NFL Week 17 Primer: Cincinnati Bengals (1-14) vs. Cleveland Browns (6-9)

We have finally reached the end of one of the longest seasons for Bengals’ fans in recent history. At the very least, no matter how you rooted this year, we can at least look forward to Cincinnati being able to give the Zac Taylor era a real jump start with the first overall pick this offseason.

That is for the offseason though. This week is about putting aside who rooted for a tank and who wanted them to win to close out the season. There is nothing more to gain from the Bengals losing games, and there is no better way to close out a season than by kicking the Browns when they’re down.

Last week we saw the Bengals close out regulation against the Dolphins with 16 points in under a minute. They accomplished this after failing to score at least 16 points in six games this season (and scoring exactly 17 points in four other games). Really just need to hammer home how improbable of a comeback that really was that ultimately fell short.

The Browns have had yet another disappointing season, especially since people were crowning them as contenders this offseason. It is really hard to say whether it was a matter of players drinking too much of their own Kool Aid, or the inexperience of head coach Freddie Kitchens shined through (or more likely a combination of both).

In any case, Cleveland fell well short of what many expected them to be. They close out the decade without a single winning season, and this year may have been the second most disappointing over that span.

Everything you need to know for when the Bengals end their season against the Browns:

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (1-14) vs. Cleveland Browns (6-9)

Date/Time: Dec. 29th, 2019 at 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, Ohio

Series Leader: The Bengals lead the series at 50-42

Streak: The Browns have won the past three meetings

Coaches vs. Opponent: Zac Taylor: (0-1). Freddie Kitchens (1-0)

Television: The game will air on FOX-TV. In Cincinnati, it will be carried by WXIX-TV (Ch. 19). Broadcasters are Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play), Robert Smith (analyst) and Megan Olivi (sideline reporter).

Radio: The game will air on the Bengals Radio Network, led by Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (ESPN 1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst).

SB Nation Browns’ site: Dawgs by Nature

Weather: Mid 60’s, mostly cloudy with light rain [NFL weather]

Odds: Bengals, +2.5 [Odds Shark]

Bengals Notes

• Quarterback Andy Dalton passed for 396 yards with a season-high four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 104.5 passer rating last week. He had 262 passing yards in his Week 14 meeting with the Browns. He is the seventh player in NFL history with at least 15 touchdown passes in each of his first nine seasons.
• Running back Joe Mixon had 73 scrimmage yards last week (50 rushing and 23 receiving). He has at least 150 scrimmage yards in two of his past three games. He had a career-high 186 scrimmage yards (146 rushing and 40 receiving) and rushing touchdown in Week 14 meeting. He has at least 150 scrimmage yards in three of five career games against Cleveland. He needs 25 rushing yards to become the fifth player in franchise history with 1,000 rushing yards in consecutive seasons.
• Wide receiver Tyler Boyd had nine catches for a season-high 128 yards and two touchdowns last week, his second-career game with multiple touchdowns. He has a touchdown catch in two of the past three games at home. He had five catches for 75 yards in Week 14 meeting. He aims for his third in a row at home against the Browns with a receiving touchdown. Wide receiver John Ross had six catches for 84 yards last week. He has a touchdown catch in two of three career games against Cleveland. Tight end Tyler Eifert had four catches for 57 yards and his third touchdown catch of the season in Week 16.
• Defensive end Carlos Dunlap aims for his sixth in a row with a pass deflection. He has five sacks and a forced fumble in his past three at home. He had two passes defended in the Week 14 meeting against the Browns. He is one of five players in the NFL with a forced fumble in each of his past eight seasons. Pass rusher Sam Hubbard aims for his fifth in a row with a sack. Safety Shawn Williams led the team with 13 tackles and had his first sack of season last week. Safety Jessie Bates had a forced fumble and pass deflection in Week 16.

Cleveland Browns

• Quarterback Baker Mayfield passed for 192 yards with and two touchdowns with an interception for a 84.4 passer rating last week. He aims for his third in a row with at least two touchdown passes and completing 60 percent of his passes. He completed 19 of 26 passes (73.1 percent) for 258 yards with career-high four touchdowns without an interception for a 143.9 passer rating in his last road meeting with the Bengals. He needs a touchdown pass to become the ninth quarterback in NFL history with at least 20 touchdown passes in each of his first two seasons.
• Running back Nick Chubb has at least 100 rushing yards in two of past three. He rushed for 106 yards in Week 14 and has 302 rush yards (100.7 per game) and two touchdowns in three career games against Cincinnati. He has three rushing touchdowns in his past two games against the AFC North. He leads the NFL with 1,453 rushing yards in 2019 and can join Hall of Famer Jim Brown as the only players in franchise history with 1,500 rushing yards in a single season.
• Wide receiver Jarvis Landry led the team with seven catches for 74 yards in Week 16. He aims for his third in a row with at least five catches. He had four catches for 76 yards in Week 14 meeting. Wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. had a touchdown catch last week. Landry (1,092 receiving yards) and Beckham (954) can become the first wide receiver duo in franchise history with 1,000 receiving yards each in a single season.
• Defensive lineman Sheldon Richardson had two passes defended and a career-high third forced fumble of the season in Week 16. He had a sack in Week 14 meeting. Linebacker Joe Schobert had nine tackles last week. He leads the team in tackles (125) and interceptions (four) this season.