CINCINNATI – On Sunday, the Bears finally saw the running back they envisioned Cedric Benson would become when they selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft.

The only problem was that he was wearing a Cincinnati Bengals uniform.

Cedric Benson ran for a career-high 189 yards Sunday against his former team.

Benson ran roughshod over his former team, rushing for a career-high 189 yards and 1 touchdown on 37 carries in a 45-10 thrashing of the Bears at Paul Brown Stadium.

“He did some good things,” said Hunter Hillenmeyer, who started at strongside linebacker after missing two games with a rib injury. “My hat’s off to Cedric. I’m sure he’s feeling great right now, to have a game like that against guys who supposedly discarded you.”

Benson received a standing ovation when he was removed from the game with about 10 minutes remaining. But he was forced to return after rookie running back Bernard Scott and fullback Jeremi Johnson exited with knee injuries, leaving Benson as the Bengals’ only healthy running back.

Benson now leads the NFL in rushing with 720 yards, an average of 102.9 yards per game.

“Cedric played well,” said Bears tight end Desmond Clark. “You’ve got to give them credit. His offensive line was able to open some holes for him, he hit it and ran well.”

Blowout defeats: Sunday’s loss was the most lopsided for the Bears since they dropped the 2003 opener 49-7 in San Francisco. Chicago finished 7-9 in 2003 in what was Dick Jauron’s final year as coach. 

“This is a far better team than that team back in ’03,” Clark said. “This is probably more embarrassing because with as much talent as we’ve got on this team, we shouldn’t lose like this.”

Ground to a halt: Facing a big early deficit, the Bears only ran the ball 12 times for 35 yards in the game. Matt Forte rushed for 24 yards on six carries, Garrett Wolfe had seven yards on three attempts, and quarterback Jay Cutler gained four yards on three carries.

Century club: In establishing career highs with eight catches for 101 yards, Devin Hester became the first Bears receiver to compile at least 100 yards since Brandon Lloyd had 124 yards on Sept. 21, 2008 in an overtime loss to the Buccaneers.

Hanie sighting: With Sunday’s game hopelessly out of hand, backup quarterback Caleb Hanie made his NFL debut, completing 1 of 2 passes for three yards on the Bears’ final possession.

Not suited up: Defensive tackle Tommie Harris (knee) and running back Adrian Peterson (knee) sat out with injuries. Other Bears inactives were receiver Juaquin Iglesias, cornerback D.J. Moore, guard Louis Lance, and defensive tackles Matt Toeaina and Jarron Gilbert. Linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, who sustained a season-ending knee injury a week earlier in Atlanta, was also on the inactive list.