Yesterday's five most valuable players: Cedric bends 'em

Cedric Benson(notes), Running Back, Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals were good yesterday. They were "legitimate contender" good. It was a complete, all-the-way-round impressive effort. Carson Palmer(notes) was sharp for four quarters, he got plenty of time to throw, and the receivers allowed him to spread the ball around. Setting all of this up was Cedric Benson, who pounded out 117 yards on 34 carries. Ray Lewis(notes), on the NFL Network's pregame show, gave Benson absolutely no credit for his 120-yard performance against the Baltimore Ravens back in October, so Benson went out and duplicated it today, all over Lewis's face. Lewis did not make himself available for comment after the game. Philip Rivers(notes), Quarterback, San Diego Chargers. On the road, against a desperate team, trailing by six points, 2:05 on the clock, one timeout, 80 yards to go. Rivers didn't even need the timeout. To that point, the meaningless yet much-ballyhooed Rivers vs....