Cleveland Browns vs Cincinnati Bengals: 3 match-ups to watch
Following a gut-wrenching loss Monday night the Cleveland Browns have a quick turn around to prepare for the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday. Austin Davis will start at quarterback in place of Josh McCown who is out for the season with a broken collarbone. Johnny Manziel will serve as the second string quarterback.
The 9-2 Bengals will present Davis a tough challenge in his first start as a member of the Cleveland Browns. In their last meeting, the Bengals defeated the Browns 31-10 on Thursday Night Football. The Browns will have to play exceptional defense and find they’re running game offensive to have a chance to beat the AFC North leading Cincinnati Bengals.
Austin Davis vs the Bengals defense
Austin Davis will have his hands full in his first start with the Browns against a solid defensive unit. However, this isn’t Davis first opportunity as a starter as Davis started eight games with the Rams last season. Davis completed 63.4% of his passes, throwing for 2,001 yards, 12 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. Davis was 3-5 as a starter before being benched in favor of veteran Shaun Hill. Davis will be tested by a Bengals defensive unit that allows the fewest points in the league at 17.5 points per game. Davis is excited for the big opportunity.
“You get your first start on a new team, why not play the best defense in the league, right?” Davis said. “Just go out there and cut it loose and have fun and that’s how I’m going to approach it. There’s a lot of stress and a lot of pressure that can come with this position but at the end of the day not many people get to do this, so I just want to go out and enjoy it and have fun.”
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The Browns need to get Davis into an early groove where he can get confidence early. The Browns need to establish the running game and use a variety of screen passes to ease the pressure off Davis. Davis is the 24th starting quarterback for the Browns since 1999 and will lead the Browns at home against their in-state rival.
Use Terrelle Pryor as a red-zone target
On Tuesday the team announced the resigning of wide receiver Terrelle Pryor. Pryor was with the Browns in training camp and initially made the 53 man roster before being cut in favor of running back Robert Turbin. Now that Pryor is back will the Browns give him the opportunity to play and be a big bodied target in the passing game.
At six feet four inches tall, Pryor is substantially the biggest receiver on the team and could potentially be utilized as a red-zone weapon. It was an interesting decision to see the Browns bring Pryor back so late into the season. It would be expected for Pryor to be active Sunday, but his role is to be determined.
The Browns have struggled all season in the red-zone and one possible way to improve that is utilize the athletic ability of Pryor. Even if Pryor isn’t caught back up to speed with only being back less than a week, Pryor’s athletic presence warrants playing time. As teams zone in on tight end Gary Barnidge in the red-zone, Pryor’s size and athleticism will give the Browns offense and quarterback Austin Davis an instant red-zone weapon.
Stop the Bengals one-two punch at running back
In the last meeting between the two teams last month, Bengals running backs Jeremy Hill and Giovanni Bernard combined for 124 rushing yards. Bernard is a quick shifty playmaker who the Bengals like to get the ball in space. Hill is their bruiser in between the tackles and will get the Bengals goal-line work. The Bengals offense goes as it running game goes. If the Bengals can run the ball, it will give Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton the ability to be successful off play-action and find a rhythm with the offense.
The Browns defense must find a way to stop the run and limit what the Bengals offense can do and give Austin Davis and the Browns offense an opportunity to compete. If the Bengals offense can run and pass at will against the Browns it will make it a long day at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The Browns defense must commit to stopping the run and figure out how to stop the run over the last five games. The hope for the Browns defense is they build off Monday night where they only allowed 102 rushing yards total and where the Ravens leading rusher, Javorius Allen, only had 55 yards.