The Cincinnati Bengals have stunned just about everyone in the NFL, winning every divisional game so far. They have swept the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers. They have swept the smash-mouth Baltimore Ravens with that new high-powered offense. They have won on the road in Green Bay and in Cleveland. And if it weren't for a freak 87-yard touchdown reception by Denver receiver Brandon Stokely with 11 seconds left, the Bengals would be 8-1. The resurgence of the Carson Palmer-Chad Ochocinco connection, the surprising defense and the rising of running back Cedric Benson brings me to one conclusion: The Cincinnati Bengals are one of the most complete teams in the NFL.

But as everyone knows, anything can happen in the NFL. As fast as one team can rise to the top, that team can plummet just as fast (The Redskins were 6-2 at the halfway point last season. They finished 8-8.)

So here are three things to keep in mind before drawing any more conclusions about the Bengals of 2009.

1. Seven More Games: Easy Street - The next three games on Cincinnati's schedule go like this: At Oakland, Cleveland and then Detroit. I know the players and coaches always say the cliché, "just take it one game at a time." But that is a very easy three-game stretch in the second half of the season.

And if the Bengals are anything like the Redskins, which they're not, they should be able to actually take advantage of these next three games. The Bengals also get to play the Chiefs at home and the Jets in New York for the last two games of the season. So if the Bengals do in fact win the games they're supposed to win, they should be playoff-bound. The question is whether they will win the division or not.

2. Wild Card? - Nobody could have possibly expected Cincinnati to sweep the Steelers and the Ravens. Now, all the Bengals have to do is beat the Browns at home and they will go 8-0 in the division. Nobody could have predicted that Cincinnati would be that good.

But what is even more amazing is that the Bengals could easily go 8-0 in the division and not even win the AFC North. The Steelers are still only one game back from first place. If the Bengals screw up just a little bit, the Steelers could easily make their way back to the top of the division. And everyone knows Big Ben can do great things. He is a great quarterback, a great leader and a 2-time Super Bowl champion. Don't count Pittsburgh out just yet.

2. Everything is Clicking - Whether you like it not, the Bengals are in fact one of the most complete teams in the NFL. There is not one player, or even a handful of players that could be pointed out as the cause of this resurrection. There are plenty of quarterbacks who have thrown for more yards and touchdown passes than Carson Palmer. The former USC Trojan is 15th in the league in quarterback rating (88.1) and 14th in completion percentage (61.4%). But he has been excellent in converting on 3rd downs, managing the game and finding his receivers at the most crucial moments.

Cedric Benson has been surprisingly good too. He is 6th in the league in rushing yards (859) and 8th in rushing touchdowns (6). Benson and the Cincinnati running game is a huge reason why the Bengals are playing so well. In fact, Benson is the only running back to rush for over 100 yards against Baltimore... and he did it twice.

But the strangest thing about this team is how well the defense is playing. Cincinnati's defense has never been this good. The Cincinnati D is 2nd in the league in points given up per game with 16.3. They have been 2nd in the league in stopping the run as well.

The point is that everyone on the team is chipping in. Both the defense and the offense are playing well. Everyone is clicking. Everything is clicking. And when everything is clicking on a football team that has playmakers like Palmer, Ochocinco and cornerback Leon Hall, nobody wants to play them. - Michael Klopman

Michael, a Penn State Graduate writes for XtraPointFootball.com, is a contributor to the Bleacher Report and works on the sports page at the Huffington Post.

* Editors Note: Upon completion of the composition of this post, it's been reported that former Kansas City Chiefs running back Larry Johnson signed a one-year contract this morning with the Cincinnati Bengals as an insurance policy to Cedric Benson. Benson who has an injured hip has not been ruled out for this week and has been quoted as stating that either way he will be in the line-up next week.

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