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3 burning questions for Cleveland Browns to answer against Cincinnati Bengals
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- 3 burning questions for Cleveland Browns to answer against Cincinnati Bengals
BEREA — The Browns are coming back home . They're finally getting a chance to play an AFC North rival, the Cincinnati Bengals . Finally, they're getting their heart and soul, running back Nick Chubb , back from the horrible knee injury he suffered last year.
What could be wrong with this picture? Oh, yeah, that's what's wrong.
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Cleveland is 1-5 and mired in a four-game losing streak . The former is the worst start for the team since the winless 2017 season, while the latter is the worst since Weeks 4-7 of the 2022 season.
Want to know how that losing streak ended? With a home win over the Bengals .
So can history repeat itself Sunday on the lakefront? That's to be seen, but if it did it's probably because these three questions got answers.
Can Myles Garrett continue to baffle the Cincinnati Bengals ' Joe Burrow ?
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has walked into the Kansas City Chiefs ' raucous home stadium and emerged not just with a win, but multiple wins, including one in the AFC championship game. However, when he walks into the Browns ' stadium, he — and every other player on the Bengals roster — has never emerged with even one win.
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Burrow is 0-3 in Cleveland , and Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor is 0-5. The last time the Bengals won as the road team in the Battle of Ohio was in 2017.
One of the biggest reasons why the Browns have dominated their Southwest Ohio rivals is wearing No. 95. Defensive end Myles Garrett has 12 sacks in 10 career games against Cincinnati, including 4.5 in five home games.
Burrow, specifically, has to see Garrett in his nightmares. No one has sacked the Cincinnati quarterback more than the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, who has eight sacks — 3.5 of those in Cleveland — and 21 quarterback pressures in six games against Burrow.
Most of the time, Garrett will be going against four-time Pro Bowl left tackle Orlando Brown. However, he'll continue to move around the front — remember the dribbling pantomime over Bengals center Ted Karras from last year's opener? — to maximize his ability to make life miserable for Burrow.
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What version of Nick Chubb do Cleveland Browns see in his return against Cincinnati Bengals?
Chubb's return has, rightfully, provided a shot in the arm for a team and a fan base that hasn't had much to be happy about this season. There are few players more respected in the Browns locker room than the running back.
Now, the question remains, what kind of impact does a second major injury to the same right knee have on the multi-time Pro Bowler? Also, how will Chubb, and the knee, respond to the first real contact it's taken since that night in Pittsburgh in Week 2 of last season?
Chubb has had plenty of success against the Bengals in his career, which is part of the reason why the Browns are 8-2 in those games. He's rushed for 903 yards and averaged 5.2 yards a carry with seven touchdowns against the Bengals.
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The Browns running game has been a slog for most of the season, ranking 28th with an average of 97.2 yards per game. They did find a bit of success in the second half of last Sunday's loss at the Philadelphia Eagles , despite Jerome Ford leaving the game with a hamstring injury.
Chubb will be on a pitch count in his first game back. If those pitches are for strikes, so to speak, it will give the Browns a chance to at least stick with the formula they've used to dominate Cincinnati in Cleveland.
Who steps up in the Cleveland Browns wide receiver corps with Amari Cooper gone?
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Cedric Tillman (19) drops a pass as Green Bay Packers safety Javon Bullard (20) defends during a preseason game Aug. 10 in Cleveland.
One key stat line the last time the Browns snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Bengals was this: five catches, 131 yards, 26.2 yards per catch, one touchdown. Those were the numbers Amari Cooper put up on that Monday night in Cleveland.
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If Cooper has those kind of numbers on Sunday, you really have to like the Buffalo Bills ' chances to beat the Tennessee Titans , don't you? It won't be with the Browns, who dealt their No. 1 wide receiver to Buffalo on Tuesday.
That's left a void at the top of the wide receiver corps, which has struggled even when Cooper was in Cleveland this season. The obvious next option after Tuesday's trade is Jerry Jeudy , who is second on the Browns with 20 catches for 248 yards and a touchdown.
However, for the NFL's worst passing offense to come alive, Cleveland will need, among other things, other wide receivers to elevate their games. That falls on Elijah Moore (13 catches, 159 yards in four career games vs. Bengals), Cedric Tillman (three catches, 43 yards in last season's finale in Cincinnati) and even rookie Jamari Thrash (inactive for the last five games).
That's not just a question for the short term against Cincinnati. If it's not something that changes drastically soon, one won't just represent the number of wins the Browns have, but also where they're going to end up picking in next April's draft, where maybe they can find help for their anemic passing game.
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Chris Easterling can be reached at ceasterling@thebeaconjournal.com. Read more about the Browns at www.beaconjournal.com/sports/browns. Follow him on X at @ceasterlingABJ
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Browns' 3 big questions heading into game vs. Cincinnati Bengals
