Nick Chubb ignited the crowd with power runs and this vault over Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton. (Cleveland Browns)
Browns awaken from dead, spook Bengals on Halloween night
You must have an active subscription to read this story.
Click Here to subscribe Now!
Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Instant takeaways from Browns' 32-13 win over Cincinnati Bengals …
1. Staying alive: Save the flowers and the sympathy card for another day. The Browns aren’t dead just yet. Facing virtual elimination from reasonable post-season hopes, they put together their best game of the year and spread their hex over the Bengals and Joe Burrow on Halloween night. They blew out the defending AFC Champions, 32-13, to end a four-game losing streak and reach their bye week with a 3-5 record. More importantly, they rose to 2-1 in AFC North games. The Bengals fell to 4-4, a game behind first-place Baltimore. The defeat is a serious blow to the Bengals’ hopes to repeat as division champs. It dropped them to 0-3 in division games with three to play. No team has won the AFC North the past 10 years with fewer than four wins in the division. The Browns have won five in a row over the Bengals under coach Kevin Stefanski. Burrow, native of Athens, OH, ran his record to 0-4 against the team he rooted for as a kid.
2. What streak?: The Bengals had not allowed a touchdown in the second half through their first seven games. The Browns ended that streak by scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions after halftime. All the drives were spurred by Nick Chubb’s running and Jacoby Brissett’s passing. Brissett scored the first one on a 3-yard run and dive for the short left pylon. He threw for the second one on a fade of four yards to Amari Cooper. Chubb scored the third one on an 11-yard run. Brissett’s 53-yard bomb to Amari Cooper set up the touchdown.
3. Offensive explosion: Brissett had his best game as a Brown (17 of 22 for 278 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 1 lost fumble, 133.7 rating). Cooper had five catches on seven targets for 131 yards and 1 TD. Chubb had 101 yards and 2 TD on 23 carries. In the last game before Tuesday’s trade deadline, Kareem Hunt was on the field with Chubb for several plays and had 42 yards rushing and 30 receiving.
4. Chase, rattle and roll: Burrow missed injured Ja’Marr Chase, his top receiver, badly. He spent the first three quarters mostly dumping off to running back Joe Mixon and dodging pressure from Joe Woods’ revved-up pass rush. Burrow was sacked five times, lost a fumble and was intercepted once. Burrow fell behind, 25-0, before scoring touchdowns on a 13-yard pass to Tyler Boyd and a 41-yard throw to Tee Higgins. Myles Garrett, who predicted a rebound performance for the defense, turned in 1.5 sacks and tipped the Burrow pass that was intercepted.
5. Defensive awakening: The first half was a defensive slugfest. Both teams had two defensive takeaways. Burrow lost a fumble on one of his three sacks and also tossed an interception on a pass deflected by Myles Garrett. Brissett lost a fumble on a strip-sack and Amari Cooper tossed an interception an ill-conceived gadget play. Both teams missed a field goal. Evan McPherson’s miss from 47 yards with 40 seconds left in the first half set up a Cade York retort from 55. York made it on the final play of the first half to give the Browns an 11-0 lead.
6. Chubb! Chubb! Chubb!: The only touchdown was scored on a 3-yard run by Nick Chubb on a direct snap after Brissett motioned out of the quarterback position. After a Cincinnati penalty prior to the PAT, the Browns elected to try for 2 from the 1-yard line. Chubb powered through a giant jumbo formation for the 2-point play. Chubb ignited the crowd with his spirited running, but Brissett made two big throws to convert third downs – a drop-it-in-the-bucket to Cooper for 29 yards, and then a back-shoulder pass for 18 more to Cooper. Brissett was outplaying Burrow at the half.
7. Big loss: The Bengals suffered a big loss to their defense when cornerback Chidobe Awuzie left with a knee injury in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, they lost cornerback Tre Flowers to a hamstring injury. The Bengals began the game without their other starter, Eli Apple.
8. Lost opportunity: Burrow had thrown one interception in his last six games. But the Browns picked him in the first quarter when Garrett tipped Burrow’s pass and A.J. Green intercepted. A runback to the Bengals’ 15 was nullified when Green was ruled down by contact at the Browns’ 16. The Browns made it to their 35 and then suffered a Jedrick Wills holding call, a Brissett sack, and a short gain to set up a long field goal. York’s 53-yard kick was summarily blocked by B.J. Hill. That was the second blocked field goal in a row against the Browns.
9. Touche: After a Kevin Huber shank punt of 23 yards to the Browns’ 31, Brissett completed a first-down pass to David Bell for 13 yards. Then … this happened: Brissett handed off to Chubb, Chubb lateraled to Cooper, and Cooper’s pass intended for Michael Woods was intercepted by safety Vonn Bell. Woods never turned his head and ran a deep post. Would love to have heard Peyton Manning’s analysis of that play on the Manning Cast.
10. Count to 11: The Browns deferred the opening kickoff. On their first defensive play of the game, they were flagged for 12 on the field.
11. Happy Halloween: Several Browns arrived at the game in Halloween costumes. Among them were Myles Garrett (dressed as Vecna from Stranger Things), KareemA Hunt (the Joker), Isaiah Thomas (Michael Myers), Perrion Winfrey (Michael Myers), John Johnson (Julius Caesar), Donovan Peoples-Jones (Power Ranger), Anthony Schwartz (Inosuke Hashibira), Greg Newsome (scary clown), D’Ernest Johnson (Ninja Turtle) and M.J. Emerson (skeleton).
12. Pre-game notes: Along with cornerback Denzel Ward (concussion), guard Wyatt Teller (calf) and tight end David Njoku (high ankle), who previously declared out, linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (knee) shoed up on the Browns’ inactive list. Also, defensive tackle Perrion Winfrey was a healthy scratch. Prior to the game, the Browns signed practice squad cornerbacks Thomas Graham and Herb Miller to their 53, and used weekly PS elevations on tight end Miller Forristall and linebacker Dakota Allen.
