The Cincinnati Bengals (4-1) are at home Sunday against the Chicago Bears (3-2).  These are two pretty evenly matched teams and it should be a close game.  Some extra drama has been stirred up this week going into Sunday, as Cedric Benson has been voicing his poor opinion of the Bears and their coaching staff.  He feels that they “blackballed” him after releasing him.  Benson was a first round draft pick of the Bears four years ago and they expected him to do for them what he is doing for the Bengals this season.  Both sides seem like they are out for revenge, but I think this could end up hurting Benson’s effort.  He seems to focused on getting revenge, so he may try and do too much.  The Bears depleted defense is still pretty dangerous and I am sure they will try and send a message to Benson.

The Bengals offense needs to stop Jay Cutler and they will win.  Cutler is very prone to throwing interceptions, but he is also capable of making the big play as he has the gunslinger mentality.  The Bengals should be able to slow down the Bears running game, especially since their RB Matt Forte has been struggling all season.  That will put all the offensive load into Cutlers’ hands, and if they can get some pressure on him they can force some turnovers.  Johnny Knox and Devin Hester are big threats to go deep though, so the secondary needs to be aware of that.  Carson Palmer has proved he has what it takes to win close games, but I think the Bears will be able to slow him down and get a close win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 31, Cincinnati Bengals 27