Bengals Sweep Ravens

NFL News - November 9th, 2009 - Written by John

Cedric Benson continued his rebirth in the 2009 NFL Season with his second-straight 100-yard game against the Baltimore Ravens. He ran for 119 yards and a score and the Cincinnati Bengals continued their perplexing dominance over the Ravens in a 17-7 win on Sunday, which was deemed a toss-up before kickoff. Cincinnati has now swept Baltimore Ravens for the second time in three years.

Carson Palmer threw for 224 yards and a score on the day, spreading the ball out to six players. But he wasn't asked to take over the game as he was in weeks passed. The Cincinnati Bengals needed no thrilling comeback, taking the lead early and using Benson to milk away the minutes.

"We're much more mature," said quarterback Carson Palmer, who improved to 8-3 career against the Ravens. "We're a better team. We were a good team back then; we were kind of young and dumb. This team has more guys that understand how rare this opportunity is."

The Bengals defense harassed Joe Flacco all night, keeping him without a touchdown pass for the first time this year. The unit had four sacks and eight knockdowns, keeping the Ravens offense off the field for the majority of the game. Cincinnati ran 20 more plays and held the ball for exactly 2/3s of the game.

They took an early lead on their first drive when Benson drove the ball down to Baltimore's six, and finished it off with a touchdown strike to Andre Caldwell.

Two drives later, Benson drove home the game-winner, a one-yard plunge to take the lead to 14-0. That lead grew to 17 on a Shayne Graham field goal.

Baltimore only managed a mere touchdown late in the game when Ray Rice punched in a two-yard touchdown at the start of the fourth quarter. They had a chance to recover some of the deficit late in the game, but missed a field goal and Flacco was sacked three times in a row on the final drive.

The Bengals now control their fate in the division. At 6-2, they play the Pittsburgh Steelers next week. Whoever wins will have a leg up on a playoff berth, the Bengals hoping to make it for the second time in 19 years.

"That's pretty cool," receiver Chad Ochocinco, who had 66 yards on the night, said. "I like being in the driver's seat. Today was a statement game. I want every game to be a statement game."

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