Week 17 Cleveland Browns score predictions: Looking to fourth straight vs. Bengals

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CLEVELAND, OHIO – DECEMBER 08: Andy Dalton #14 of the Cincinnati Bengals plays against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium on December 08, 2019 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

Writer: Elliot Kennel

Game: Cleveland Browns (6-9) at Cincinnati Bengals (1-14)

Summary: With these two teams it is hard to believe that either team can win. However, I’ll go out on a limb and say that the Browns will win a sloppy game because they are healthier than the Bengals and have better talent. Still, the Browns will continue to call screwy plays that will blow up their own drives.

It may be painful to watch two ineffective Ohio teams on Sunday, but it is still NFL football, there will still be the greatest athletes in the world playing their hearts out, and it is still the most exciting sport, so Browns fans will take this opportunity to cheer their team on, one more time.

What will we see? Well, the Browns have the top running back in the NFL and the Bengals are last in the NFL in defending the run. That matchup clearly favors the Browns. Cleveland’s game plan against the NFL’s worst run defense should be simple: run, run, run, play-action, run, run, run, touchdown. Got it?

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However, that is not going to happen. Coach Kitchens knows he is possibly playing his last game as Browns head coach. He may figure that if he is going to go down, he might as well go down with what he believes in, and what he believes in is — trick plays! Freddie might call Jarvis Landry‘s number out of respect for his Pro Bowl season. Coach, just get it over with during the first quarter and hope it does not blow up like last week.

The Browns run defense, without Myles Garrett, is at least as bad as Cincinnati’s, though the Bengals don’t have the fat kids up front to make their running game as dangerous as it should be. Joe Mixon, a talented back needs 25 yards to reach 1,000 yards and will get it easily,

Likewise, Tyler Boyd is 13 receiving yards away from 1,000 and will make that milestone. The Bengals’ secret weapon is John Ross — he of the 4.22 40-yard dash — who has been out since being injured in their seventh game of the season. Though widely regarded as a draft bust, that is not true.

Earlier this season, he had been pulling down passes and putting up numbers prior to getting injured. Our spies from The Jungle say that Ross is going to play in the last game and if so he may have a little coming out party. Covering both Ross and Boyd will be difficult. Meantime, former Pro Bowl tight end Tyler Eifert is finally healthy and will play in his sixteenth game this season, the first time that has ever happened. Cincy has the weapons.

The Bengals don’t bother to pass block, so Andy Dalton and understudy Ryan Finley have been sacked 47 times. This isn’t sustainable, but in this case it is more about bad luck rather than a failure to plan. The Bengals sought to address the offensive line, selecting Jonah Williams in the first round, only to have him go on IR. 2018 starter Alex Redmond is also on IR, but they might survive against the Browns weakened front four.

Andre Smith, John Miller, Michael Jordan, John Jerry, and Cordy Glenn have also missed time due to injury. When injuries hit that hard, it is not surprising that the team is in the dumpster.

At the end of the day, the Browns have a better team and a better health report, and for that reason should just barely prevail against a Bengals team that is not as bad as people think, but they will have to play with a patchwork offensive line.

Prediction: Browns 23, Bengals 22

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