Cincinnati And Cleveland Were A Tale Of Two Cities Sunday
Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
“Effort without talent is a depressing situation … But talent without effort is a tragedy.” – Mike Ditka, November 5, 2013
“Luck is a very thin wire between survival and disaster and not many people can keep their balance on it.” – Hunter S. Thompson, undated
Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season was anything but lucky for several teams. Daniel Jones would never admit it, but he may have been happy to see the bench after being sacked eight times as Saquon Barkley ran wild against his former team. Likewise, Bryce Young may have been quite content to hold a clipboard given the Washington Commanders’ utter decimation of his Carolina Panthers team, despite Jayden Daniels suffering a rib injury in the first quarter. First-year New England Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo certainly did himself no favors in publicly calling his entire team “soft” after their defeat to the Jacksonville Jaguars across the pond.
But on a day where lineup shuffles and quarterback miscues were on full display throughout the league, the Cincinnati Bengals matchup against their AFC North rivals, the Cleveland Browns, in the 102nd “Battle of Ohio” may have taken the cake. The Bengals’ 21-14 win was nowhere near as close as the final score may have one believe.
Moreover, it was a microcosm of the state of both teams in the present day, a situation where one team is trending towards yet another tragedy and the other continues to walk the line between marvelous and mediocre.
The Browns have been, are, and — unfortunately for their fans — will likely continue to be a hot mess for the remainder of the 2024 season and beyond. It’s already been rough week for Cleveland sports fans as is, following the New York Yankees advancing to the World Series on the Guardians’ home field. Even worse, news also broke that the team will be abandoning its current home, Huntington Bank Field. A new domed stadium in the suburb of Brooke Park may cost the city’s downtown an estimated $30 million annually, and a prime piece of lakefront real estate is set to become vacant in the process. While a deal on the new stadium is far from done, it was one more stake through the heart of the ‘Land by Browns owners Jimmy and Dee Haslam.
No one should be surprised, though. For if there’s one thing that the Browns have excelled in since coming back to the NFL in 1999, it’s bad decisions — and their quarterback situation is obviously the greatest example. Deshaun Watson — arguably the most hated athlete in Cleveland since Michael Jordan post-“The Shot” — had his Achilles do what many Browns fans wish they could do to his $230 million guaranteed contract: tear up.
As for Jameis Winston, the backup QB their fans had all been clamoring for? Oh, the team just demoted him to the third emergency quarterback in favor of second-year man Dorian Thompson-Robinso … Only for him to leave with a finger injury, forcing Winston into action. Back to Watson, he has been two things — terrible and injured — ever since coming to Cleveland, today being the coup de grace that will likely cost Kevin Stefanski his job sooner than later.
It didn’t have to be this way, however. Not if Cleveland hadn’t dumped Baker Mayfield, the only quarterback to lead the Browns to a playoff birth since 2002 and defeated the rival Pittsburgh Steelers 48-37 in the postseason. Instead, Cleveland is paying dead money to a quarterback its fans hate (this time, for actual football reasons). Star defensive end Myles Garrett is soldiering on despite looking like Ric Flair at his last Wrestlemania… And would-be No. 1 receiver Amari Cooper? He’s catching passes for a playoff contender in Buffalo now. But don’t worry, Browns fans — you’ve still got Jerry Jeudy and the 18 yards on his one catch on Sunday.
While the Browns have lost five straight, the Bengals have now won three of their last four games in a row — despite giving their opponents plenty of opportunities to snatch victory from the hands of defeat. Former Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton was let down by his Carolina Panthers’ lackluster receiving core, letting Cincinnati escape. Any level of competency would have made their Week 6 win against the New York Giants much more competitive. Likewise, while the Browns did everything possible to lose on Sunday. Once Winston got into the game, the Browns started cooking like crab legs in a steam pot.
The Bengals’ first score of the game came on a phenomenal opening kickoff return by Charlie Jones. Then their offense’s first-half point total (0) was eclipsed by the number of injuries to Watson (1). All but one drive in the first half resulted in a punt — the one exception being a turnover on downs.
But finally, the offense would get going in the third quarter, with Joe Burrow tossing touchdowns to Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase, respectively. The fourth quarter would bring nothing but a punt, a missed Evan McPherson field goal, and another punt before kneel-downs ended the game.
Everyone knows wins are hard to come by in the NFL. As baseball Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez once said, “I’d rather be lucky than good,” and that feels like an appropriate motto for the 2024 Bengals to date.
Considering the bad luck of a blown touchdown call by the officials in Week 1 against the New England Patriots, the questionable calls against them in Kansas City in Week 2, and that failed field goal in Week 5 against Baltimore, and the Bengals could be 6-2. The reality, however, is that they are 3-4 and still struggling for the one thing every champion needs: consistency.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, they have a real Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde situation happening with their offense and defense. For when one shines, the other seems to sputter — and they are a box of chocolates from one week to the next.
Given their current play, both Cincinnati and Cleveland could be headed to a crossroads by the time their next matchup rolls around in Week 16. Where might each team go from there? Nobody knows.
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