Browns vs. Bengals: Full Cleveland Game Preview

Mired in trade rumors and criticism, the 2-6 Cleveland Browns take on the unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday Night Football.

Quick turnaround. A veteran quarterback who’s played well but is bruised, beaten and just 1-6 as the team’s starter. The meaningfulness of the season dwindling on the heels of another second-half collapse.

What could possibly go wrong?

Murphy’s Law applies here, and it indicates a familiar fate likely awaits these flailing Browns as another season slowly slips away.

It could get a lot worse before it gets better, and maybe that’s what this organization needs. Maybe it needs to burn to the ground to allow something beautiful to grow from the ashes. It has burned before, after all, and another organizational shake-up could catapult it toward the sun.

While the Browns continue doing Browns things, the Bengals continue winning. They’re undefeated, healthy and clicking on all cylinders, and Andy Dalton is for real—this time.

Records are just records, and the Bengals aren’t unbeatable. In seven games, they have trailed at halftime three times and in the fourth quarter three times. They have their flaws but have succeeded in those close games, while the Browns have invented ways to throw them away.

Two of those fourth-quarter deficits were against AFC North foes: Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

Viewing Info

Location: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati

Date: Sunday, November 15

Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Week 8 Results and Recap

George Gojkovich/Getty Images

Last week, Cleveland played as good as it has all season in the first half, jumping to a 20-10 halftime lead over the Arizona Cardinals. But a stagnant offense and an all-of-a-sudden porous pass defense allowed Carson Palmer and the Cards to storm back to score 27 consecutive points and win 34-20.

That second-half shutout is attributable to a lot of things, but Duke Johnson’s receiving just one touch in the half is one of the coaching staff’s biggest glaring mistakes.

Baltimore, unlike the Browns, was able to fend off Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers. The Ravens moved up and out of the AFC North cellar to match the Browns at 2-6 when reliable place-kicker Justin Tucker hit a 39-yard field goal in the game’s closing seconds.

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their star running back, played tough for three quarters and then let A.J. Green demoralize them with 2:57 left to play, falling to 4-4 on the year. Cincinnati held off a last-second throw to Antonio Brown in the end zone to win 16-10.

AFC North Division Standings

Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	Streak
Bengals	7	0	0	1.000	198	132	W7
Steelers	4	4	0	.500	168	147	L2
Browns	2	6	0	.250	167	216	L3
Ravens	2	6	0	.250	190	214	W1

News and Notes

Ron Schwane/Associated Press

Johnny Manziel Preparing, Expected to Start against Bengals

Josh McCown’s rib injury will likely keep him out of Thursday night’s game, which would give Johnny Manziel his fourth career start, this one on national television. Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer reported McCown woke up Tuesday feeling worse than at any point in Sunday’s loss to Arizona and that he was unable to even participate in Tuesday night’s light walkthrough session.

Barring a turnaround, Manziel will make his second start of the season and second against the Bengals in his career. We all remember what happened last season when the Bengals stymied Manziel and shut out the Browns 30-0.

But the second-year quarterback doesn’t look like the same player from just one season ago. He has improved in the pocket and seems to have a better grasp of the offense. That improvement helped him lead the team to a 28-14 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 2.

Browns Were Negotiating Joe Thomas Trade with Denver

General manager Ray Farmer spoke to media following Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline at 4 p.m. ET. Reports were swirling all day about potential Browns players being on the trade block, but nothing ended up happening. Farmer denied he was actively trying to “shop” any of his players before the deadline but that he did listen to some offers:

"

I don’t know if I was really close to completing one. Again, we didn’t actively go out and try to move anybody. There’s not a single team I called and said, ‘Hey look, I’m shopping so and so.’ There was no shopping from my perspective, but I definitely listened. I think that’s really the job. That’s part of my job is when people call and make offers and suggest what they would like to have, see or have done, then it is my job to listen and start to think about is that a benefit to the Browns and in those conversations those are the ones we take a little more serious and we have our internal conversations about.

"

One of those offers was reportedly for annual Pro Bowl tackle Joe Thomas. The Browns had asked for at least two first-round picks in return for the face of their franchise, according to ESPN.com’s Jeff Legwold.

Here are the details of the deal that never happened, per Legwold:

"

Multiple sources confirmed Tuesday afternoon, just after the deadline had passed without a deal, that the Browns had asked for as much as two first-round picks from the Broncos at one point and that early Tuesday afternoon, Mountain time, the two sides were closing in on a package that included Thomas and a Browns fourth-round pick in exchange for the Broncos' first- and second-round picks in the 2016 draft but that the Browns also wanted to include the Broncos' 2016 third-round pick.

"

Thomas said earlier in the week he wanted to stay in Cleveland, because he’s “not a quitter.” It’s unfortunate Farmer and the Browns would even consider trading him, but with eight years under his belt and the team seemingly holding him in football purgatory, maybe it would have been a kind gesture to move him as repayment for his service all these years on losing football teams.

