EYE ON . . .
Cedric Benson, RB, Bengals
What: It could get ugly today in Cincinnati when Benson, the NFL’s leading rusher with 487 yards, meets the Houston Texans, who have the 26th-worst rushing defense.
Background: Selected by the Bears out of Texas with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2005 draft, Benson was a bust in Chicago. The Bears released him in June 2008 following his second alcohol-related arrest in a five-week period. He was later exonerated of both charges and signed with the Bengals prior to Week 5 last season.
Klis’ take: A loner in Chicago, where the players favored Thomas Jones over Benson at running back, Benson often ran timidly, tiptoeing to the line and sometimes running out of bounds instead of lowering his shoulder. His arrests, and subsequent release, seemed to wake him up. He’s not Adrian Peterson, but Benson is a punishing runner. He’s also not the first running back to find new life with a second team. See Jones, Michael Turner and LaMont Jordan, among others. Benson also is not the first talented player with questionable character to find love with the Bengals.
ON THE HOT SEAT
Norv Turner faces win-or-else contest
Who: Norv Turner, coach, San Diego Chargers.
When: Monday night vs. the Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium.
Why: No sense overlooking the obvious. If Turner’s 2-2 Chargers don’t beat Josh McDaniels’ 5-0 Broncos, the AFC West race is essentially finished. Yes, the Chargers overcame a three-game deficit to the Broncos with three to play last year. But, the Chargers won’t be able overcome a 3 1/2-game deficit to a Broncos team that can play defense, not with a potential tiebreaking home loss to the Broncos. Chargers general manager A.J. Smith has already put the heat on Turner by publicly stating his disappointment with his team’s performance last week. If the Chargers lose this game, Turner is all but a lame-duck coach the rest of this season.
AT ISSUE
Tough to be in rush for 100 yards
Question: Which is the most difficult single-game individual feat in the NFL — 100 yards rushing, 100 yards receiving or 300 yards passing?
Answer: The 100-yard rusher. Through Week 5, there have been 43 100-yard receiving games, 31 300-yard passing performances and 28 100-yard rushing efforts.
Klis’ take: What surprised me about this was the sizable gap between 100-yard receivers and rushers. Let there be no doubt NFL offenses are replacing many running plays — particularly the pitches and sweeps — with short passes. The 5-0 Broncos have none of the 100-yard receiving games and only one 100-yard rushing game (Correll Buckhalter against Oakland) and one 300-yard passing game (Kyle Orton against New England).
THREE UP
1. Dolphins: Scored 69 points in Chad Henne’s two starts, both wins.
2. Steelers: Rashard Mendenhall (242 yards, three TDs in last two games) could be this year’s No. 1 fantasy sleeper.
3. Eagles: McNabb is back and rookie Jeremy Maclin is coming off bust-out game.
THREE DOWN
1. Jets: Allowed 33 points in first three wins, 55 points in last two losses.
2. Ravens: Rank 26th against the pass. Lost two in a row and play at 5-0 Minnesota.
3. Rams: On pace to score NFL record-low 109 points. Their -112 point differential is 31 points worse than next-worst Oakland.
