IRVING, Texas -- Cedric Benson watched his new team from the sideline and saw them take an early 17-0 hole before he ever got a chance to step on the field.

But when he did, on the Bengals’ first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, he certainly made an impact. The Bengals handed Benson the ball six consecutive times and he gained a total of 25 yards, rolling off runs of 6-, 3-, 2-, 10-, 3- and 1-yards, setting up a Shayne Graham field goal.

“I’m very excited and my motor was running high at first, but after a while I started to feel good,” Benson said following the team’s loss.

With Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey injured, the Bengals signed the former first-round pick out of Texas on Tuesday. He got in three practices with his new team before making his debut on Sunday. The Bengals placed Dorsey on the Reserved-Injured list on Tuesday and terminated the contract of Watson on Saturday to make space for Chris Henry, leaving Benson as the only backup at halfback.

“It’s tough -- he’s only at practice, two, three days. To come in and you don’t play in OTAs, in training camp, in preseason, in the first four weeks and it’s pretty tough to come right in and play,” quarterback Carson Palmer said. “To play the way he did, it’s obvious he’s a top pick for a reason. Hopefully we’ll find more packages for him and Chris or get him more series, because he was definitely a spark for the offense.”

Benson had four more carries for a total of five yards, but showed that he could help the offense, especially when starter Chris Perry had another costly fumble.

“This is just the beginning,” Benson said. “I’m sure next week I’ll have a couple of more series. I’m just going to take it week-by-week and improve.”

Sunday, he played mostly on running plays, with Perry in more for the passing plays because he knew the protections better than the newcomer.

Benson, who was released by the Bears in June, could become a bigger presence in the next couple of games. He said he likes what he sees so far from his new team.

“I think it’s a solid team that can really get it turned around, we’re probably just missing that one little edge,” Benson said. “We just had a few things that didn’t roll our way. We had a couple of mishaps on offense and then the fumble hurt us a lot.”

Although he said he was nervous at first, those nerves quickly settled. Now with a  second chance, he’s just hoping to help new team improve.

“I knew all we needed was a spark,” Benson said. “That’s what I’m here for.”