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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Chris Roling

Instant analysis after Bengals thump Browns, move to 9-4

The Cincinnati Bengals got the recent curse against the Cleveland Browns off their back on Sunday with a 23-10 win while moving to 9-4.

They did it while losing some pivotal names on both sides of the football, too.

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Joe Burrow lost two of his top targets and the defense, at least for a little while, lost a starting cornerback. Yet the defense collapsed on Deshaun Watson and Burrow kept right on playing at an MVP level.

Here’s a look at some quick notes and takeaways from the game.

 

Quick Hits

— Bengals lost wideout Tyler Boyd and cornerback Mike Hilton to injuries over the first two drives of the game. Hilton eventually returned, Boyd did not.

— Tee Higgins left not long after those two with a hamstring issue and didn’t return.

— Horrific first drive for Jonah Williams and the offense against Myles Garret that led to lots of little timing mistakes and a quick punt. Adjustments saved the day gradually, though.

— Defense lost contain on Deshaun Watson on the Browns’ first drive and struggled down the field. Cleveland mind-numbingly took Watson off the field for Jacoby Brissett on a fourth-and-one attempt and failed, bailing the defense out (somebody needs fired for taking a $230 million QB off the field on fourth down by the way).

— When the Bengals weren’t getting a key play from a Trent Taylor or Trenton Irwin, the Browns were helping them down the field anyway. In the first half alone, the Browns were called for seven penalties for 83 yards.

Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase linked up for one of the year’s best touchdown connections.

— Not to discredit the Bengals but…this looked like the 0-16 Browns of old at times:

— Zac Taylor was coaching circles around the Browns all day too, including this funny (and perfect) flea-flicker touchdown trick play.

— Lou Anarumo was calling an incredible game defensively too, often taking the eight-man-coverage approach to Watson that they use on Patrick Mahomes.

— Jessie Bates had a nice field-crossing interception to keep this one out of reach. That will go on the highlight reel when he’s asking for a long-term deal.

— Browns tried Cam Taylor-Britt repeatedly near the end of the game in the endzone. He came up with a handful of pass-breakups, a stunning feat for a rookie.

 

Key Stat

34: Rushing yards for Nick Chubb, good for a 2.4 per-carry average. That was 28 and 2.8, respectively, at halftime. We could spotlight the number of Browns penalties as a major difference here, but the defense deserves credit for putting a clamp on one of the league’s best.

 

Game Balls

QB Joe Burrow: The MVP contender went 18-of-33 with two touchdowns in a slow-starting performance. But he was wicked accurate and turned it on when necessary, including running for several key first downs.

LB Logan Wilson: The star linebacker was everywhere, totaling 12 tackles before halftime. He finished with 17 and 0.5 sacks and was a key cog in the steady defensive showing.

 

Top Takeaway

Momentum: This was ugly and a lesson that the offense still greatly struggles against pass-rushers like Myles Garrett. Luckily, there aren’t many of those and this marks five in a row for a Bengals team with a ton of momentum during a key playoff push. The key now, perhaps more than anything, is keeping the core pieces healthy.

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