Five Takeaways From Cincinnati Bengals' Big Win Over Cleveland Browns

The Bengals have won five-straight games.

Mike Santagata | Dec 12, 2022

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Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals exorcized their demons on Sunday and finally came away with a victory over the Browns.

Joe Burrow had lost four-straight against Cleveland heading into Sunday's game, so naturally, the narrative about the matchup had to do with the star quarterback struggling against his in-state rival. about the game was that Burrow could not figure out how to beat the Browns. The Bengals and Joe Burrow responded to that by winning by multiple scores in a game that was not all that close. The Bengals' win probability reached 90% early in the third quarter, and Cleveland never got closer. Let’s get into some of the takeaways from this divisional contest.

Ja’Marr Chase Is A Stud

Ja’Marr Chase is simply outstanding. The Browns tried to take him away in this game, but still gave up 10 catches for 119 yards and a very tight window touchdown. He faced all sorts of coverages from Cleveland’s best players.

They tried to play man on him with Denzel Ward and Chase toasted him. He beat Ward in man coverage on the touchdown and made him fall on his face on a backshoulder fade as well. He also got plenty of zone and at times and Cleveland did not give him enough respect. They tried to get away with just playing quarters to his side of the field on a play where he was at the No. 2 spot and that left John Johnson III matched up against him. It did not go well for Johnson. With Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, and Hayden Hurst sidelined, Chase was the only starting receiver left for the Bengals. He stepped up in a big way and was the best player on the field.

Potent Run Game

The Bengals should be able to dominate the Browns on the ground. Cleveland has had a terrible run defense all year and the Bengals' rushing offense has actually been a little bit under the radar.

They showed up in this game. Early in the fourth quarter, Joe Mixon was averaging 8.6 yards per carry which would have set a new record for him. Instead, he ends with 6.85 yards per carry, which is still an elite performance. After all the chatter about him possibly losing his job, Mixon showed once again why he is the top dog in the running back room.

The difference now is that the Bengals know that they can also trust Samaje Perine to run the rock. Perine ran for a respectable 5.5 yards per carry and gave Mixon some much needed breathers. This split felt like good usage for the Bengals' two talented running backs at about a 60/40 split. Mixon now gets more rest and can stay fresh over the course of the entire game and season while Perine gets more touches than he did prior to the Mixon concussion. It seems like a committee approach for the Bengals moving forward.

Neutralizing Nick Chubb

Nick Chubb is possibly the best running back in the entire NFL. The Browns were down their starting center, but other than that this was their usual starting offensive line and tight end. Other than a disastrous performance against Buffalo, Chubb’s lowest yards per carry heading into this game against the Bengals was against the Bengals earlier this season. In that matchup, Chubb ran for 4.39 yards per carry. That’s insane consistency from the Browns' running back. The difference between that game and this game was a healthy DJ Reader. In this game against the Bengals, Chubb was held to 2.43 yards per carry. That’s terrible efficiency and it’s hard not to credit the Bengals nose tackle with some of that.

He made five solo tackles and just dominated the Browns up front. He was too much for the backup center to handle and even got the better of the Browns' All-Pro guards. Logan Wilson made the most of Reader's performance by racking up 17 tackles on Sunday. He was a menace in the run game and this one-two punch led the charge on slowing down one of the best backs in the NFL.

Cam Taylor-Britt Has His Best Game

He was not perfect, but this was Taylor-Britt’s best game as a Bengal. His game peaked with the Browns' last meaningful drive. The drive started with a run for Chubb which Taylor-Britt made the tackle for only a gain of 2. He played very stout run defense throughout this drive with another two stops in the run game.

Once it got to the red zone, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski started dialing up plays to target him in coverage. It started with a shot to the end zone from the 20. Taylor-Britt was matched up with the Browns' best receiver in Amari Cooper. Taylor-Britt played immaculate coverage and broke up the pass. After a first down conversion, the Browns were set up in a goal to go situation. For third down and fourth down on this drive, the Browns opted to attack Taylor-Britt again.

First, they threw a slant route over the middle that Taylor-Britt was in great position to defend. He did not get a pass breakup, but he forced the Browns to make the perfect throw. They could not hit that throw and Cooper could not bail them out with a highlight real catch. That’s great coverage to force an offense to try to hit those shots. Next, they went at Taylor-Britt with Donovan Peoples-Jones on a goal line fade. Taylor-Britt once again shut this down by staying close to the wide receiver and playing through his hands.

This one was especially noteworthy because if there has been an area of Taylor-Britt’s game that has needed some work it was his ability to defend contested catch situations. He gave one up against Tennessee and against Carolina, but here he showed a ton of improvement. That failed 4th-and-goal jump ball was the end of Cleveland’s chances in this game and really the end of their season. Taylor-Britt was tested often and he more than stepped up to the challenge.

Playoff Watch

It’s nearly party time for the Bengals, as they have now moved to a 98% chance to make the playoffs according to FiveThirtyEight. If they win next week against Tampa Bay, then they move to a >99% situation which essentially means that they are a lock. They’re essentially a lock as of now, but it’s still a few weeks away.

The Ravens squeaked one out against the Steelers, so they are keeping pace with the Bengals. As long as the Bengals and Ravens are at least tied heading into Week 18, then Cincinnati has a shot to win the division. Baltimore travels to Cleveland next week and they may be without Lamar Jackson and backup quarterback Tyler Huntley.

Even if the Bengals are a full game ahead of the Ravens in the standings, the Week 18 game will still decide the division due to Baltimore winning the first head to head matchup between the two teams. Without an implosion from Baltimore, the Bengals will most likely need to win that final matchup at home.

For seeding, if the Bengals do not win the AFC North, it is very likely that they will travel to Tennessee in the Wild Card round for another matchup against the feisty Titans. The Titans are a full two games behind the Ravens and are almost locked into the fourth seed. The Bengals on the other hand are a game ahead of Miami and have the tie-breaker over them for the fifth seed. If the Bengals do win the division, it most likely makes them the 3 seed. Right now that would be a home game against the Dolphins, but that matchup does not seem quite as likely as the possible Bengals-Titans contest. All of this is to say the Bengals are in a great spot right now.

The schedule got tougher after the bye and the Bengals have done nothing but show they’re one of the AFC’s best teams.

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