Cleveland won both games against Cincinnati last season.Bengals beat the Jets, 22-6, to win their first game of the season. Browns have held opponents under 350 total yards of offense in six consecutive games, third-longest active streak in NFL!QB Andy Dalton started his first game since Week 8 in the win against the Jets and broke Ken Anderson's franchise records. Mayfield has thrown at least one touchdown pass in all 12 of his starts at home - longest streak by any QB to begin his career. Cincinnati has been assessed 540 penalty yards, fewest in NFL, while Cleveland leads NFL in penalty yards with 926.
CLEVELAND (NYT/ AP) Their margin for error is completely gone, and with one more loss, the Cleveland Browns can say goodbye to their playoff hopes as well. Another demoralizing setback last week in Pittsburgh has left the Browns with no option but to win their final four games - starting with the Bengals on Sunday - to have any chance of ending a 17-year postseason drought, the NFL's current longest dry spell.
December was supposed to be the Browns' runway to the playoffs. Instead, it might be a dead end. "We have to buckle down and win each game from here on out," said quarterback Baker Mayfield, who suffered a bruised right throwing hand last week. "It is just plain and simple. We can't have any slip-ups and we have to win."
This season that offered such promise after so many dreadful ones in Cleveland has plummeted, leaving the Browns (5-7) to ponder what might have been. "For everybody there's been a lot of disappointment," said star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who hasn't had nearly the impact forecast when he arrived via trade. "There's areas that we expected more of ourselves, not like we didn't know we were going to have to go out and work for it, but we just expected it, and we were willing to go get it. We just didn't get it."
For the Bengals (1-11), there's a glimmer amid gloom. Seemingly on their way to an 0-16 season, they ended the longest losing in franchise history last week by beating the New York Jets 22-6. Cincinnati's return to the win column coincided with QB Andy Dalton's return to the starting lineup.
HANDY MAN
Mayfield's expected to play despite the hand injury, which he sustained when he smashed it on the facemask of a Steelers player last week. The second year QB didn't throw until Thursday, and said he'd like to play without wearing a glove as he did in the second half on Sunday. Mayfield's had an uneven second season - he led the league in interceptions through seven weeks - but it hasn't changed the Browns feeling that he'll develop into an elite player. "He is a tremendous football player - competitor, smart, tough, has a rare competitive quality and a rare want to be great," said offensive coordinator Todd Monken. "... in my mind, we have the right guy going forward."
ROOKIE MATCHUP
For just the second time, the "Battle of Ohio" will feature two rookie coaches with Zac Taylor matched up against Browns coach Freddie Kitchens. The only other time it happened was in 1984, when Cleveland's Marty Schottenheimer was opposite Cincinnati's Sam Wyche, who five years later provided one of the most memorable moments in the rivalry's history when he scolded Bengals fans for throwing objects on the field by reminding them, "You don't live in Cleveland.”
RISING DEFENSE
Cincinnati's defense is coming off its best three-game stretch of the season, allowing no more than 17 points in any game. The biggest improvement has been on the line, which was shoved around earlier this season. End Carlos Dunlap tied his career high with three sacks of Sam Darnold in last week's breakthrough win.
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Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns Sunday
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Bengals recharged red raider Andy Dalton will be at Cleveland Stadium Sunday at 10:00 a.m. PT
Dalton is back from benching and looking better, while Bengals defense is on an upswing, just in time for the Browns.
Except for the undue punishment of Myles Garrett, Browns will have a full set of talent in place to try to slow down
the re-charged Bengals.
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Please bear with me, as my 72.5 % Italian blood still boils over this miscarriage of justice.
First a big THANK YOU to all that have already sent messages to the NFLPA or NFL Alumni to free Myles! For those not yet done this, please take a few minutes to send brief message to free Myles Garrett as he has served enough games off penalty. I hope you understand the time (hundreds of volunteer hours annually) that I invest to serve you and BABB! And so, with this in mind, please don’t be upset with this continued request
(as I know I am too stubborn, and I am compelled to keep this drive going!) If agree or not, please just message them both!: >
NFL Alumni Organization - send brief email massage to: memberservice@nflalumni.org
Also, message the NFLPA via - https://www.nflpa.com/contact-us
Thank you very much,
Go #1 Ohio State & Browns, big cheers to you all, --Bud
Bud Genovese, President
Bay Area Browns Backers
Thanks Bud for your continued love for our Dawgs! I cant help but share this with our Central Coast Backers!
Eric Davis