Cleveland Browns: Keys to victory against Bengals

Two winless teams meet at FirstEnergy Stadium this afternoon. What do the Cleveland Browns need to focus on to ensure that they exit with a victory?

Recent history suggests that this isn’t set up to be a pleasant week for Cleveland Browns fans. Cincinnati comes to town for another installment of the battle for Ohio, which hasn’t been much of a battle lately.

In their last three meetings, the Bengals have outscored Cleveland by a 98-13 combined score. They have also won 17 of the last 23 meetings, and four of the last five.

But this season looks to be a bit different. Yes, the Browns are 0-3, and very clearly still in the early stages of a lengthy rebuilding process. However, much like Cleveland, Cincinnati enters with an 0-3 record and an offense that has been far from impressive.

Last week, the Bengals squandered a 14-point third quarter lead in Green Bay and lost in overtime, easily their best showing of the season thus far. Prior to this contest, they were shutout by Baltimore at home, and failed to score a touchdown against Houston.

This will be the third AFC North contest for the Browns, but looks to be the most manageable. Anything can happen in divisional rivalry games, and luckily this is the case for the Browns.

Reversing the recent history of this matchup won’t be a simple task, but the Browns can do it if they are to pay better attention to detail and emphasize these keys as they make their final preparations.