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' 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. Eli Manning(notes) matchup was, statistically, going Eli's way, but with the last drive, Rivers left his stamp on the proceedings. With :21 on the clock, Vincent Jackson(notes) got open in the corner of the endzone, and Rivers dropped the ball into his breadbasket for the go-ahead score.

Josh Freeman(notes), Quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the week leading up to his first NFL start, Josh Freeman had been a little fountain of confidence. He proclaimed that he was "radiating swagger," and I admired the young fellow's moxie, but assumed that he'd be getting drubbed on Sunday nonetheless. Freeman's 14-of-31 statline wasn't spectacular, but the three touchdowns and one interception were, for a rookie in his first start, kind of amazing. The swagger was there, too. It wasn't just talk. Bucco Bruce inspires normal men to great things.

Dwight Freeney(notes), Defensive End, Indianapolis Colts. With the Colts having lost about half their starting defense to injury this week, and the explosive and desperately hungry Texans coming to town, I thought this week was set up perfectly for the Colts' regular-season winning streak to be snapped. And while Peyton Manning(notes) was his usual excellent self, and Dallas Clark(notes) caught what seemed like 824 passes, it was the patchwork defense that won this game. Indy held the Texans to 17, their lowest scoring output since Week 1. If you'd have told me before the game that the Colts would score 20 in this one, I'd have never thought they'e emerge victorious.

Chris Johnson, Running Back, Tennessee Titans. Well hello, winning streak. It's one thing to beat the Jaguars at home. It's quite another to go on the road and beat a solid 49ers team. Vince "The Ultimate Winner" Young is getting most of the credit for it, and he deserves it, but don't forget to save some spotlight for Chris Johnson, too. He's been a beast in both victories.

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