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The CJ's: 2014 Bengals Offensive Most Valuable Player Award

The Bengals offense really steadied toward the end of the season, but was it because of one single player or a few others behind the scenes?

Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

It was a roller coaster of a season for the Cincinnati Bengals. The team, finally appearing poised to make a deep postseason run, shot out of the gates to a dominating 3-0 start. Injuries and other familiar issues then caused the team to stumble to an 0-2-1 stretch, making them look like a mediocre team. What followed was a 7-3 finish to the regular season and another Wild Card berth.

A major key to the team's success late in the year was the running game. The defense picked it up a little, but they were plagued by a number of problems and quarterback Andy Dalton struggled at times because of injuries to his receiving corps and his own inconsistencies. For this award, it comes down to the age-old argument of it being line play or that of dynamic running backs.

Alberto Luque (AKA muertasdetenas): Jeremy Hill. Just awesome.

Mickey Mentzer (AKA whodeyfans): Jeremy Hill. Dalton was inconsistent, A.J. was hurt and no other offensive player had as much impact.

Nick Seuberling: Running back Jeremy Hill.

Anthony Cosenza: I seriously can't decide. I loved watching Jeremy Hill carving up defenses on his way to being an NFL Rookie of the Year nominee. However, one could argue that this was one of Andrew Whitworth's best seasons as a professional. Though some soured on A.J. Green, he essentially missed five regular season games and still eclipsed 1,000 yards receiving, which is a feat. I'll reluctantly say Hill because he was the catalyst, and (spoiler alert) I'm saving Whitworth for another award.