For the first time in franchise history, the Cincinnati Bengals are 7-0. Andy Dalton and the Bengals offense played arguably their worst game of the season in Pittsburgh, but they were still able to gut out the huge road win against the Steelers.
The Bengals will be back at home on Thursday night, as they host the struggling Cleveland Browns, who have dropped their last three games in a row.
Read on for our preview of this All-AFC North Thursday night matchup. Meanwhile, check out our previews of Week 9’s other top matchups, with the Raiders vs. Steelers and Rams vs.Vikings.
[sc:Football ]Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals Preview
Where: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati
When: Thursday, November 5, 8:30 PM ET
Line: Cleveland Browns (+10.5) at Cincinnati Bengals (-10.5); total 46.0 – view all NFL lines
TV Broadcast: NFL Network
Betting on the Cleveland Browns (2-6)
Cleveland gave the Arizona Cardinals all they could handle for the first 30 minutes, as the two entered halftime tied at 20. But the Browns eventually ran out of steam in the second half, where they were shut out en route to a 34-20 defeat. The Browns have now lost five of their last six games.
[sc:NFL240banner ]Major props must go to quarterback Josh McCown, who threw three first-half touchdowns in a losing effort despite suffering from a shoulder injury. He was also the leading rusher (five carries, 18 yards) for a Browns offense that just couldn’t get anything going on the ground.
McCown is having a pretty solid debut season in Cleveland with 11 touchdowns and just four interceptions. That’s more impressive when taking to account the nonexistent production he’s gotten from the ground game which has had just two rushing touchdowns this season. The Browns running backs were limited to a pitiful 21 yards on 15 carries against the Cardinals.
The run defense remains downright awful (although it did hold the Cardinals to 3.1 yards per carry) and its pass defense likely won’t get much better after starting cornerback Joe Haden, who missed the past two games with a concussion, suffered yet another head injury in the loss to the Cards. Donte Whitner also left with a suspected concussion.
The Browns have historically made things pretty tough for their division rival Bengals, though. Cleveland has gone 4-2-1 ATS in its last seven visits to Cincy.
In their visit to Cincinatti last season, the Browns limited Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton to a career-low 2.0 passer rating – he went 10-of-33 completion for 86 yards and three interceptions – in a 24-3 Cleveland win.
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Betting on the Cincinnati Bengals (7-0)
For the second time in three games, Andy Dalton and the Bengals offense were not at their best. They mustered less than 300 yards of total offense and turned the ball over twice against their fierce division rivals, the Pittsburgh Steelers. But as great teams often do, they found a way to win despite playing poorly to remain perfect on the season.
The Bengals got a bit lucky having to face a Steelers team that started a rusty Ben Roethlisberger and lost Le’Veon Bell. However, a lot of credit must go to the Cincy defense, which forced Big Ben to two costly fourth quarter turnovers and to Dalton, who led another clutch game-winning drive after doing the same against the Seahawks.
Linebacker Vontaze Burfict made an immediate impact in his first start of the season, and will be pivotal going forward in sealing up a Bengals run defense that was a mediocre No. 16 in DVOA heading into Week 8.
Dalton should have a bounce-back game against a Browns secondary that will possibly be missing some key starters on the secondary. Meanwhile, Jeremy Hill and the Bengals running game, will look forward to playing against the porous Browns front that’s dead last in run defense (151 yards allowed per game). In their last meeting last season, the Bengals torched the Browns for 244 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Cincinnati is a picture of consistency at home. The Bengals are 16-3-1 SU (14-4-2 ATS) in their last 20 home games. They’re 11-5 at home since the Browns returned to Cleveland, but are just 7-8-1 ATS.
Writer’s Prediction
The Browns (+10.5) stick around and cover in a 21-14 loss.
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