After Sunday’s 37-3 demolition of the Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium, the Bengals have methodically built their record to the best ever in the history of the franchise at 10-2 and have burrowed into the AFC’s first seed by keeping their head down and punching the clock. That mean backups Jordan Mills and Kraig Urbik had to face Watt and the Texans pass rush that had 16 sacks in the past four games. Cincinnati went up 14-0 on Dalton’s strike to Green. From an audible that resulted in a touchdown to his ability to distribute the ball to a variety of receivers, Dalton was doing seemingly everything right in the Bengals’ win over the Browns.
Advertisement
Bengals defensive tackle Domata Peko, who delivered a 10-yard sack, also was impressed by what he saw on film and in person.
“That’s what we needed”, Marvin Lewis said after the game.
“I’m just trying to protect the house, that’s it”, Kirksey said.
Tough to fault a guy for having to guard one of the best wide receivers in football when he was signed to play on the other side of the field, but Williams is a veteran who has been in the league for too long to get a pass on how poorly he defended Green. But Green got tripped up by cornerback Tramon Williams, who was completely overmatched against the Bengals star wideout.
Whether that’s good enough to keep him in the lineup remains to be seen.
The Browns got the ball back and Davis threw an interception on first-and-10 at Cleveland’s 34. I feel like there are so many people that are counting on you and looking at you to play well.
The Browns, using quarterback Austin Davis this week and their third starter in three games, had difficulty getting any offense going with wide receivers Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel on the inactive list and Travis Benjamin leaving the game with a shoulder injury. He did not play as poorly as the score indicates, but whether he will get a second chance on December 13 when the Browns host the San Francisco 49ers is a decision Coach Mike Pettine has not made. “We are going to coach our players hard, and we will see what happens”.
The Browns have more pressing issues than their quarterback, and Sunday’s loss exposed the enormous chasm between themselves and the Bengals.
As his team continues to circle the drain, Pettine, following the latest ugly Sunday, admitted the Browns are enduring “a healthy dose of adversity”. “They have chemistry. That is what you strive for”.
The Cincinnati Bengals have their eyes focused on clinching their fifth consecutive postseason berth while the Cleveland Browns are finding new and creative ways to lose games.
“Next week is the big issue, so we’re just anxious about Pittsburgh right now”.
“We’re judged on wins and losses”, Davis said.
Manziel is 1-2 in three starts this season, collecting 933 yards, five scores, two interceptions and an 88.4 rating.
The Browns come into the game on 2-9 and the season seems to becoming more and more traumatic for their hapless fans.
Advertisement
Hill chose to celebrate his TD run by jumping into the stands behind the end zone and into the arms of a small group of Cincinnati fans.
