Hey Bears, what’s up? It’s Cedric. I just wanted to say thanks so much for the HUGE boost of confidence you gave me today when we beat you 45-10. I mean, a career rushing day by me, against the team that left me for dead. Gosh, who could have seen that coming?

I gotta tell you, I was really nervous about today’s game. It’s tough enough facing a team when you’re their ex-bust. But you guys also looked so tough against Atlanta last week. You didn’t let Michael Turner do much, and he’s, like, way better than I am. The closer the Chicago-Cincinnati game got, the bigger the butterflies got in my stomach, kind of like when I see cops coming toward my boat on a lake. Not that things haven’t been going well here in Cincinnati, but last week when I fell from leading the league in rushing to being third, well, all those doubts and fears started coming back.

Then the game started and I ripped off a 23-yard rush on the opening drive. It was so nice of you guys to let such a big hole open up for me, that really settled me down. But you kept letting those big holes open. I was like, gosh, these guys are so nice for letting me run like this. By the end of the first quarter, I felt just awesome.

That first quarter would have been enough, you know, but again, you just giving me room to run. It was like you were saying, “Here, Cedric, we want you to have a career rushing day.” I thought, nah, come on, a career rushing day, against you guys? Be serious. But you were being serious. I had 100 yards at halftime! I only had two 100-yard games in three years in Chicago. I started thinking, maybe I’ll get 200 yards against Chicago. I didn’t, but that’s okay, because I’m the leading rusher again, ahead of Adrian Peterson! I owe it all to you guys letting me just run wild.

I’m also not the only one you guys touched today. You guys totally made all the Cincinnati Bengals feel just swell. It’s not easy being a Bengal. People either laugh at you or call the cops on you. Today, though, you guys made being a Bengal totally awesome. Your offense let our defense act like a big, bad tiger, which is what a bengal is — I didn’t know that until today. Chad Ochocinco said he felt like Chad Muy Bueno, thanks to you guys leaving huge holes in the coverage for him to run to. And Carson Palmer — wow, his quarterback rating was like 1,000! “Ced,” he told me, “if you talk to the Bears, tell them I said they can cover my receivers any time.” He usually only says that to the Browns.

We did so well, when we left the stadium people came up to us, and they weren’t carrying rotten fruit or handcuffs. They kept saying congratulations. They started talking about playoffs, and I did that killer Jim Mora impersonation where I go, “PLAYOFFS! PLAYOFFS!” And people laughed, instead of telling me to clean out my locker.

I told those fans that the real congratulations had to go to you. You guys tried so hard not to try today, and it made our day, and maybe even our season. Good luck, and maybe we’ll see you again in the Super Bowl — as long as you guys don’t keep losing 45-10!

-- BRANDON TRISSLER