Fresh off win No. 1 of the season the Cincinnati Bengals hit the road to take on the Cleveland Browns in Week 14.
Neither team has lived up to expectations, though the Browns had more entering the season given the arrivals of players like Odell Beckham Jr.
This particular Battle of Ohio doesn’t feature big stakes besides draft positioning, but it’ll be one players want to grab with only four games left.
Baker Mayfield’s injury
Mayfield enters this one hurt after suffering a hand injury last week after hitting it on a helmet. Coaches say Mayfield “should be fine” but hand injuries are a tricky thing for quarterbacks. He’s regressed this year as it is, completing 60 percent of his passes with 15 touchdowns and 14 inspections.
Andy Dalton is back
Dalton’s back under center for the Bengals a week removed from completing just 22 of 37 attempts for 243 yards and a score in a win over the Jets. He certainly played much better than Ryan Finley, but keep in mind his one appearance against the Browns last year produced a 10 of 17 line with 100 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
Cleveland’s surge
Everybody knows the story about Cincinnati’s season by this point. More interesting is the 5-7 Browns, a supposed preseason contender before hitting a Week 7 bye 2-6. To the Browns’ credit, they’ve won three of their last four, most recently losing to Pittsburgh by seven. Thing slowly seem to be turning around, but we’ll see how much fight the team has with four games left in what amounts to a lost season.
Defensive surge
The Bengals defense is on fire as of late, allowing just one touchdown over the last 10 quarters of play. The 22 points allowed over the past two games is the second-best mark over that span. The most credit goes to the return of Carl Lawson and the continued upswing in play from Carlos Dunlap, a tandem putting consistent pressure on opposing passers. Granted, the competition since allowing 49 to Baltimore in Week 10 hasn’t been the greatest, but Cleveland’s offense hasn’t exactly been high-flying either.
Series history
Last year featured the first series sweep in this rivalry since 2002 as Cleveland won both. But the Bengals lead in the all-time column at 50-41. This includes a 26-14 mark since the Browns returned. Sunday is the first time the game will feature two rookie coaches since 1984.
Draft stakes
The Bengals remain on pace to pick first in the 2020 draft. They are the only single-win team in the NFL and the win over the Jets didn’t hurt positioning much. The only threat is the two-win New York Giants, the only two-win team in the league. Another win could become problematic for picking first overall.
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