"In the end, Cedric Benson's perseverance ended up being rewarded.

After having a solid first quarter, the Browns defense had made it tough sledding for the Bengals running back until late in the fourth quarter, when he broke a 39-yard touchdown run which sealed the 27-17 victory over Cleveland on Sunday.

"That's how it goes," said Benson, who finished with 121 yards on 25 carries. "Of course you would love to have it the other way with big runs all day long but that's what happens."

On 3rd-and-3 from the Browns 39, Cleveland had stacked the box and was hoping to get a stop to set up one final rally. But Benson found a wide hole off right tackle and was untouched to the end zone.

"This kind of game like today is a Ced Benson kind of day," head coach Marvin Lewis said. "When you get in that kind of situation at the end of the game you just keep hammering the ball until you break one free.""