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The Week 15 slate featured a lot of good football, but now it is time to turn the page to Week 16. We are inching closer to the end of the regular season, which means playoff races have tightened up. Unfortunately, the two teams we are previewing are currently on the outside looking in. The Cleveland Browns, who have already started looking ahead to next season, will face the Cincinnati Bengals, who are doing everything they can to win out and make a playoff push.
In this article, we will recap each team’s Week 15 action and preview this matchup between the two teams.
It was a tall task for the Browns in Week 14 as they faced the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Browns hung around, but the Chiefs defense was ultimately too much for the Browns offense.
Heading into this game, Cleveland had been playing much better with QB Jameis Winston under center, but that was not the case here. Winston’s Achilles’ heel throughout his career has been his ability to protect the football, which was no different in this game. The Chiefs intercepted him three times and sacked him five times. It was a tough day for Winston, and the Browns made a QB switch to Dorian Thompson-Robinson. Unfortunately, he did not fare much better, going 4-9 with another interception.
The running game also suffered a tough loss. Veteran RB Nick Chubb, who had returned from a gruesome knee injury earlier this season, was injured again, breaking his foot. That’s a devastating blow for the Browns and Chubb after all his hard work to return. Backup RB Jerome Ford came in and had a great game, rushing for 7 carries, 84 yards and the lone Browns offensive touchdown.
As for the Browns’ pass catchers, WR Jerry Jeudy was the only one who showed up. Jeudy caught 11 of his 14 targets for 108 yards. He was the lone bright spot for this Browns team in Week 14, and we hope that continues in a favorable matchup against the Bengals.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Bengals took care of business by defeating the Tennessee Titans 37-27. The Cincinnati offense continued to roll, but they also got help from their defense. They intercepted Titans QB Will Levis three times, and when Mason Rudolph took over, they picked him off once.
QB Joe Burrow continued his strong performance down the stretch of the season. He threw for 3 touchdowns and 271 yards. He did throw 2 interceptions in this game, but they didn’t end up being costly.
Burrow connected with WR Tee Higgins for one touchdown, and Higgins finished with 5 catches for 88 yards. While Higgins had a great day, WR Ja’Marr Chase once again led the team in receiving yards. Chase finished with 9 catches for 94 yards but didn’t find the end zone. DE Sam Hubbard also caught Burrow’s second touchdown on a trick play, while RB Chase Brown caught Burrow’s final touchdown. Brown continued his strong performance down the stretch of the season, finishing with 25 carries for 97 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Brown has solidified himself as the Bengals’ lead back moving forward.
If the Bengals want any chance of making the playoffs, they must win all their remaining games. They’ve taken care of business in back-to-back weeks, and we expect that to continue this week. The Browns will face a quarterback decision this week, as they must decide whether to stick with the veteran Winston or turn to the younger Dorian Thompson-Robinson.
No matter who is under center for the Browns, we’re not sure it would matter, as we are picking the Bengals to win this game. However, that is not our main pick for this matchup between the Browns and Bengals.
We are going to ride Joe Burrow in this one. Burrow has been on fire in his past six games, throwing at least 3 touchdowns in each of them. We believe that streak will continue here. So, for our Browns vs. Bengals NFL pick, we are taking Joe Burrow to throw for 2+ touchdowns in a win against the Browns.
Dylan has had a love for sports since he was a kid. Four years ago, he decided to dive into the sports content-creating industry specializing in Fantasy Football, NFL and NBA. He has since had his work published on sites that include Fantasy Alarm, Fansided, and Fantasy Six Pack.