It’s easy to look past the Cleveland Browns – Cincinnati Bengals encounter this weekend and focus on big-ticket items like the draft.
Makes sense given the trajectory of both franchises, right?
But when it comes to the game itself, storylines still abound. From individual achievements to the potential farewell of a franchise passer, these are the top storylines.
Joe Mixon’s push for 1,000: Talk about a wild ride for Mixon. Last year’s leading rusher in the AFC didn’t have a ton of preseason work and had a nagging injury to start the year. He then went criminally underused for the first three-fourths of the season — to the point Zac Taylor has admitted the team made a mistake there. But he’s erupted down the stretch, including 21 or more carries in three straight games to sit at 975 yards. Some might argue whether the 1,000-yard mark matters anymore, but it’ll mean something to Mixon and his linemen given how this season turned out. In the earlier loss to the Browns, he ran for 146 yards and a score on an average of six-plus yards.
Revenge: That Week 14 encounter with the Browns was a dud by most measures. The Bengals picked off Baker Mayfield twice and held him without a touchdown pass, yet still lost 27-19. The team managed to win time of possession (34:31), yet managed to go three of 12 on third down and one of five in the red zone. Andy Dalton’s lone interception went back for a pick-six. This Sunday is a chance for the Bengals to prove things are really on the right track and it sure doesn’t hurt to break an embarrassing losing streak to an in-state rival.
Andy Dalton’s potential farewell: Rest assured Dalton would like to rewrite the narrative too after the loss to the Browns earlier this season. Last week was exciting as Dalton rattled off four scores in a furious late push that still resulted in an overtime loss, but the fact remains his offense scored just 12 points through three quarters. The four scores don’t save his season-long numbers much either — he’s at a 59.6 completion percentage with 15 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Dalton is saying and doing the right things but the undertone is clear — he wants to remain a starter in the NFL, even if that isn’t in Cincinnati. If this is it, both Dalton and the Bengals would like to get a win and end this era on a high note, especially against a rival.
