Hi Browns fans, welcome to week 8 of the 2022 NFL season. Monday the Browns (2-5) return to First Energy Stadium for a nationally televised Monday Night Football game against their instate rival Cincinnati Bengals (4-3).
It’s still early in the season, however the Browns after having lost their last 4 games need a win in this game if they are to remain in contention for the playoffs. The Bengals on the other hand have won 4 of their last 5 games and are 1 game behind the Baltimore Ravens for the lead in AFC North.
Burke’s Public House, where we usually gather, will be closed on Monday and following Monday night’s game the Browns will have a bye week so the next time the Chicago Browns Backers will gather will be at noon Sunday November 13 against the Miami Dolphins.
Despite winning the AFC last year the Bengals have lost their last 4 games against the Browns and in his 2 years in the NFL Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow has never beaten the Browns. The Bengals are coming off a 35-17 win over the Atlanta Falcons and they are looking to keep pace with the division leading Ravens who won on Sunday. The Bengals are led by second year QB Joe Burrow.
The first thing you notice in watching video of Burrow is his accuracy in throwing the football. He consistently hits his receivers while they are in motion which allows them to gain lots of additional yards after the catch. Burrow is currently the # 3 passer in the league having thrown for 2,097 yards with 15 TD passes with 5 interceptions. He’s completing 68.9% of his passes and he has a QB rating of 102.7 which is 5th in the NFL. Burrow, playing behind a revamped offensive line, has been sacked 24 times, second most in the NFL.
If the Browns are going to beat the Bengals they are going to have to consistently pressure Burrow to keep him from getting comfortable in the pocket. Throwing from a clean pocket Burrow is completing 73.2% of his passes with 11 TD’s and 4 interceptions and a QB rating of 105.8, however when pressured he’s completing only 50% of his passes with a QB rating of 88.7. Burrow spends most of his time in a shotgun formation and the vast majority of his passes are under 10 yards, where he has a completion rate of 83% with 7 TD’s and only one interception. Because he frequently hits his receivers in stride over the middle Browns defensive backs and linebackers are going to need to consistently tackle after the catch to prevent big gains after short passes. Burrow will be without his favorite target, WR JaMarr Chase who’s injured, however he will still have 3 veteran receivers in wide outs Tee Higgins who’s caught 31 of 43 passes for 455 yards and Tyler Boyd who’s caught 29 of 37 passes along with tight end Hayden Hurst who’s caught 29 of 36 passes thrown his way. Both Higgins and Boyd average more than 5 yards after their catches. The Bengals rely on RB Joe Mixon for their running game and so far this season he’s averaging only 3.3 yards per rush, however he’s caught 27 passes for 182 yards.
Overall the Bengals are averaging 24.7 points per game and scoring TD’s 63.6% of their red zone possessions. They have converted 49.5% of their 3rd downs tries which is 3rd in the NFL. Their short passing game allows them to control the tempo of the game, they are currently #2 in the NFL in time of possession. On defense, the Bengals don’t have a lot of star players, according to Pro Football Focus only 1 of their defensive starters, DE Trey Henderson, grades out in the top 20 players at their position, however they are very effective giving up only 18.9 points per game which is 6th in the NFL. Remarkably through 7 games no team has scored a touchdown on them in the second half and opponents are only averaging 3.9 points against them in the second half. They are also #1 in the NFL in 4th down defense with teams converting only 14.3% of 4th down attempts. The Bengals rarely beat themselves as they average less than 5 penalties per game for 33 years. If the Browns are going to beat them they will need to control the ball with their rushing attack and controlled passing game as the Cincinnati defense gives up 4.6 yards per rush which is 19th in the league and they are 25th in sack percentage.