Browns vs. Bengals: 6 Things We Learned from Cincinnati's Win over Cleveland

Today, the Cincinnati Bengals logged their seventh victory of the season, which is far more than anyone thought they could accomplish this year. Even though we're pretty far along, games can still say a lot about a team.

Given how the Bengals have performed in 2011, I personally thought the game today would be decided by a much larger margin. However, that brings me back to the point I made—we can still learn things from games even this far into the season.

The things on this list need to be noted by the Bengals so they can point out their own strengths and weaknesses. We saw today how certain holes need to be filled.

A.J. Green Is a Crucial Component to the Offense

This may seem a bit obvious to some of you, but up until last week, I would have told you that Andy Dalton was the crucial component to the Cincinnati offense.

Against Baltimore, the offense didn't begin to click until the fourth quarter when it was too late. Today, A.J. Green—though he was mostly shut down by Joe Haden—made a big impact.

Two of his three catches set up eventual scores, and his third catch was probably the play of the game. 

Cincinnati was without Green for most of the Pittsburgh game and the entire Baltimore game—and the offense's weaknesses were shown. Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden needs to take note of that and hope that his young receiver can stay healthy.

The Secondary Is Lost Without Leon Hall

We all knew losing Leon Hall for the season would be bad for the defense, but I didn't expect it to be this detrimental. Pacman Jones can't replace the star cornerback.

Joe Flacco had a good game last week, and Colt McCoy had a respectable game. The somewhat mediocre numbers for McCoy were highly altered by dropped passes, so the damage today could have been much worse.

Nate Clements showed a lot of weakness today against Jordan Norwood, and Jones was almost nonexistent on the field. Kelly Jennings is also incapable of covering the best receivers.

Reggie Nelson had a huge interception, but you can't have one competent man in the secondary and be really successful. This is a hole the Bengals really need to consider filling before their Week 13 game in Pittsburgh.

Cedric Benson Owns the Browns

Cedric Benson has been a great acquisition for the Cincinnati Bengals. This is his third year with the team, and it's becoming clear he's starting to lose his star power.

Benson has only three 100-yard rushing performances in 2011, but two have come against Cleveland.  Today, he racked up 106 yards on the ground and had a touchdown. Benson may not be all that effective against anyone else, but the offense leaned on him for a while today.

You could attribute this to a bad rushing defense in Cleveland, but Bernard Scott found it hard to be effective against that same team. 

Either way you wish to believe it, Benson made a huge impact in today's game and definitely deserves game-MVP recognition.

The Team Will Always Commit Bad Penalties at Bad Times

The picture of Marvin Lewis says a lot about their late-game play. The Bengals can be impressive late, and have been all year, but they do some stupid things to slow their own momentum.

The trend continued today in Cincinnati, as there were two crucial calls I can remember off the top of my head. Jerome Simpson was called for holding on a play that would have resulted in a first down, and the Bengals eventually punted.

Later on, immediately following A.J. Green's heroic catch that got the Bengals down to the 3-yard line late in the game, Nate Livings jumped early. While it ended up being a non-factor, what if the Bengals had needed a touchdown?

This team is a little weak mentally, so if they can't control themselves, then they need to stop playing like this in air-tight games.

The Defensive Line Needs Carlos Dunlap Back

Peyton Hillis and Chris Ogbonnaya were effective in the game today, and it can be argued that part of that had to do with Geno Atkins leaving the game.

The struggles were ensuing long before that. Carlos Dunlap, a key defensive end for the Bengals, has had an injury-riddled 2011 season after impressing in his rookie campaign. 

Dunlap is particularly good on the rushing attack, and his help would have been great on the field today.  It's true that Hillis is a big man and can bowl a lot of guys over, but I can guarantee Dunlap would've held him in check. 

Plus, pressure on McCoy was scarce—another thing that is missed without Dunlap on the field.

The Red Rifle Has One of the Game's Best Minds

Statistically, Andy Dalton may not be the best quarterback in the league, but when you watch him, you can tell that he's got one of the best minds for the game. 

He knows when he needs to throw the ball away and fight another day.

He knows when it's time to throw down the field.

He knows when he needs to run.

That last one came particularly true today, as Dalton was constantly flushed from the pocket by the Cleveland defense. He had six carries on the day.

Dalton has a great arm, and we know he's got a great mind. Coupling these two things together usually makes up a very successful quarterback.