Latest Injury News

David Richard/Associated Press

Player	Position	Injury
Andrew Hawkins	WR	Concussion
Brian Hartline	WR	Concussion
Donte Whitner	DB	Concussion
Tashaun Gipson	DB	Ankle
Joe Haden	DB	Concussion/Ankle
Johnny Manziel	QB	Right Elbow
Craig Robertson	LB	Ankle
Rob Housler	TE	Hamstring
Josh McCown	QB	Right shoulder/Ribs
Jordan Poyer	DB	Shoulder
Nate Orchard	LB	Shoulder

We covered McCown already (who is not on this injury report), but his status should be monitored on Wednesday's report. If he doesn't make miraculous strides, the Browns will likely rule him out before traveling to Cincinnati. He missed the team's only practice of the week on Tuesday.

Andrew Hawkins, Brian Hartline, Joe Haden and Donte Whitner are all in various stages of the NFL concussion protocol, and none of the veterans is likely to suit up Thursday night.

Jordan Poyer and Rob Housler were both held out of last week's game and are also unlikely to play this week. Both worked with trainers during Tuesday's practice, which means they didn't participate in team or position drills, according to Scott Petrak of the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram.

Nov. 3 injury report courtesy of Mary Kay Cabot of the Plain Dealer.

Key Matchups

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Browns Receivers vs. Bengals Defensive Backs

With a struggling run game, Manziel and his receivers are going to need to be in sync against a good Bengals secondary. The Bengals are 23rd in the league, allowing 258.4 yards per game through the air, but don’t let that fool you. Dre Kirkpatrick, Adam Jones and Leon Hall make up a fantastic trio of corners who will contest every throw.

Manziel managed just 80 passing yards last season against the Bengals with a receiver group that included Josh Gordon. He’ll be playing without Hawkins and Hartline, which makes Marlon Moore and Dwayne Bowe likely contributors and not just roster fodder in this one.

Bengals Run Game vs. Browns Rush Defense

Stopping the run continues to elude the Browns defense, and Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill have the potential to be the best tandem that Cleveland will face all season. Bernard and Hill are averaging 5.6 and 3.3 yards per carry, respectively. The big runs haven’t been there, but the Browns defense has proved to be the remedy for struggling running games this season.

It hasn’t been all bad, despite the big numbers. The unit has looked sturdy at times and for chunks of games, but inconsistency and big runs have hurt their numbers and are definite smudges on a unit that appears to be making progress but is still searching for ways to turn the corner in that crucial area.

X-Factor

Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports

Browns X-Factor of the Week: WR Travis Benjamin

The deep passing game has seemingly disappeared with McCown under center. With Manziel at the helm—for all of the seven quarters he played—Travis Benjamin and the team’s receivers found more success going down the field.

Manziel has completed three of his four attempts thrown 30 or more yards down the field—all to Benjamin. On throws of 11 yards or more in the air, he is 8-of-16. McCown is 4-of-11 and 7-of-21, respectively. That efficiency downfield may decrease with increase snaps, but it’s clear Manziel has demonstrated a better long ball and rapport with Benjamin on those throws. Of McCown’s four completions of 30 or more yards, only one was to Benjamin, while a few others hit the grass.

Throwing deep will help open up soft spots in zones for underneath routes and even help keep safeties away from the box, which would aid Cleveland's inept rush offense.

Benjamin and Manziel can affect more than the scoreboard on one play if they’re able to hook up again on a deep ball or two this week.

Completion data courtesy of ESPN.com “splits” data for McCown and Manziel.

Prediction: Bengals 26, Browns 20

Jason Miller/Getty Images

Manziel should provide the Browns a spark—maybe not big enough to overcome the team’s significant rash of injuries and to beat a rolling Bengals team—but the kindling is warming up and ready to ignite.

He has done all the right things—on the field—and will likely be playing with a chip on his shoulder after last season’s embarrassing loss. That game that made headlines that Manziel wasn't accustomed to. Credit the Bengals for seemingly pushing the young quarterback in the right direction with that drubbing.

But Manziel and the offense can only take the Browns so far. If Hill and Bernard are allowed to run free out of the backfield in the short passing game or are tackled with poor form, they’re going to run right through the Browns again this year. Hill and Bernard teamed up for 229 yards in that 30-0 blowout last December.

But offensive coordinator John DeFilippo seems to have gotten through to Manziel where Kyle Shanahan couldn’t. His offense much more resembles that of an NFL team’s when Manziel is on the field, and that alone should help the quarterback and his teammates find some success.

That success won’t be enough to slow down Cincinnati, though. The Bengals look like a complete team and present mismatches for the Browns on both sides of the ball.

Prediction: Bengals 26, Browns 20

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and injury updates courtesy of press release e-mails from Browns communication managers Dan Murphy and Rob McBurnett.

All stats via Pro-Football-Reference.com.

Mike Hoag (@MikeHoagJr) covers the Cleveland Browns for Bleacher Report and is the managing editor of Browns Beat.