Cleveland Browns vs. Bengals score predictions: Battle for Ohio
Writer: Elliot Kennel
Game: Cincinnati Bengals (1-11) @ Cleveland Browns (5-7)
Here’s yet another opportunity for our Browns to be overconfident since the Bengals have a terrible record. This may be perceived as an opportunity to once again employ hyper-aggressive play calls with the intention of ringing up 40 or 50 points against the opponent.
However, the Bengals may not be quite as weak as it appears. They are much better with Andy Dalton at quarterback rather than overripe rookie Ryan Finley, who had a six-year NCAA career due to redshirts (Bluto Blutarsky of Animal House had seven years, and he was also an underachiever). Anyway, they figured out that Finley is miles away from being a franchise, and Andy Dalton takes over again.
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That will help because they are weak up front and have not moved the ball on the ground all year. On defense, they give up 4.8 yards per carry on the ground and opposing QB’s are rated at 100.4 against them. The Browns will move the ball on the ground and Mayfield and company will be deadly through the air.
However, the Bengals are also activating insanely fast John Ross from IR. Despite a 4.22 40 yard dash in the 2017 Combine, he was an underachiever in 2017 and 2018, but he began 2019 lie a house on fire before going on IR. If he’s back with Tyler Boyd on the opposite side, the Bengals may suddenly be dangerous through the air.
The Bengals’ biggest weapon may be Freddie Kitchens.
The Browns are losing bodies on the defensive line. Myles Garrett, of course, is suspended, and Chris Smith bit the dust this week for unknown reasons. Devaroe Lawrence is playing ball for Kansas City this week. Olivier Vernon has missed a few games recently due to injury, and Daniel Ekuale went on IR early in November. The Browns traded defensive end Genard Avery ahead of the trade deadline.
This might be a good opportunity for the Bengals to generate some offense given the weakness of the Browns up front.
Prediction: Cleveland 31, Bengals 27