Despite losing two of his top three wide receivers and already missing his top tight end, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow did enough to snap their five-game losing streak to the Cleveland Browns and his personal four-game losing streak against the in-state rival with a 23-10 win on Sunday afternoon. Wide receiver Tee Higgins exited early with a hamstring injury, wide receiver Tyler Boyd left the game with a finger/hand injury issue and tight end Hayden Hurst didn't suit up in Week 14 with a calf injury.
Burrow did just enough, throwing for 239 yards, two passing touchdowns and an interception on 18-of-33 passing. The same couldn't be said for Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson. He threw for 276 yards, an interception for the second straight game, and his first Browns touchdown pass, a 13-yarder to tight end David Njoku, on 26-of-42 passing.
The action started slowly with five of the first six possessions for the Browns and Bengals resulting in punts, with the exception of a Cleveland turnover on downs from the Cincinnati 25. The Bengals' first touchdown came when Burrow connected with his go-to-guy Ja'Marr Chase for a 15-yard score. Chase's receiving touchdown was the 20th of his career, making him and Hall of Famer Randy Moss the only players in NFL history with 2,000 or more receiving yards and 20 or more receiving touchdowns at age 22 or younger. Chase finished with 119 receiving yards and the 15-yard touchdown on 10 catches.
Cincinnati was aided by plenty of Browns bungles on the drive, with three penalties resulting in first downs, including a roughing penalty on the Browns when Cincinnati punted the football away on fourth-and-15. Cleveland was called for seven penalties in the first half, which resulted in 83 free yards to the Bengals. Cincinnati struck again with 24 seconds left in the half as backup running back Samaje Perine bounced a run outside for a six-yard rushing score. A missed extra point resulted in the 13-3 halftime score.
The Bengals appeared to have the game in control following a perfectly executed flea-flicker for a 45-yard touchdown from Burrow to receiver Trenton Irwin that put them up 20-3 halfway through the third quarter. A Watson interception to Bengals safety Jessie Bates III came only four plays after a Bengals field goal put Cincinnati ahead by 13 points, 23-10, after he stared down his intended target, Donovan Peoples-Jones, for way too long. His inability to get the ball out quickly indicated there's still plenty of rust yet to be cleaned off him after he missed a season-and-a-half of NFL action.
However, Burrow countered with an interception of his own five plays after Watson's when Browns defensive end Jadeveon Clowney tipped a pass at the line of scrimmage, causing the ball to fall into the arms of Browns linebacker Deion Jones. Watson couldn't make the most of his defense's takeaway, throwing three consecutive incompletions after reaching second-and-goal from the Bengals' six. The last ill-fated throw appeared to hit Peoples-Jones in the chest, but a hit from Cincinnati cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt jarred the football loose and to the ground.
The Bengals defense brought their A+ game Sunday, which was needed with the offense struggling without its primary playmakers. Holding Browns running back Nick Chubb, who entered Sunday as the NFL's second-leading rusher, to 34 yards on 14 carries is an impressive feat. The victory allowed Cincinnati to win its fifth straight game to keep pace with the Baltimore Ravens, also 9-4, atop the AFC North through 14 weeks of football.
Why the Bengals won
Their defense won over and over again at the line of scrimmage Sunday, shutting down Nick Chubb, the heart of the Browns' offense. Putting the game squarely in Deshaun Watson's hands in just his second NFL game in 707 days was likely their game plan, and it was executed perfectly. The Cleveland quarterback just couldn't make the game-swinging play in the red zone when the Browns desperately needed him to do so.
With their offense looking very streaking down three key pass-catchers, running back Joe Mixon returned from a two-game absence due to injury with 96 yards on 14 carries, nearly seven yards a rush. His production helped the Bengals offense bleed away enough clock at critical moments to secure a double-digit triumph.
Why the Browns lost
When the Browns beat the Bengals back in Week 8 on "Monday Night Football," Nick Chubb was the star of the show, running for 101 yards and two touchdowns. On Sunday: 34 yards on 14 carries for 2.4 yards a run. That's not going to cut it for a Browns team trying to assimilate a new quarterback in the final quarter of the season, especially one that hadn't played NFL football for a year-and-a-half until last week.
Turning point and play of the game
The perfectly executed flea-flicker for a 45-yard touchdown from Joe Burrow to wide receiver Trenton Irwin that put them up 20-3 halfway through the third quarter stands as both the turning point and the play of the game. The way both teams were struggling to score, a three-possession lead felt like a 35-point advantage. Even the most optimistic Browns fan had to know deep down their squad wasn't winning, trailing by three scores the way Nick Chubb and their offensive line struggled all afternoon.
What's next
Up next, the Bengals hit the road and head down to Tampa to face Tom Brady and the NFC South-leading Buccaneers. The Browns are now down and out in the AFC playoff hunt, dropping to 5-8, with a showdown against those 9-4 Ravens in Cleveland looming in Week 15.