Joe Burrow Is Battling History Against the Browns
Credit: Kareem Elgazzar via Imagn Images
“So you’re saying there’s a chance?!”
These famous words from the world-renowned humanitarian and philosopher Lloyd Christmas are echoing in the minds of Cincinnati Bengals fans everywhere. Despite what might have been one of the worst offensive outings this year, our beloved Bengals brought home a W and have a great outlook over the next few weeks. As Joe Burrow has said a million times in his career, the Bengals are now in the we have to just take it one game at a time part of the season, and must not overlook any of these struggling teams.
Especially one team, in particular.
Every Bengals fan knows exactly who I’m referring to. It’s the Cleveland Browns, with Sunday’s game coming in the Dawg Pound. And for some weird reason, the Browns always look like Super Bowl Champions anytime they play the boys in stripes. Our Blonde-haired Boy Wonder owns a disastrous 1-6 record against the Browns, a fact that Cleveland’s fanbase will surely remind you about 37 times today. Joey B. has a career average of just 6.3 yards per completion in his head-to-head matchups against them and has at least one turnover in all but two of those games.
Now, I know what many Bengals fans are thinking: the Browns are awful this year. Like really bad. The Browns stink, and are once again the laughingstock of the NFL. To that, I say, true. But! Have you watched Cincinnati’s defense at all these past few weeks? Have you ever watched the Bengals play the Browns since 2020 or so? This isn’t exactly a guaranteed win, even if Cleveland is Dawg Doodoo.
Mr. $240,000,000 (Deshaun Watson) has thrown for horrible numbers, including only five touchdowns in six games, a pathetic 170 yards per game, and a career-low 76.6 QB rating. The Browns offensive line has also given up over 30 sacks this season, and now they face a Cincinnati defensive line that is all back and healthy. That should have every Bengals fan watering at the mouth like when Skyline offered free Mountain Dew.
But in typical fashion for both teams, I fear Watson inexplicably having a monster game this weekend. Like, that would totally happen, right? It would not only ruin the collective mood of the Queen City on Sunday, but also dash any hopes Browns fans have of getting the slightly-less-horrible Jameis Winston in games. It’d be a lose-lose all across Ohio, and that fact alone means that outcome is on the table.
Vegas agrees. Any other team that’s seen as good would be huge favorites coming into this game. While the Bengals are 2-4, they have a positive point differential and two of their losses have come against Baltimore and Kansas City. The 1-4 Browns should be no challenge at all. Instead, Vegas favors Burrow and company by just 4.5 points in Cleveland.
Heads up to Bengals fans — we’re about to delve into an ugly memory from 2022.
The last time the Bengals were betting favorites going into Cleveland was Halloween in 2022, when Vegas had Cincinnati as three-point favorites. Whoops. Jacoby Brissett and the Browns destroyed the Bengals with a 32-13 ass-whooping. That Browns team was also fourth in the AFC North at the time, but played like a dynasty. Deep down, they knew they had nothing to lose at that point and they honestly put together one of the most complete football games that I’ve ever seen a team play. I hated every second of it.
And if you feel Watson’s ineptitude makes that scenario impossible, just take a look at how the Bengals play against struggling, second-string, and rookie quarterbacks. Spoiler alert: It’s not good.
So, yeah, I’m preparing myself mentally for a gut punch on Sunday. It’s great if your confidence was boosted after an ugly win against the New York Giants, and I loved seeing Burrow being unsatisfied with the win. That’s shades of “Mamba Mentality,” if you will. Combine that with his historical struggles against Cleveland, and Joey B. has a huge chip on his shoulder. That’s when he plays his best ball.
But for the sake of playing The Devil’s Advocate: We also thought this coming into the Washington Game, when rookie QB Jayden Daniels ran all over them and the Commanders’ punter collected an unemployment check from sitting on the bench. Burrow left the previous week’s loss against the Chiefs with a stone face and looking pissed off, but it didn’t produce a guaranteed bounce-back win.
As mentioned in other articles, I love to eat crow. I want nothing more than to eat one after a Bengals win — Extra bitter, and with a side of told you so. It’s on the table, and the Bengals can run the Browns out of the building if both sides of the ball are clicking. But until the Bengals vanquish their demons against the Browns, please excuse me for not being super confident this week.
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