Bengals Bytes (11/26): Could Hue Jackson still make a return?

Browns vs. Bengals: Keys to the Game
Browns rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer needs to bounce back after four turnovers last week in a 19-7 loss to the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars. He had two interceptions and two lost fumbles on strip sacks. The Bengals have the NFL’s 12th-ranked overall defense (323 yards allowed per game) and sixth-ranked pass defense (200.6 yards allowed per game). “I have to make sure that I am locked in on every rep and that I have the proper grip on the ball and get the ball to the guy no matter what the means,” Kizer said.

Cleveland Browns look to end Cincinnati Bengals' Battle of Ohio win streak: Crowquill
Today, the Cleveland Browns (0-10) visit their in-state rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals (4-6), for the second installment this season of the Battle of Ohio between two teams created by Paul Brown. The Bengals lead the series, 49-39, and have won the last six meetings with the Browns, starting with a 30-0 win in 2014 and including their 31-7 win in October at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Browns vs. Bengals: Storylines
The Browns are still searching for their first win this season. They are the third team in NFL history to start consecutive seasons 0-10 or worse, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The others were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1976-1977) and the Houston Oilers (1983-1984). The Browns went 0-14 last season before winning their next-to-last game. They finished a franchise-worst 1-15, and are 4-43 since late in the 2014 season, the worst 47-game stretch in NFL history.

NFL Week 12: What to watch for in Bengals vs Browns part two
The Cincinnati Bengals will be doing something on Sunday that fans didn’t think would be happening. When the 4-6 Bengals tangle with the 0-10 Cleveland Browns, they’ll be playing to look capable and relevant for a playoff spot at the end of the season. After losing to Jacksonville and the Titans, the Jim Mora memes were starting to pop up around Cincy on social media. But, now, the buzz is all about getting to the dance again.

TDBH: Bengals defense pulls rank in first Marvin shutout
Marvin Lewis arrived as head coach with game balls from three shutouts his Ravens defense authored over the Bengals and now he has his first one as a head coach after today’s 30-0 victory over the Browns. The Bengals defense that comes into the game ranked dead last in the NFL leaves with its first shutout since Dec. 3, 1989 in, of all places, Cleveland. After allowing the third-most yards in team history last week against New Orleans (595), the Bengals hold the Browns to just 203 total yards, 51 on the ground, and just nine first downs, all season lows. "Maybe we'll move up now, huh?" says strong safety Kevin Kaesviharn, who contributes two of the defense's four interceptions and one of their four sacks.

Media Roundtable: Bengals need it, Browns want it
The script is Shakespeare and if Sunday’s Battle of Ohio (1 p.m.-Cincinnati’s Channel 12) at Paul Brown Stadium is to be a Bengals’ victory or not to be a stunning loss to the win-starved Browns the hosts hope to keep playing like they did in the fourth quarter of last week’s victory in Denver and find a way to close it out.

TDBH: Bengals stifle Palmer in PBS return
On a day the Bengals defense gets to Cincinnati's old franchise quarterback Carson Palmer with four sacks and an estimated 13 hits, the leader of the Bengals offense gets ejected trying to protect current franchise quarterback Andy Dalton during a now-you’ve-seen-a-little-bit-of everything 34-10 victory over the Raiders at Paul Brown Stadium that gives them their third straight victory and puts them into the thick of the AFC Wild Card chase at 6-5. There is also: the longest field goal in Bengals history with Mike Nugent’s 55-yarder, the two longest runs in the career of Bengals running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Palmer’s return to PBS for the first time since he staged a walkout of the 2011 Bengals before last year’s deadline-day trade with Oakland.

Would the Bengals hire Hue Jackson to replace Marvin Lewis despite his losing Browns' record?
Yes, I think the Bengals would still hire Jackson if Lewis decides to hang it up after this season. After the 2015 season, Bengals owner Mike Brown, who has a close relationship with Jackson, tried to persuade him to stay on for two more years and then take over for Lewis in 2018. But Jackson opted to take the Browns' job, believing that Cleveland was on the rise and needed only an infusion of talent to be competitive. Instead, the Browns' embarked on a unnecessary total teardown that's been an unmitigated disaster, and the new regime is 1-25.

AFC North Bytes

Cleveland Browns: Wondering what has changed since Week 4
The Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals met up back in Week 4. Both teams were 0-3 and Browns fans, myself included, thought a win could be picked up early on. Those were simpler times.

Ravens defense appreciates what's been required for three shutouts in one season
To get a sense of how rare it is for an NFL defense to record a shutout these days, consider that there have been only seven shutouts in 153 games in 2017. Three of those shutouts have been won by the Ravens, whose latest one was a 23-0 dismantling of the Green Bay Packers last Sunday. Players remarked at how difficult each blanking has been.

Tomlin on play-action, no-huddle, HoH
The best way to explain it is that offenses generally have a base set of core running plays, plays they run that fit their personality. Different offenses might have different core running plays, but whatever your core running plays are often times your play-action passes are off those actions. So whatever your base-core high-volume runs are, most teams have coordinated play-action passes off those to lean on that and utilize that in an effort to get chunks of yards in the passing game.

Random Bytes

Janoris Jenkins of New York Giants may be shut down for season to undergo ankle surgery
Yet another member of the New York Giants could be on the verge of having his season ended. Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who has played the past two months with a debilitating ankle injury that has limited his ability to cut and change direction, could be shut down and undergo ankle surgery, league sources told ESPN.

Mark Ingram could become free agent if he keeps up torrid pace
Mark Ingram's seventh NFL season has been his best one yet. And the New Orleans Saints running back is on such a torrid pace that it’s possible he could run himself into free agency a year early. As the New Orleans Advocate first pointed out, Ingram has a clause in his contract that will void the remainder of the deal after this season if he is named first-team All-Pro by The Associated Press.

Former Bears 1st-Round Pick John Thierry Dies at Age 46
Former NFL defensive end John Thierry died Friday after suffering a heart attack. He was 46. "It is with deep and profound sadness we report the passing of Alcornite and 1994 NFL 1st Round Draftee, John Thierry '94," Alcorn State University said in a statement. "The Alcorn family extends its sincere condolences to his family. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers."