It's Round 2 of the Battle of Ohio today at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati! The Browns have won their last two games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Houston Texans. But they face a surging Bengals team that has won six of their last seven games. Their last loss? A 32-13 Halloween nightmare loss to the Browns. So you can bet they're extremely hungry for a shot at revenge! But Cleveland has had their number. The Browns have won the last five games in the rivalry, and Bengals signal caller Joe Burrow has yet to beat Cleveland, going 0-4 in four starts. How can that trend continue? Let's take a look the Keys to Victory!
Run the rock!
Broken record, anybody? But if it ain't broke, don't fix it! This has been Cleveland's bread and butter for when they've done well. And they're going to need to do it again to have a great chance to pull off the minor upset in The Jungle.
In the last game against the Bengals, Nick Chubb hammered away at the Cincinnati defense, running the ball 23 times for 101 yards and two touchdowns. And running the football effectively and consistently will keep Cincinnati's surging offense off the field. They can't make big plays happen or score in bunches if they don't have the football. Ball control and playing keep away is priority #1 for Cleveland today. Even though Cincinnati is doing fairly well against the run (4.1 yards per carry), the Browns need to keep feeding the machine and powering the motor of this offense.
Get after Joe Burrow
The Bengals have surrendered two sacks or less in their last four games. But those four teams didn't have Myles Garrett. One player doesn't determine whether a team wins or loses. This isn't basketball. But Garrett has such an impact on the game, that he can force an offense's hand even when he doesn't get home to sack the quarterback. Opposing offensive coordinators have to gameplan around him so much, that it frees everyone else up when the Browns are playing well.
But he'll still have to lead the charge today. He's had at least a sack in the last five games, and he had a sack and a half against the Bengals in their last game, while the entire defensive front feasted, racking up five sacks. The Browns will have to test a Cincinnati offensive line that seems like they've gotten their act together.
Force turnovers
Turnovers are the great equalizer. Should the Bengals beat the Browns today? Yes. Are they the better team on paper? By far. But turnovers can give an underdog an opening. It can give a team that isn't favored to win that puncher's chance to KO the opponent. The Browns forced four turnovers at Houston last week, and scored a pair of defensive touchdowns. Yes, the team they played was downright awful. But if I'm a guy on that defense? Last week gave me a shot of confidence, and I'm hungry to force more turnovers, no matter who the team is!
Sacking Joe Burrow and forcing turnovers might go hand in hand. If the Browns defensive front consistently pins their ears back and getting after him, he's more likely to make mistakes, or not take care of the football. The defensive front and secondary should be licking their chops today. They know they can make big plays happen if they wreak enough havoc!
Will the Browns make it six straight victories in the Battle of Ohio, and continue a possible late push? Or will Joe Burrow finally get the 800-pound gorilla off his back by beating Cleveland, and continue to lead a hot Cincinnati team in their march toward the Playoffs? It all goes down at 1 PM on CBS! GO BROWNS!
Picture Credit: clutchpoints.com
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