Week 7 Preview: Bears vs. Bengals

Summary
Welcome to the wacky, wild world of the NFL. If you had told me six months ago that Week 7 vs. the Bengals would: a) feature the third leading rusher in the NFL named Cedric Benson, b) be between two teams in the thick of the early playoff hunt, and c) be a must win for the Bears to keep within reach of the Brett Favre led, undefeated Minnesota Vikings I would have promptly told you to go fuck yourself. In a league of unpredictability, the Bears vs. the Bengals has morphed into a very intriguing and most likely hard fought, close game. Led by Carson Palmer, the aforementioned and rejuvenated Cedric Benson, and a respectable defense the Bengals have played well all year long and sport a 4-2 record. With regards to the tweeting from Esteban Ochocinco, the clear storyline here is Benson's revenge. After being dropped by the Bears for being unproductive on and off the field, Benson is now a bonafide star.

Key Factors
1) The Bears Lines. Will the Bears mediocre offensive line, led by Pete's favorite Frank Omilaye, give the disappointing Matt Forte room to run? So far, that's been a battle all year. While the pass protection seems to be respectable, the Bears are ranked 27th in the league in rushing. On the defensive side, can the Bears get a good solid pass rush going like they did in the first few weeks of the season? Aside from manhandling a horrible Packers line and sacking the shit out of Ben Roethlisberger (which is not hard to do considering how long he holds the ball) the Bears have sported an average defensive line. Look for newcomer Gaines Adams to come in and play possessed for a few plays, I hope.
2) Cedric Benson. The guy that has torched the Ravens, and nearly every other opponent he's faced, now gets his chance to beat the team that "bad mouthed" and dumped him. He is probably so excited to run the ball against the Bears that he may actually be wearing his pads right now. The Bears run defense just contained Michael Turner and looks poised to put a halt to Benson's magical ride.
3) Carson Palmer. For a guy that has put up average numbers this year (8 tds 7 ints 78 passer rating), Carson always finds himself on the short list of best QB's in the NFL. Besides having a few great years early, injuries and average play have proved him to be a good but not elite QB. That being said, the man still has a strong arm and faces an inexperienced and, quite frankly, below average pass defense. Given time in the pocket, Ochocinco could get open and have his way with the defense. Pressuring this guy constantly and stuffing Benson should limit the damage.
4) Matt Forte: Will this guy ever get going? Aside from destroying the Lions on a few long runs he has done absolutely nothing (besides inexcusable fumbles). He looks slow and his offense line is not giving him the holes he had last year. If he doesn't turn it around this week he might not be getting his usual 20 carries a game down the road.

Prediction
Bears 20 Bengals 17
In what should be a tight game, I think the Bears pull this one out and avoid losing 2 in a row. I'm not sure the Bengals have the quickness on defense to stop speedsters Johnny Knox and Devin Hester. Cutler should be ready to throw the deep ball early, often and hopefully accurately.

Critical Performer
Jay Cutler
Fresh off a lucrative contract extension, Jay Cutler will be inspired to will this team to victory. I'm thinking something in the vicinity of 250 yards passing and a pair of tds, one of which might be a bomb to Johnny.