Tag: Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Browns elevating 2 from practice squad for divisional matchup vs. Bengals

The Browns are elevating two defensive players for their bout with the Bengals.

Just as they do every week, the Cleveland Browns are elevating two players from the practice squad for their AFC North divisional matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. Joining the active roster tomorrow are linebacker Tae Davis, who just rejoined the team after spending two years in Cleveland, and safety Mike Brown.

This will be the third time Brown has been elevated from the practice squad, meaning the Browns can no long elevate him over the last five weeks of the season. Brown has been a staple on special teams, racking up 37 snaps total on kick return, kickoff coverage, punt return, and punt coverage.

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Browns vs. Bengals: Who wins the uniform matchup this Sunday?

Who will have the superior aesthetic when the Browns and Bengals take the field tomorrow?

The Cleveland Browns are looking to make it three straight wins as they travel just a few hours south to take on the Cincinnati Bengals. Before the actual game is played, there is an important matchup that needs to be decided first: the uniform matchup. Who takes home the hardware here between the Browns vs. Bengals?

The Browns will once again roll out their orange pants against the Bengals tomorrow. They did so in the Halloween blowout win, and this time they are stacking the white uniform on top of them.

This look is crisp and clean and hard to top.

The Bengals will be wearing their black uniforms on white pants. This combination is not quite as appealing to the eye as the Browns’ combination as the Bengals are sporting three different colors from top to bottom. The orange helmet, black uniform, and white pants are just too many colors.

This uniform matchup goes to the Browns in a landslide. Clear eyes, orange pants, can’t lose.

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Week 14 Injury Report: Amari Cooper only player with injury designation vs. Bengals

How healthy are the Browns going into their Week 14 matchup against the Bengals?

The Cleveland Browns are now just two days away from making a trip down I-71 South to take on their AFC North rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals. If the Browns beat the Bengals, it would make the sixth straight win over their in-state rivals, as head coach Kevin Stefanski has never lost to them. The Browns are relatively healthy going into this Week 14 matchup as well, as wide receiver Amari Cooper is the only player listed with an injury designation with a hip injury suffered in the win over the Houston Texans.

Who else showed up on Friday’s injury report? We take a look here.

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Browns’ top receiver listed as questionable vs. Bengals with a hip injury

The only player with an injury designation against the Bengals is a big one.

As the Cleveland Browns look to make it three-in-a-row as they travel to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals this weekend, the status of one of their top playmakers remains up in the air. Missing practice on Friday with a hip injury, wide receiver Amari Cooper has officially been listed as questionable against the Bengals.

Claiming wide receiver Jaelon Darden after his release from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Browns may have to rely on him more than anticipated in his first week. To soften the potential blow, the Browns will see tight end David Njoku return, and still have Donovan Peoples-Jones who continues to make plays.

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Snap count notes: Browns efficient offense rules the day in Week 7

The Browns needed just 52 snaps to post 37 points on the Bengals

The Cleveland Browns had their lowest offensive play total of the 2020 season in Week 7. Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland offense needed just 52 snaps to rack up 37 points in the win in Cincinnati over the Bengals.

The starting offensive line and Mayfield played all 52 snaps, as expected. After that, there were some injury-related shakeups.

Kareem Hunt took 47 of the 52 snaps at RB, his highest percentage as a Brown. D’Ernest Johnson played just two, and he was the only other RB to take the field.

With Odell Beckham injured on the second play of the game, the wide receiver breakdown took a radical change. Rashard Higgins topped the Browns wideouts with 44, followed by Jarvis Landry (40) and Donovan Peoples-Jones (36). In Week 7, the Browns compensated for losing Beckham with more tight end play. Stephen Carlson played his most reps of the season as the No. 3 TE with nine, bumped up in part because Austin Hooper was out. David Njoku (31) also had his season-high, behind rookie Harrison Bryant (40).

On defense, linebacker B.J. Goodson and cornerback Denzel Ward were the only iron men. Both played all 75 defensive reps. Terrance Mitchell missed just one rep at the other CB spot opposite Ward. Kevin Johnson got 51 snaps as the nickel back.

