Bengals @ Browns
Final Score: Bengals 21, Browns 14
Writer: Matt Bevins (MattBQBList on Reddit/X)
The Cincy and Cleveland rivalry is as timeless as their passion for chili mixed with pasta. Unfortunately for Cleveland fans, their love of football has taken a large hit with the arrival of Deshaun Watson. While paying him one of the largest contracts the league had yet to see, they are now hamstrung by poor quarterbacking and a lack of leadership behind the center. However, Cincinnati has the exact opposite trajectory, as Joe Burrow is basically the city’s leader and is finally morphing into the elite option expected when he was drafted. The good news is Nick Chubb, the true heart of the Browns, returns to the field this week. While the game came down to a single touchdown, it seemed a lot less like a nailbiter and more like the Bengals doing merely what was necessary to win and not much more.
Three Up
- Cincinnati D/ST – I would be doing a disservice if we didn’t at least give some kudos to Charlie Jones and his ability to kill many first-touchdown parlays that had JaMarr Chase set up as the #1 option. He had a 100-yard kick return with some panache at the end as he broke a tackle and did a tiny stop in mid-air to get his feet inbounds before he dove into the endzone.
- Burrow-to-Chase Connection – My word, this is just the duo that is going to burn their way through the NFL this year. Another week, another touchdown partnership between the two. Over the past five games, Chase has six touchdowns to his name and is looking like he’ll be a prolific deep threat in the NFL for years to come.
- Jameis Winston – The team and fanbase collectively held their breath, then wondered as Deshaun Watson faced an injury that could likely sideline him for quite some time. While he didn’t play the entire game, Winston may end up being the quarterback to have in Cleveland and could make this offense a bit more exciting, as he’s known to be the premier “buck it and chuck it” guy in the NFL.
Three Down
- Cleveland fans – I’m sorry Cleveland fans. This is just a tough one to watch. A quarterback who can’t throw accurately. The best player in the past two decades just came back and will likely face stacked boxes for the rest of the year. While I’m no fan, I hope you guys catch some luck sometime soon.
- Cincinnati rushing game – This one is just impossible to predict. The ascension of Chase Brown has made Zack Moss a wasted mid-draft pick. PFF.com has Zack Moss as a subpar rusher this year, while Chase Brown is ten points ahead in their rankings. Moss looks incredibly lost and unable to break away from coverage. Brown looks like the clear winner in this backfield.
- Deshaun Watson– this one kind of explains itself, unfortunately.
Cincinnati Bengals
Quarterback
Joe Burrow: 15/25, 181 Yards, 2 TD’s | 3 carries, -3 yards
Joe Shiesty is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league, and it looks like he’s finally getting away from the injury that caused his season to start slowly. Even while it wasn’t the prettiest box score, he still managed to get the win for his team and connect with Jamarr Chase for a touchdown. Burrow’s strongest asset may just be finding his studs, as he will always find Chase and Tee Higgins when they are on the field, to the tune of 14 of his 25 targets on the game. Burrow’s touchdown to Chase was a sweet little thing of beauty, as Burrow found Chase in the corner of the end zone, and Chase made a full stop right in the front corner edge of the endzone, stopping exactly where he needed to be to catch the ball dropped in for him.
https://x.com/NFLTDsVideos/status/1848078699725230087
Running Back
Chase Brown: 15 carries, 44 yards |2 targets, 2 receptions, 9 yards
Zack Moss: 6 carries, 7 yards | 3 targets, 3 receptions, 33 yards
This is one of the least exciting, least conclusive backfields we may see for a long time. While Chase Brown is finding himself the lead back coming out of the locker room, he’ll likely see less in the way of the passing game (as we also saw today). Brown has been averaging just under five yards per carry, but today he couldn’t sniff three yards per carry. While the Browns have a bottom-10 defense so far this season, they made solid work of keying up on Moss and Brown before they could break free. We likely won’t see much of the backfield change going forward, as the carry rates will likely remain three Brown to one Moss for distribution.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Tee Higgins: 8 targets, 4 receptions, 82 yards, 1 TD
JaMarr Chase: 6 targets, 5 receptions, 55 yards, 1 TD | 1 carry, 11 yards
Mike Gesicki: 1 target, 1 reception, 2 yards
Other players were targeted one time or less but didn’t reel in their lone target. For brevity’s sake, these are the three that are the core benefactors in Burrow’s passing offense. As mentioned above, Burrow thrives on finding his best players and targeting them early and often. Burrow faced an uphill battle most of the game with a highly charged Jim Schwartz defense pushing through into the backfield much quicker than was anticipated. While Higgins and Chase ate in this game and ended each with a touchdown, Moss and Brown both saw some check-down activity as well. Chase is having an amazing run, as over his last five games he’s just under 500 yards with 6 touchdowns, but it’s all due to the return of Tee Higgins in week 3. Chase and Higgins will continue to dominate the targets with the duo eating almost 50 percent of all targets here. While one may pull multiple defenders, one of them seemingly always ends up open. Higgins had one of his best showings thus far this season and showed how he can be an impressive option in the slot. Seeing the slot in 31 percent of his snaps today, Higgins was used more for the middle of the field, while Chase took down the bigger play role when needed. Higgins also averaged over ten yards per reception and was able to make the most of his targets.
