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Cincinnati Bengals Report Card From Sunday's Win Against the Browns

Jay Morrison

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) and Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) celebrate Chase touchdown in the 3rd quarter over the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Week 7 game at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland October 20, 2024. The Bengals won 21-14..
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins (5) and Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase (1) celebrate Chase touchdown in the 3rd quarter over the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Week 7 game at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland October 20, 2024. The Bengals won 21-14.. / Cara Owsley/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals finally snapped their losing streak in Cleveland, but Sunday’s 21-14 victory against the Browns was far from a complete effort.

The offense struggled for the second week in a row against an elite front, but the defense made up for lost time with another strong performance against an underwhelming opponent.

“Our defense really stepped up the last two weeks,” quarterback Joe Burrow said. “Big special teams touchdown today, so it’s nice to see that other units are picking up the slack where others aren’t. And that’s what football is all about. So we found ways to win the last two weeks.”

Let’s take a look at the grades from the good, the bad and the marginal:

Rush Offense

The Bengals had 10 rushing attempts for no gain or a loss of yards. Through the first six games of the season, they only had 21 fail to gain yardage.

That’s a big reason why 59 rushing yards marked a season low. And 33 of those yards came on two plays – Chase Brown’s 22-yarder on the offense’s first snap of the second half, helping kickstart the Bengals’ first touchdown drive; and Ja’Marr Chase’s career-long 11-yarder on a jet sweep on the opening play of a first-quarter drive.

Brown also had a 28-yard run in the first quarter wiped out on a questionable holding call against Cordell Volson.

It was the 18th time in 89 games of the Zac Taylor era the Bengals have failed to rush for 60+ yards.

Surprisingly, they have won five of their seven when that’s the case, with the only two losses coming last year in the games against Pittsburgh.

Grade: D-

Pass Offense

If there was a midterm grade given at halftime, this unit would have received an F.

The Bengals gave up three sacks in the first half, including two on back-to-back plays, while Burrow completed just 8 of 15 passes for 81 yards.

And while the passing game didn’t light things up in the second half, there is something to be said for figuring some things out and putting together a couple of touchdown drives while not allowing a sack despite losing left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. to injury.

Also, how many times do teams go into a game against Cleveland with the mission not to let Myles Garrett beat them? Garrett finished with four tackles, one for loss, and one quarterback hit.

Other than a few checkdowns to Zack Moss and Brown, Tee Higgins and Chase were the extent of the passing offense, with each scoring a touchdown.

Chase was held to 55 receiving yards, but that still was his second-highest total against the Browns.

Higgins only had four catches on eight targets, but all four were explosives of at least 16 yards, including his 25-yard TD that gave the Bengals a seemingly comfortable 21-6 lead with 90 seconds left in the third quarter.

The three-game stretch of 33+ points is starting to feel ancient, but Taylor, Burrow and Co. deserve credit for adjusting to what they were seeing and finishing a couple of second-half possessions in the end zone.

“That’s just a really, really good defense, the best one we have played all year,” Burrow said. “Their secondary is great. Their rush is great. Their linebackers play fast and physical. We know it’s going to be that kind of a game. Obviously, we would have liked to move the ball a little better in the first half, but we made plays when we needed to.”

Grade: C-

Rush Defense

No one expected to see vintage Nick Chubb in his first game back from a horrific leg injury some thought might be career ending, but Chubb’s history against the Cincinnati – and the Bengals’ track record against a large list of backs – created uneasy vibes heading into this game.

They were unfounded.

The Bengals held Chubb to 22 yards on 11 carries for a long of 5. And Cleveland’s team total of 77 (on 21 carries) was the lowest a Cincinnati defense allowed was the second lowest of the Taylor/Lou Anarumo era (71 in a 23-10 Bengals win in 2022).

Most of what Cleveland got on the ground came from curveball quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who had 44 yards on three carries after taking over for Deshaun Watson following his Achilles injury late in the second quarter.

Grade: A-

Pass Defense

After not allowing a single explosive pass against the Giants in last week’s 17-7 win, the Bengals let the league’s worst offense hit them for four Sunday.

But three of the four came in the fourth quarter after taking a 15-point lead, including two on Cleveland’s final drive.

The four sacks the Bengals registered were a season high and their most since last year’s Week 13 win against the Jaguars.

Anarumo’s group also registered 11 quarterback hits, two interceptions and eight passes defended.

The last time a Bengals defense reached those numbers, along with four sacks, in the same game was 2013 in a 41-20 victory against the Browns (four sacks, 11 hits, three interceptions, 11 passes defended).

Grade: A-

Special Teams

Darrin Simmons’ brilliant plan for the opening kickoff was going to be the highlight of the day regardless of what else happened after Charlie Jones took it 100 yards for a touchdown.

But there wasn’t a whole lot to highlight after that. Jones, who has been drawing the ire of Simmons for freelancing on punt returns, had a 22-yarder.

But Ryan Rehkow had an off-day punting, which allowed the Browns to record 43 return yards. The Bengals had only allowed 51 punt return yards in the first six weeks combined.

And Evan McPherson missed another key field goal late, with his 50-yard attempt that would have made it a three-possession game with 3:43 remaining drifting wide right.

But a kickoff return for a touchdown, the franchise’s first since 2020, covers a lot of warts.

And it earned a game ball from Taylor.

Grade: B+

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Jay Morrison
JAY MORRISON

Jay Morrison covers the Cincinnati Bengals for Bengals On SI. He has been writing about the NFL for nearly three decades. Combining a passion for stats and storytelling, Jay takes readers beyond the field for a unique look at the game and the people who play it. Prior to joining Bengals on SI, Jay covered the Cincinnati Bengals beat for The Athletic, the Dayton Daily News and Pro Football Network.