Myles Garrett played an astonishing 70 snaps, nearly 20 more than his average game output. Fellow DE Olivier Vernon played 66, while reserve Adrian Clayborn played 25 as the Browns went lighter and faster for many reps. Porter Gustin saw the field for just three snaps.

 

 

Baker Mayfield delivers when the Browns needed him most

After a rough start, Baker Mayfield rallied with an epic performance that shows why he can be great

After a brutal outing in Week 6 that followed up an iffy second half in Week 5, all eyes were squarely focused on Baker Mayfield. And when Mayfield came out of the gate struggling badly in the Browns Week 7 trip to Cincinnati, things looked bleak.

And then the Baker Mayfield that Browns fans, players and coaches all desperately needed to see delivered an amazing, record-setting performance. Mayfield led the Browns to a comeback win on a game-winning drive in the 37-34 win and he did it by being almost literally perfect.

Mayfield missed his first five pass attempts in Cincinnati, including an interception on his very first throw. To make matters worse Odell Beckham Jr. suffered a knee injury chasing down the interception return. The ‘bench Baker” calls were everywhere on social media.

And just like that, the switch flipped. What was dark suddenly became a shining bright light.

Mayfield completed his next 21 pass attempts, setting a team record for consecutive completions in the process. His only incompletion after the first quarter was an intentional spiking of the ball to kill the clock. On the very next play, Mayfield threw a perfect strike to Donovan Peoples-Jones for the go-ahead touchdown.

Five of those completions went for touchdowns, tying the Browns’ team record. Both touchdown strikes to rookie TE Harrison Bryant were tight-window rifle shots with a high degree of difficulty. No problem.

The confidence his teammates had in Mayfield was tangibly surging the more he kept it up. The offensive line blocked better. Kareem Hunt ran great. The penalties stopped. Coach Kevin Stefanski and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt kept dialing up great plays that showed faith in Mayfield, and he rewarded their faith with a phenomenal performance to steal a divisional road win with a game-winning drive.

Cleveland needed this. Not just the Browns, but all of Browns fandom. The barking at Baker has grown louder and angrier. It could have gone very badly after the rough start. Instead, Mayfield showed why he was a No. 1 overall pick and why he’s capable of being a franchise leader for a good football team.

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Breaking down the Browns bad start vs. Bengals

Baker Mayfield and the Browns had a rough first quarter in Cincinnati

The first quarter of the Cleveland Browns’ visit to Cincinnati went about as poorly as a game could start. Outside of defensive heroics by Myles Garrett and Denzel Ward, the Bengals completely dominated the first quarter in Week 7.

It starts with Baker Mayfield. Just like Week 6, Mayfield’s first pass attempt of the game wound up being picked off. At least the Browns tackled Bengals CB Darius Phillips, though wide receiver Odell Beckham injured his knee on the chase and was lost for the game.

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Mayfield missed his first five throws, misfiring at five different receivers. There was no flow, no rhythm, no confidence from either the QB or his receivers.

The defense was little better. Cincinnati converted all four third-down attempts in that first quarter, driving for over 100 yards and a TD drive. The strip sack from Garrett and a tipped pass by Denzel Ward that wound up being picked off by LB B.J. Goodson were the only positives for the Browns.

There were penalties, too. Four of them cost the Browns 35 yards, including a poor choice by punt coverage ace Tavierre Thomas that ruined a perfect coffin corner punt from Jamie Gillan.

The box score is reflective of how poorly the Browns started the game.

That’s an unacceptable effort against a one-win team that is playing without its starting RB, Joe Mixon. Some of the blame goes to Mayfield for his ice-cold start, but he wasn’t alone out there. If not for Ward and Garrett, the game could have been out of hand before the Browns had a chance to settle in and make it a game.

Behind Enemy Lines: Previewing the Week 7 matchup with Bengals Wire

Thanks to Chris Roling for providing some insight on the current state of the Bengals and his thoughts on the matchup. 

The Browns are back to facing a familiar foe in Week 7. It’s the first rematch of the 2020 season, with the Browns heading down I-71 to Cincinnati to face the Bengals.

