Bengals Run Over Kansas City

Nov 18, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Cincinnati Bengals halfback BenJarvus Green-Ellis (42) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Cincinnati took the Kansas City Chiefs by storm in Arrowhead on Sunday. Not only did the Bengals give the Chiefs a final blow to their season, they did it on the ground. The run game is something Cincinnati has not been able to get going all season long.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis gave Cincinnati fans an early Thanksgiving present this week. The Bengals running back had his first 100 yard game since joining the team. He ran for 101 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown in the Bengals victory over the Chiefs. He finally showed some bursts off of the line and cuts in traffic. It was nice to see him finally break the threshold.

Hopefully this game was what the running back needed for his confidence going forward this season. The AFC North is a division that hangs heavily on the rush in games and the Bengals have been falling behind. The Steelers have proven to be deep in the running back position. Even when their starter and second string rusher were down with injuries, third and fourth strings guys came off of the bench and played extremely well. The Browns have gotten in on the elite rushers this year too with the rookie, Trent Richardson, who has been on fire in games and the Ravens always excel on the ground with Ray Rice. Everyone has been waiting for the Bengals to get it going so that they could compete in this division.

The Law Firm was backed up by Cedric Peerman in Sunday’s game. Peerman gained his first 32 yards on the ground on a fake punt play in the first quarter. He followed that with 43 more yards, bringing his total to 75 yards on eight carries.

Whether the running game did well because of the match-up or because the Bengals have finally found the key to their struggles is unknown. Kansas City is ranked 25th in the NFL, allowing an average of 129.2 rushing yards per game. Cincinnati’s offensive rushing game is ranked 20th in the NFL with an average of 103.2 yards per game, including the game against the Chiefs. So, it would seem that it would be a fair matchup on the ground between the two teams. Either way it was nice to the Bengals get tough yards in the trenches, looking like the contenders we know they can be in Cincinnati