Oct 8, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing (56) walks off the field after being injured during the first half against the New York Jets at MetLIfe Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

The biggest headline of last night’s Jets-Texans game may have been the potentially serious injury suffered by Texans All-Pro LB Brian Cushing, who went down when Jets OG Matt Slausen hit him with a low(dirty) block in the back of the knee, and Cushing appeared to be in a lot of pain, but was able to walk off the field and back to the locker room on his own. The team later revealed they believe Cushing tore his ACL, though they need an MRI today to confirm it.

Adam Schefter reported last night on ESPN that Packers starting RB Cedric Benson has been diagnosed with a Lisfranc foot injury and is out at least eight weeks, and the injury could potentially end his season, and perhaps the 8-year NFL career of Benson. He wasn’t signed until the middle of the preseason after it appeared he was close to running out of gas last season, so it will be even harder for him to catch on with a team next year.

Bears rookie receiver Alshon Jeffery suffered a fractured right hand in Sundfay’s win over the Jaguars, and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Giants safety Will Hill has been suspended four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

Cardinals starting RB Ryan Williams will miss the remainder of the season with a shoulder injury.

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Sep 13, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers running back Cedric Benson (32) during the game against the Chicago Bears at Lambeau Field. The Packers defeated the Bears 23-10. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

Cedric Benson was a love-hate player while in stripes. In the beginning you loved the redemption story of the wayward Chicago Bear, and how he resurrected a Cincinnati running threat that had not been present since the departure of Cory Dillion. Towards the end, you hated the fumbles and the inability to consistently convert on third and inches. But while it wasn’t all bad those last two seasons, what is likely to be missed soon will be the numbers: back-to-back-to-back 1000 yard seasons.

It made sense for the Bengals to sign BenJarvus Green-Ellis. The Law Firm was not only ball security and an excellent redzone-style runner, but also a proven weapon as a checkdown receiver; all of which Benson was not. However, what it seems that the Bengals are only just learning what New England clearly understood: BJGE is not an every-down back. Perhaps it was never Offensive Coordinator Jay Gruden’s desire to make him so, and Green-Ellis is simply a victim of circumstance as Bernard Scott’s lingering knee injury continues to keep him sidelined.

Yet in four games, three of which came against teams with a combined 3-9 record, Green-Ellis has yet have a 100 yard rushing game, and thus far, his break out run has been for only 19 yards. Move concerning, Benson left last season after producing 5 fumbles, 2 of which were turnovers. So far, Green-Ellis has fumbled the ball 3 times, resulting in 2 turnovers already.

Oct 30, 2011; Seattle, WA, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle

The Cincinnati Bengals have already dealt with a lot of ups and downs already this year. Injuries have decimated the starting lineup, especially the offensive line and secondary. The running game has averaged a pedestrian 3.2 yards per carry with both starting running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis and 2nd stringer Bernard Scott sidelined with injuries. The defense looked somewhat improved, that is, until last week against the Green Bay Packers. There has been one consistent bright spot for the Bengals and that’s been in the form of 6’1, 300 lb and 6’3, 320 lb defensive tackles.

Geno Atkins and Domatao Peko have been the rock for the Bengals defensive unit so far. Starting defensive end Carlos Dunlap and Robert Geathers haven’t spent much time in pads this offseason as they try to get healthy before the regular season opener against the Baltimore Ravens. In their absence Atkins and Peko have shined.

Last year the dynamic defensive tackle duo combined for 113 tackles, 10 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 3 fumble recoveries in 16 games. Not bad for a pair that only commands $5.23 million combined in 2012 according to http://www.spotrac.com. That’s half of Baltimore Ravens DT Haloti Ngata ($10.4 million) and only $260,000 less than Pittsburgh Steelers DT Casey Hampton ($4.96 million) who are both nose tackles in a 3-4 defense that only features one defensive tackle. Other teams that run a 4-3 scheme, like the Bengals, that field two DTs at the same time are the Detroit Lions who are shelling out $12.06 million between DTs Corey Williams and Ndamukong Suh. That cap hit jumps to $14.30 million if you include DT Nick Fairley‘s $2.24 million. Not a bad bargain for the Bengals.

Watching the first three preseason games for Cincinnati you can see that the team is putting this money to good use. Atkins and Peko were especially dominant in their first preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. The fierce pair of battering rams kept the Falcons offensive motor from churning past the first down marker on numerous occasions. They were in the backfield all night disrupting plays behind the line of scrimmage, dragging down running backs and pressuring Atlanta QB Matt Ryan.