Joe Burrow wasn't happy with questions about his 0-3 record against the Browns this week. (The Enquirer)
Is it possible the Bengals are more desperate for a win than the Browns?
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Four downs on Browns (2-5) v. Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)
First down: Critical crucial.
The Browns’ 23-20 loss in Baltimore last week robbed their fans, again, of big-event football from a bygone era – a prime-time game for first place in the division. Because of the loss, the Browns are merely tethering to their final grasp of relevance. A win breathes life into the bye week. A loss would drop them to 2-6 overall and 1-2 in the division. Euthanasia of the season would then be in order. Believe it or not, the game may be more important to the Bengals. They are 0-2 in the division after losses by three points to Pittsburgh and Baltimore. No team has won the AFC North the past 10 seasons with fewer than four wins in the division. Which means they can’t lose another one. Yes, a wild card would still be doable for the Bengals after a 4-4 start. But they still have games left against three first-place teams – Tennessee, Kansas City and Buffalo. So beating the Browns, which would snap an 0-4 losing streak to them, would appear paramount to the Bengals. “We want to win this game, which would involve breaking the streak,” left tackle Jonah Williams said to reporters in Cincinnati. “But there’s a million reasons why this is a huge game for us, and that’s not one we’re thinking about.”
Second down: They’re going streakin’.
Joe Burrow is 0-3 against the Browns. Kevin Stefanski is 4-0 against the Bengals. I’m not sure which streak is more improbable. Slight nod to Burrow’s, I guess. It’s not as if Burrow’s been to blame for the three losses. As a rookie in 2020, he threw for 722 yards and six touchdowns and one interception in two losses – 35-30 and 37-34. His worst game came last year when Denzel Ward’s 99-yard Pick 6 ignited the worst game of the Burrow-Ja’Marr Chase era – at LSU or Cincinnati. Burrow went on to win eight of his next 10 games before losing in the Super Bowl to the Rams. Does this little statistical quirk bother Burrow? You bet. “Those are in the past,” Burrow said sternly when pressed on his feelings this week. Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan offered some insight on Burrow’s mindset this week. “He certainly is looking to notch himself a win,” Callahan said. “You can feel it from him. His intensity is ramped up. These are the games that matter as you go down the middle of the season into the stretch. You’ve got to pick up division wins. We haven’t done that yet. So I think he’s on edge this week a little bit. He’s ready to go.” Burrow will have to do it without Chase, who is out with a hip injury.
Third down: Now, that’s a defense.
The Bengals’ defense is the antithesis of the Browns’. They have no big names. They are overshadowed by their offensive teammates. They exceed expectations. They are in the top five or six in the league in efficiency, depending on the metric. They are top five in tackling. They have given up zero touchdowns in the second half of games all year. (The Browns have given up 11).
Fourth down: So, they meet again..
Should the game come down to the kickers, it would renew a rivalry born in a 2020 SEC game between LSU and Florida. This was the year after LSU’s national championship season, when Burrow had a year never seen before nor matched since, and York, as a freshman, made 89 of 93 PATs. (Eighty-nine PATs? That’s crazy.) Anyways, the next year, Burrow was drafted No. 1 overall and LSU wasn’t very good. But Florida, ranked No. 6, had a chance for a national playoff berth. York became an LSU legend by converting a 57-yard field goal through a dense fog to give LSU a 37-34 lead with :23 to go. What’s been forgotten is that Florida still had a chance to tie the game, but Evan McPherson missed a 51-yard field goal with four seconds left. Fast forward to the NFL. As a rookie McPherson made 12 of 12 field goals and 8 of 8 PATs in Cincinnati’s post-season march to the Super Bowl. His success inspired the Browns to use a fourth-round draft pick on York. This year, McPherson is 11 of 13 on field goals – including makes from 59, 50, 57 and 52 yards. He missed from 29 and 41. McPherson is 16 of 17 on PATs for a total of 49 points. York is 13 of 16 on field goals, with makes from 58 and 51. He missed from 45, 54 and 60 (blocked). York is 15 of 17 on PATs for a total of 54 points. This is their first meeting since that epic game in Tallahassee, FL. So if Burrow has a score to settle, so does McPherson.
The pick: Bengals 27, Browns 17.
My record: 3-4.
