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Many Bengals fans on the Cincy Jungle boards called the team's win against the Chargers "ugly". While that has some truth to it, a win in the NFL is a win and I think we'll all take as many W's as our boys want to give us. Still, it was a funky game and a difficult week to pinpoint some MVP candidates. We did find some that were worthy though--drumroll, please.
The first player that springs to mind has to be defensive end, Carlos Dunlap. Though he has the unfortunate label of being a "feast of famine player", Dunlap was all feast on Sunday. He harassed Philip Rivers all afternoon and totaling two sacks, two forced fumbles and one recovery. He was one of the most dominant players on the field on Sunday afternoon.
We have to show the love to BenJarvus Green-Ellis once again. He had his third straight 100-yard rushing performance and was a consistent threat on an inconsistent day for the offensive unit. He had the longest play of the day for the Bengals, putting together another 40-plus yard run early on. For the third striaght week, "The Law Firm" was nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of the Week. Through the last month, Green-Ellis has really turned his season around and is approaching a 1,000 yards rushing.
We are going to reluctantly nominate tight end Jermaine Gresham as well this week. We say "reluctantly", because it was kind of a typical Gresham day--a big play followed by a gaffe. Gresham had a pretty touchdown catch in the opening drive where he hauled in a 19-yard reception in front of the front right pylon. He added a couple more receptions on the day, but lost a costly fumble, which could have really hurt the Bengals. Gresham continues to have a solid season, but dropped passes and fumbles remain issues for the third-year tight end.
We also once again have to point towards A.J. Green. Though he didn't have his usual dominating performance, he had a quality day with nine receptions for 85 yards. He likely would have had those stats beefed up, but quarterback Andy Dalton missed him a couple of times--one on a deep ball and one in the end zone. Still, Green's solid day helped the Bengals and added to his already outstanding 2012 campaign.
Who gets your vote for the Week 13 Most Valuable Player?