After giving up at least 200 yards in three consecutive games, the Kansas City Chiefs were eager to prove they were a tough enough group to stop the run. The worked right into the strength of the Cincinnati Bengals sixth ranked rushing attack.
Chiefs head coach Todd Haley talked about focusing on stopping the run throughout the week. After today's 133 yard effort, Bengals RB Cedric Benson said the Chiefs defense was intent on shutting down the run.
"They definitely weren’t trying to let us (run the ball)," Benson said.
"They were coming off a bad week last week defensively, giving up a lot of yards on the ground. With us being as potent as we are in the running game, they had to assume we were going to come out and try to get the same outcome as the Browns did the previous week and create big runs."
Benson also said the Chiefs were putting safeties in the box to stop him. Last week, Chiefs LB Mike Vrabel said stopping the run is basically a matter of who is the more physical team.
"They schemed well for what we had," he said. "They had a lot of guys in the box. I guess we overmatched them and played a little more physical than they did."
Haley said the Bengals game plan, giving Benson 29 carries, didn't come as a surprise.
"We knew they were a run team first. They were going to show run, and they were going to run. That is what has given them success, and put them in a position to win the AFC North like they did."
Overall, the Chiefs played okay against Benson. They only allowed one 30+ yard run and tried to keep him out of the open field and in 2-4 yard carries.