear Andre that it would open Chad up a bit more.

The first big moment for Caldwell in the NFL gave him streams of congratulations from all over the country.

Caldwell said he got lots of texts, tweets, phone calls. It has been very exciting how people have been happy for me. I am blessed that I get to be in the situation I am in right now.

When Caldwell was asked if any famous people had given him well wishes he just smiled and said that he didn’t know a lot of big names. It was lots of small time, Friends and family.