Walk-Off Thoughts: Bengals Beat Browns, Joe Burrow Gets First Win Over In-State Rival

Cincinnati is 9-4 on the season following their win over Cleveland.

CINCINNATI — The Bengals never trailed in Sunday's 23-10 win over the Browns at Paycor Stadium. It wasn't pretty at times, but they controlled the game and picked up their fifth-straight win. 

Here are some walk-off thoughts following the Bengals' second AFC North win of the season:

Chase is Different

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Ja'Marr Chase led the Bengals with 10 receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown.

He dominated his matchup with Browns star cornerback Denzel Ward, who followed Chase all over the field. 

His rapport with Joe Burrow was on full display, especially with Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd out with injuries. 

Burrow made a perfect throw to Chase for a 15-yard touchdown in the second quarter. It gave Cincinnati a 7-0 lead. It also surprised the star wide-out.  

“I think he thought it was middle-open so he wasn’t really getting the ball," Burrow said. "Fortunately, when Ja’Marr doesn’t think he’s getting the ball, he’s still the best receiver in the league.”

Chase has 64 receptions for 821 yards and seven touchdowns this season, despite missing four games with a hip injury. 

Dominant DJ Reader

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DJ Reader flies under the radar, but he's a force on the inside of the Bengals' defensive line. 

He helped Cincinnati keep Nick Chubb in check all game long. The Browns star finished with just 34 yards on 14 attempts. His 2.4 yards-per-carry were the second-lowest of the season. 

Reader finished with five tackles, one quarterback hit and one pass deflection. The stats don't tell the entire story. He was the best player on a defense that had plenty of guys step up, including Logan Wilson, Cam Taylor-Britt and Jessie Bates. 

"He’s (Reader) always around the ball, always penetrating, always in the backfield making plays," Burrow said. "He’s one of the best defensive tackles in the league and, for some reason, not really anybody knows about him. It’s time people start knowing about him,"

Burrow Beats Browns

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Burrow entered Sunday's game with an 0-4 record against the Browns. 

It was a topic that was talked about throughout the week going into the matchup.

The Bengals' got off to a slow start on offense, partially because Higgins and Boyd were out, but Burrow led them to victory. 

He completed 18-of-33 passes for 239 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. After starting 4-of-12, he completed 14-of-21 passes and got into a rhythm midway through the second quarter. 

It's hard to turn the momentum, especially after a slow start, but that's exactly what Burrow did for the Bengals. He made plays like the touchdown to Chase and another with his feet, where he looked like he was going to run, before flipping it to Trenton Irwin for a first down in the red zone. 

Burrow made plays, despite being shorthanded. Of course he downplayed his first victory over the Browns. 

"Well, we’re still 1-4 against them so we’ve still got some work to do, but today was a good start," he said with a smile. 

Injuries

The Bengals have won five-straight games, but could be without Trey Hendrickson, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins next week against the Buccaneers. 

Hopefully Boyd and Higgins can play, but it sounds like Hendrickson is going to miss multiple games with a broken wrist. 

If that's the case, then guys like Joseph Ossai, Cam Sample and Jeff Gunter are going to have to find a way to get some pressure on opposing quarterbacks. 

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