Bengals at Browns
By: Jake Rajala
The Bengals and Browns are at different places in their franchise. The Bengals have their true franchise QB in Joe Burrow. Meanwhile, the Browns have Joe Flacco, who is 40. They also have Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel, who could push Flacco to gain the starting gig.
In the Bengals-Browns last meeting, the Bengals won 24-6. Matter of fact, the Bengals are 4-1 in their past five meetings!
The Bengals brought back Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. They will seek to put up a lot of fireworks against CLE. The Bengals have dropped 21 points in each of their past four victories.
The Browns did make it more challenging for the Bengals to stomp their defense. The Browns first round pick Mason Graham will line up next to Myles Garrett. They should have the best DT-DE tandem right away. Graham has Chris Jones-like potential. It doesn’t help the Bengals that they ranked 22nd in sacks allowed last season!
The Bengals can’t afford to get upset in this one. They went 9-8 and missed the playoffs last season. If Chase is stalled from Denzel Ward in this one, Tee Higgins, and Chase Brown need to elevate their game. I’m a tad worried that Evan McPherson is 37th in the league in FG%.
What do I expect to result from this showdown?
I foresee the Browns keeping this game close, due to their defensive line and secondary. However, I expect some splash plays by Tee Higgins and Chase to happen in the 2-minute drill. They should be trusted to get the ball in space on short passes. If the Browns win, I don’t expect the Bengals to lay down for their second meeting!
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