Cleveland Browns vs. Bengals: Predicting another loss for Hue Jackson
By Randy Gurzi
Writer: Elliot Kennel
Game: Cleveland Browns (3-6-1) at Cincinnati Bengals (5-5)
Summary: The Cleveland Browns will win a road game versus Cincinnati despite the Bengals adding the Whisperer himself — genius Hue Jackson, the recently-fired Head Coach of the Cleveland Browns–to the staff. Marvin Lewis has made two desperation moves to make a late charge at the playoffs: installing himself as the defensive coordinator and having Hue Jackson help him.
The Bengals Defense should have feasted on Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in Week 11, because despite the talent and 4.3 speed of Lamar Jackson, he is still a 21-year-old rookie in his first start, and 21-year-old quarterbacks are rarely good and rarely win. The Ravens were able to buck the trend, which is partly a tribute to their team as well as their young quarterback.
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On the other hand, Mastermind Marvin and The Whisperer seemed shocked to discover that Lamar Jackson can run, as the Ravens scored a first-quarter touchdown with 11 consecutive run plays and zero pass plays, and there seemed to be nothing that the Bengals could do about it.
In all, the Ravens rolled up 403 yards of offense compared to 255 for the Bengals. The Ravens ground game alone rolled up more yards (265) than the Bengals total offensive output. Despite the closeness of the score, it is impossible to believe in a defense that gives up such huge yardage on the ground.
This is a winnable game. The Bengals defense is just bad, and they giving up record amounts of real estate on the ground. Marvin and Hue are very unlikely to suddenly create a huge improvement versus the Browns. Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson should do heavy damage to the Bengals on the ground, and Baker Mayfield will still feel dangerous against the Bengals.
On the other hand, the Red Rifle, Andy Dalton, has proven himself to be a tough quarterback under pressure. Underperforming John Ross had a good game versus the Ravens, and Tyler Boyd has been outstanding all season long, without really getting much publicity. The Bengals may have three receiving threats if Green is healthy. Green was originally supposed to be out until at least December with a foot injury, but the Bengals are hopeful that he will be healthy for the Browns. Similarly, Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard have both been banged up recently, although both answered the bell versus the Ravens. Perhaps they will heal up for the Browns, and if so their best chance of hanging with the Browns is to get into a high scoring offensive battle.
However, the Browns have a very good defense, though with E. J. Gaines now on IR, the depth in the defensive backfield may be tested. Denzel Ward may be a rookie, but he’s good enough to play man coverage against A. J. Green. T. J. Carrie will play on all downs, and the Bengals will also test Damarious Randall and Brien Boddy-Calhoun, Jabrill Peppers and Derrick Kindred. The Bengals will put the ball in the air early and often, and will do some damage. But in the end, the Browns will put up too much offense for the Bengals to keep pace.
Final Score: Cleveland 36, Cincinnati 30