The final battle of Ohio in the 2022 NFL regular season will occur on Sunday as the Cleveland Browns can match their longest winning streak of the year with a victory at Paul Brown Stadium versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cleveland have won back-to-back contests, currently two games back of a wildcard spot in the AFC, while the Bengals are neck and neck with the Baltimore Ravens for first in the AFC North as both teams have identical 8-4 records.
Match preview
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Like they did down the stretch of the 2021-22 regular season, Cincinnati have caught fire, winning four consecutive contests, scoring 20 or more points each time.
Zac Taylor's offensive unit is getting healthy at the right time and giving opposing defences nightmares, posting over 400 yards in five of its last six encounters.
The Bengals do a lot of things well while in possession, fourth in the league when it comes to passing, averaging the fifth-most yards per game (372.4), and although their running attack is ranked 27th, their backs have been effective pass catchers and fared well in short yardage situations.
Their offensive statistics and depth are sure to strike fear in most opposing teams, although they play the pass pretty well too, allowing a completion percentage of 59.0 for the season, holding the league's leading passer Patrick Mahomes to 223 yards through the air, which is quite the feat when considering the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback averages 317 a game.
Cincy will have their hands full trying to stop the run this weekend, and this year they have allowed a respectable average of 4.1 yards to running backs, though they gave up 172 yards on the ground against Cleveland on Halloween in a 32-13 loss.
Another season full of struggles along the line of scrimmage seems to be taking a toll on them, with the Bengals allowing the seventh-most sacks in 2022 (36), going 0-5 this year when conceding more than five in a single game, though they have allowed just two or fewer in each of their previous four encounters.
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Browns fans had circled December 4 on their calendar months ago, and after weeks of hype surrounding the debut of their prized off-season acquisitions, it was a relatively underwhelming encounter for Cleveland against the Houston Texans.
While they came away with a 27-14 victory, Kevin Stefanski saw his offence conjure up a mere 130 yards through the air, converting just four of its 13 third downs against the 27th-ranked defence in Houston.
It is on the ground where Cleveland have done the most damage all season, averaging 156 rushing yards per game in 2022, the fourth-highest total in the NFL.
Stopping the run, however, is a whole other story, with the Browns ranked in the bottom five regarding that this season, allowing a 5.1-yard average to running backs.
Their pass coverage is even worse, posting a rating of 102.4 to wide receivers and not doing much better versus running backs, allowing them a 96.3 rating for the season.
Defensively they are heavily dependent on their pass rush, which has racked up multiple sacks in two of the last three outings, though they failed to register one against the worst offensive unit in the NFL last Sunday.
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Team News
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Bengals wideout Ja'Marr Chase returned from injury last week, and it was as if he never left, catching seven passes for 97 yards, and Tee Higgins picked up his second touchdown catch in successive games.
Samaje Perine ran for 106 yards on 21 carries, and Joe Burrow went 25/31 for 286 yards and two TDs, while also running for a major score.
Sam Hubbard has a sack in back-to-back games as he and Joseph Ossai each tackled Mahomes once behind the line of scrimmage last week, Vonn Bell posted a team-leading five tackles, while Jessie Bates had four.
Joe Mixon sat out of their last game due to a concussion, DJ Reader took part in practice on Thursday despite previously sustaining a knock, Hayden Hurst has a calf strain and La'el Collins is dealing with an unknown injury.
A 700-day hiatus from game action seemed to take a toll on Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson, who was underwhelming, to say the least, against his former team, going 12/22 for 131 yards and an interception.
Nick Chubb was outstanding on the ground once again, racking up 80 yards on 17 carries, Donovan Peoples-Jones had three catches for 44 yards, Greg Newsome produced five tackles and Tony Fields had an interception.
Pharaoh Brown has an illness, Chase Winovich missed practice on Thursday due to a sore knee, David Njoku was limited this week for the same reason as was cornerback AJ Green.
Head To Head
Cleveland have won the last five matchups against their state rivals, including at the end of October when Jacoby Brissett found Amari Cooper for a four-yard TD catch in the third quarter while running for a score in a 32-13 triumph.
One of the most exciting games between these teams at Paul Brown Stadium occurred in 2020 as former Browns pivot Baker Mayfield tossed three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, including one to Kareem Hunt, as Cleveland triumphed 37-34.
Cincinnati last defeated the Browns in 2019 on its home field in a game where Mixon had two rushing scores, while their ex-quarterback Andy Dalton ran for a five-yard touchdown and hit CJ Uzomah for one, helping the Bengals to a 33-23 victory.
We say: Cincinnati Bengals 28-22 Cleveland Browns
The Bengals improvements on the offensive line and the return of Chase should keep Cleveland's defence on their toes throughout this encounter.
The Browns have not been able to get as much pressure on opposing QBs lately, and this Bengals offence can make you pay if you cannot find a way to pressure Burrow in the pocket.
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Joel Lefevre
