causing Seau to fall down and fracture his forearm. Days later, Benson challenged Smith's coaching by remarking, "the NFL is not like high school or college, but the best players don't always get on the field." The following week, Benson out rushed Jones and scored a vital touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings on 4th down. However, when asked about it after the game, he said he didn't know that it was 4th down. He began to receive more carries as the weeks progressed, and managed to rush for over 100 yards against the Green Bay Packers. Benson became the Bears' secondary running back again during the playoffs. In the 2006 NFC Championship game against the New Orleans Saints, Benson scored a fourth-quarter touchdown and totaled 60 yards. Though he was given a majority of the team's carries, his counterpart, Jones, amassed two touchdowns and 123 rushing yards. In the team's following game, Super Bowl XLI, Benson sustained a knee injury in the first half, and missed the remainder of the game. Smith named Benson as the Bears' starting running back after the team traded Jones to the New York Jets. Benson struggled throughout the preseason, but received enough support from his teammates and coaches to retain his starting position. He amassed only forty-two yards in his first regular season game and committed a costly turnover. However, Benson rebounded with a 101-yard performance during his next start. After several inconsistent games, Benson began to stabilize after the bye week. In one of his best games of the season, Benson rushed for eighty-nine yards and scored one touchdown on eleven attempts. He averaged 5.8 yards in his next game, but sustained a season-ending ankle injury. Benson, who had amassed 647 yards and four touchdowns, was eventually relieved by Adrian N. Peterson. Jerry Angelo, the Bears' general manager, had expressed interest in acquiring a new running back to revitalize the Bears' running game, which finished last in yards in the league. Upon hearing the news, Benson commented, “You all know the competition that goes on around here. It doesn’t matter to me. Maybe somebody else can get some criticism.” On June 9, 2008, Benson was released by the Bears following his second alcohol-related arrest in five weeks. In October 2009, Benson confirmed that shortly before he was released by the Bears, he had been diagnosed with Celiac disease. In September 2016, Benson stated