Thursday Night Football Week 9: TV Schedule, Live Stream for Browns vs. Bengals

The AFC North might not be much of a race, but it won't stop the Battle of Ohio between the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals from putting on a show on the Week 9 edition of Thursday Night Football.

The hosts have run away with the division, last week moving to 7-0 with a win in Pittsburgh against the Steelers. Cleveland, the visitors, sit at 2-6 with a change coming at quarterback as the team searches for answers considering its lone triumphs came against teams with a combined record of 3-12.

As lopsided as things sound, this feels similar to last year—when Cleveland arrived at Paul Brown Stadium on a Thursday night and delivered a 24-3 shellacking.

So no, this isn't one to skip. Here's a look at everything to know.

Viewing Info

When: Thursday, Nov. 5, at 8:25 p.m. ET

Where: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

Television: NFL Network

Live Stream: NFL Game Pass

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Betting Lines (via Odds Shark):

• Over/Under: 45.5

• Spread: Cincinnati (-11)

Team Injury Reports

Player	Position	Status
Gipson, Tashaun	DB	questionable
Haden, Joe	DB	out
Hartline, Brian	WR	out
Hawkins, Andrew	WR	out
Housler, Rob	TE	-
Manziel, Johnny	QB	probable
McCown, Josh	QB	out
Orchard, Nate	LB	questionable
Poyer, Jordan	DB	out
Robertson, Craig	LB	questionable
Whitner, Donte	DB	out

Player	Position	Status
Dunlap, Carlos	DE	questionable
Maualuga, Rey	LB	questionable
Smith, Andre	OT	out

Injury reports courtesy of Bengals.com and ClevelandBrowns.com.

Johnny Time

Searching for answers with the losing streak at three and starter Josh McCown injured, the Browns will trot out Johnny Manziel under center Thursday, per Pat McManamon of ESPN.com.

The development is sure to produce a mixed reaction. McCown was completing 65 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns to four interceptions, but then again, the team still has just two wins.

But there's an allure to Manziel, who can make plays with his feet and in a 28-14 win against Tennessee this year completed eight passes for 172 yards and two touchdown connections with deep threat Travis Benjamin.

The problem, though, is the Cincinnati defense. One of Manziel's two starts as a rookie came against this unit. He threw for just 80 yards and two interceptions in a disastrous 30-0 loss. He spoke with McManamon about that result:

"

Obviously, that was not the first career start I would have hoped for or expected when the Bengals came to our stadium last year. I did learn from it, and I feel much more confident in my abilities now because of the progress I feel like I've made over this season. My experience in that game from last year should help me tomorrow night.

"

It's a learning lesson the Browns have to hope Manziel can improve upon. Shooting for the playoffs isn't realistic, but getting their sophomore quarterback to take the proverbial bull by the horns, as cliche as it sounds, would be quite the milestone on the road against an in-state rival.

Learning From the Past 

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

With the way the Bengals sit at 7-0, with epic comebacks against Seattle and Pittsburgh in hand, one would think they could swat the struggling Browns away like a gnat.

It's never so easy, though.

Cincinnati looked solid last year going into a Week 10 Thursday date with Cleveland, riding a two-game winning streak into the eventual 24-3 affair. In that game, Andy Dalton mustered 86 yards and three interceptions while the team rushed Jeremy Hill just 12 times and the defensive line forced no sacks.

Coincidentally enough, when the Bengals wiped out the Browns in 30-0 fashion on the road in Week 15, Hill carried the ball 25 times, Giovani Bernard took it 15 times and the defense forced three sacks.

See a trend? The Bengals must. Running the ball with what might be the league's best one-two punch works and will be especially potent against the league's worst run defense this year, which lets up 147 rushing yards per game on average.

Cincinnati has acted as more of a pass-first team this year, but if there's a time the coaching staff will look to reel things in and upend beatable teams with the basics to avoid an upset, it is Thursday night.

Prediction

There's big-play potential in the Cleveland offense. The aforementioned Benjamin averages 15.8 yards per catch with four scores, and tight end Gary Barnidge continues his shocking breakout season at the age of 30 with six scores.

The positives end there, though. Cincinnati's defense understands these factors perhaps better than any team, and the rebounding unit already has 20 sacks this season—a mark it needed a full 16 games to reach last season.

Cincinnati will fluster Manziel most of the night and force a few mistakes. The offense, potent as it may be through the air, will stick to the ground to grind out the clock in an effort to escape with a win as healthy as possible, because while another AFC North win would be nice, the team has its eye on much bigger goals.

Look for Hill and Bernard to combine for a big game to keep the Browns at bay.

Prediction: Cincinnati 24, Cleveland 17 

Statistics courtesy of ESPN.com unless otherwise specified.