Cleveland Browns
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson: 15/17, 128 yards | 2 carries, 0 yards
Dorian Thompson-Robinson: 11/24, 82 yards, 2 INT’s | 3 carries, 44 yards
Jameis Winston: 5/11, 67 yards, 1 TD
The story of the day will be the injury that caused Deshaun Watson’s season to likely end here. Stepping back to plant and throw, his foot seemed to almost collapse and the fear was it was his Achilles. While the Browns have heard murmurs and fan commentary cheered down at the team, you will likely now see one of either Dorian Thompson-Robinson or Jameis Winston taking over full-time as the starting quarterback. As the team is now going into Week 8 next Sunday at 1-6, they likely won’t go out of the house for a new passer.
Winston ultimately had the worst stat line, but also seems to be the name of choice I think will be first in line to start. A prolific ball-hucker, Winston brought some insane stat lines to his name back in New Orleans, and could likely give a new shape to the offense in Cleveland. While there isn’t a litany of weapons, Thompson-Robinson is a very low-ceiling version of a passing quarterback, and Winston will be a “What-If?” that Cleveland will likely want to see. There wasn’t much to be documented here, as both quarterbacks were given opportunities in a throwaway game for their record.
Thompson did try and spice up the offense a bit, showcasing his rushing prowess, and throwing some solid check-down passes, but his arm strength isn’t much to get excited about. The playbook will likely be brought down for him. That said, the first pick thrown was 100 percent not on him, as the ball deflected off a receiver’s hands who stepped in front of the intended receiver.
Running Back
Nick Chubb: 11 carries, 22 yards, 1 TD | 3 targets, 1 reception, 10 yards
Pierre Strong: 3 carries, 6 yards | 3 targets, 1 reception, 9 yards
D’Onta Foreman: 2 carries, 5 yards
The backfield lost a contributor in Jerome Ford last week in their loss, but they also received Nick Chubb just one day short of 400 days away. His stat line wasn’t too exciting, but he did score a touchdown on a brute force run in the first half, helping to bolster a 2-yard per carry day. Chubb will only continue to get stronger as he gets back into game shape and gets his rushing role back down. For that reason, Ford is likely disposable, and any secondary value you saw for Pierre Strong and D’Onta Foreman is gone. Chubb also profiles as a great backfield blocker and will continue on plays to keep defenders from his quarterback.
If the quarterback ends up being Robinson, the backfield will also lose touches in rushing plays to him as well. While it may only be for half a season, it looks as if the Browns are willing to get Chubb up to 20 carries per game as the season progresses.
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Cedric Tillman: 12 targets, 8 receptions, 81 yards
David Njoku: 14 targets, 10 receptions, 76 yards, 1 TD
Jordan Akins: 4 targets, 4 receptions, 42 yards
Elijah Moore: 7 targets, 6 receptions, 41 yards
Jerry Jeudy: 5 targets,1 reception, 18 yards
While the Browns lost Watson unexpectedly on Sunday, the Browns also lost Amari Cooper earlier this week, as they moved him over to the Buffalo Bills. With the move of Cooper to Buffalo, the offensive game for the Browns becomes more open. With the loss of Watson, it may also see more completions. Just in his third season, Cedric Tillman had his best showcase on Sunday, converting 66.6 percent of his targets into receptions, and he has put himself squarely in line to be a #1/2 option in an offense that desperately needs mouths to feed. Tillman’s stock went up while Jerry Jeudy’s stock went down, as Jeudy could be seen throwing helmets on the sideline. The team will now look to divide their looks between Tillman, David Njoku, and Jerry Jeudy, but there may not be too much to be juiced from this rock. If Jameis Winston was to receive the nod at quarterback, we could likely look back at this for some more value, but for the time being it looks like Tillman may be an intriguing player who needs to continue to see targets for another week before we are at all interested.