It's becoming pretty trite, the Bengals loss on Sunday. You can count on it! For the second straight week a key play in the loss was a fumble by running back Chris Perry. He now has five fumbles on the season.

With the team adding Cedric Benson last week and the indication from head coach Marvin Lewis in Monday's press conference that the team is going to resign Kenny Watson, Perry's future as the team's starter has to be in doubt. Doesn't it?

Though I am not going let the Bengals' offensive line off the hook, Perry has been mediocre at best.  Through five games Perry has mustered 239 yards on 85 carries, scoring two touchdowns. On top of that, the former first round pick has not been a factor at all catching the ball out of the backfield (12 receptions for 45 yards). The fumbles are starting to compound the problem.

Benson, who has plenty to prove, actually looked impressive at times. The team went to him heavily in the thrid quarter and he finished his first game as a Bengal with 30 yards on 10 carries. Not terribly impressive, but he looked better than that.

It seems natural that Benson will continue to get his chances. However, Lewis doesn't appear to be losing confidence in Perry. When asked by reporters the coach put those questions aside.

"No!" he said. "Not at all. It is everyone's job to take care of the football whether it be the quarterback, running back, the returners. It doesn't matter. It's everyone's responsibility. Every play call you have is to attack the opponent." 

NFL bengals, chris perry, cedric benson, kenny watson, marvin lewis