It's been a bad week for two NFL running backs, both of whom have been involved in incidents that could end up jeopardizing their professional careers.

Firs there's Bears RB and all-around good guy Cedric Benson (mug shot above).  Early this morning, Benson was arrested in Austin, Texas, for drunken driving after failing a field sobriety test.  Benson said he didn't think he was intoxicated.

Given that Benson was just arrested last month on a boating while intoxicated charge, it was pretty stupid of Benson to be drinking any amount of alcohol and getting behind the wheel (this also severely damages his claim that he was unfairly prosecuted in the boating case).  This may be the last straw for Benson with the Bears - the first sign that they were reaching the end of their rope was when they selected Tulane RB Matt Forte in the 2nd round of the draft.

But this one pales in comparison to what Marshawn Lynch is dealing with right now.  You probably have heard about the hit-and-run incident that happened with someone driving Lynch's car early last Saturday morning.  At the time, it was not believed that friends of Lynch were using his car, and that he was not in the car at the time of the accident.

Somewhere during the week, the story changed to that Lynch may have been in the car but was not driving.  Well, yesterday things got worse for Lynch, as two Buffalo area television news teams are reporting that sources say there are witnesses that put Lynch behind the wheel of the SUV in question.  While police will not go that far, they have gone on record as saying they can place him on the street (Chippewa Street) where the accident occured that evening.

This sounds reeeeeeeeally bad, almost like something out of a bad Law & Order episode (oh sure it was my car, but I wasn't in it, it was just my buddies...oh you know I was on the street, well maybe I was in the car but someone else was driving...who said I was driving, well you can't prove it can you?).  To the layperson, Lynch's evasiveness comes off as seeming somewhat suspicious.  By not being immediately forthcoming, and because of the slow trickling of facts unfavorable to Lynch, it looks as though he has something to hide.

If Lynch was the driver, I really don't know how this plays out.  It was bad enough that he hit someone, but had he fessed up immediately all might have been ok in time.  Hit and run though, people do not look kindly onto that.  He may have a very difficult time winning back over the fans in Buffalo - not to mention that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is probably going to levy a lengthy suspension.

NFL cedric benson, marshawn lynch