Watson, who played the entire second half for an injured Stephen Davis, knew what was needed. He didn't need to repeat what his excited offensive linemen were already barking about as loud as they could.

"We knew we had to pound it," Watson said.

That the Redskins did in that final drive to hold off the Colts 26-21 on Sunday night at FedEx Field. And they did it by relying on an undrafted free agent who entered with just 14 career NFL carries.

Watson didn't gain the most yards for his team, but he had the most critical, 42 on 10 carries in the final drive. The Redskins ran down the clock and preserved a much-needed victory to improve to 3-4. The Colts (4-3) had 18 seconds remaining after Washington's fateful drive resulted in a 22-yard James Tuthill field goal.

This is why Marvin Lewis signed him in 2003, after Steve Spurrier stupidly cut him. Lewis had to be sweating that Colts game as Manning get hot and mounted a comeback. Watson's running ate up the clock. From Lewis's perspective, Watson was his best defender that day. Most importantly, he played big when it mattered.

All of which raises the issue: why haven't the Bengals made better use of Watson? My guess it has to do with reputation, the fact that he was not drafted. He didn't play in 2003, and the Bengals really didn't know what they had in Rudi Johnson, whether he could produce consistently, year after year. In retrospect, maybe they shouldn't have drafted Chris Perry; but, again, they didn't know what they had in Watson; and to a great extent, they still don't. I think he's worth a second look as a second RB rather than a backup RB. And if that means Rudi loses out when Chris Perry returns, so be it.

For the last two years, Rudi Johnson has come into camp at a lighter weight. He's a power runner, and I don't see where losing weight is all that good for his game. If Rudi lost weight with hopes of improving his running game, it doesn't seem like it's worked out all that well. Last year, his yards per carry were the lowest of his career, and among the lowest in the league for runners with 1,000 yards (give or take a few hundred). This season, his efficiency is even lower than last year's. His reduced efficiency makes the Bengals' offense less efficient, and contributes to their problems sustaining drives and converting 3rd downs..

You wonder how much better the Bengals offense can be. Better 3rd down efficiency, better red zone efficiency, a higher yards per play average. Those are the measures to look at.