Cleveland won the first meeting in Week 2, 35-30. Since then the Bengals have a win, a tie and two ugly losses. To get more in touch with what’s going on with the Browns’ AFC North rival, I talked to Bengals Wire editor Chris Roling.

Thanks to Roling for providing some insight on the current state of the Bengals and his thoughts on the matchup.

It’s been a few weeks since the teams met. How has Joe Burrow progressed from the Week 2 matchup?

Burrow’s becoming more decisive as he goes and he’s finally starting to get some of the deep attempts to connect. He had a brutal rookie outing against a strong Baltimore front, but otherwise, he’s been steady. Onlookers can also see he’s getting a much better feel for what he can and can’t do against defenders as a ball-carrier, as well as what he can get away with versus a pro defensive back’s closing speed, things he usually would’ve worked out during preseason games.

What’s going on with A.J. Green? Is he done?

He’s definitely slower and doesn’t have the benefit of moving into the slot like he needs to because of Tyler Boyd. And there have been some notable timid or downright lackluster efforts at times. It’s hard to say if he’s entirely cooked — he had a strong Week 6 showing, his first of 2020 — or if he’s just very slow in getting back, learning a new offense and overcoming a hamstring issue he had during camp.

There is talk of discontent from Geno Atkins and Carlos Dunlap. Are they candidates to get traded, or is it noise that will go away if/when the team starts winning?

Dunlap’s absolutely a trade candidate, though who would want to trade or his contract after zero good film this year is hard to say. He’s been very vocal about being a situational pass-rusher only.

Atkins could be a trade candidate, but he’s had a nagging shoulder injury since camp and is only just getting back. If his snap percentages don’t climb, he could end up being a trade candidate, but it’s likely they’re just going really slow with him.

Who are some bright spots that deserve more national attention for their play?

Jessie Bates is playing like one of the best outright safeties in football and could use some more attention. Quietly, young rookie linebackers like Logan Wilson and Akeem Davis-Gaither have turned a corner and really started to look like they’ve solved one of the team’s biggest problem areas.

Offensively, second-round rookie Tee Higgins is starting to make A.J. Green look redundant.

What one matchup with the Browns worries you from a Bengals perspective?

It has to be Myles Garrett or any Browns pass-rusher against this Bengals line. Tackle play has slowly improved on the edges but not against the great players like Garrett. And to be blunt, guard play has looked almost high-schoolish at times, so Burrow figures to be on the run a lot.

Who wins and why?

Browns, 24-21. Cincinnati’s offense will miss Joe Mixon in a bad way and the defense will really struggle without No. 1 corner William Jackson. Even before the final injury report went live, this one seemed like a long shot mostly due to the bad Bengals offensive line.

Bengals will be without RB Joe Mixon vs. Browns

CB William Jackson is also out

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The Cincinnati Bengals will be without starting RB Joe Mixon when the Cleveland Browns invade Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday. The standout runner will miss the Week 7 Battle of Ohio with a foot injury.

Cincinnati will also be without top CB William Jackson, who was ruled out with a concussion. They are the only two Bengals officially ruled out on the team’s final injury report on Friday.

Two others are questionable:

  • WR John Ross
  • Safety Shawn Williams

Expect more of Gio Bernard in place of Mixon, while Darius Phillips figures to get most of Jackson’s action. The Bengals remain without prized free agent CB Trae Waynes as well.

Odds watch: Browns open as 3.5-point favorites in Cincinnati

Odds watch: Browns open as 3.5-point favorites in Cincinnati

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The 4-2 Cleveland Browns head south on I-71 to Cincinnati to face the 1-4-1 Bengals in Week 7 and the bookmakers remain confident in the Browns to win the game. The Browns open as a 3.5-point favorite over the Bengals at BetMGM.

The Browns lost 38-7 in Pittsburgh in Week 6. The Bengals blew a 21-0 lead and fell at home to the Colts, 31-27.

With the home team typically earning a field goal of value, the 3.5-point line is right in step with the Week 2 outcome. The Browns beat the Bengals 35-30 in FirstEnergy Stadium, a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate.

The initial over/under for the game is 51.5 points.

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