Thursday, November 6th
In a big divisional match-up, both teams are looking to keep momentum on their side.
Brian Hoyer has taken the load in Cleveland, leading the franchise to a 5-3 record, right behind Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. With a win and a Pittsburgh loss, the Browns could take the division lead at 6-3. Inconsistency is the main concern with this squad. After a very dominant win against Pittsburgh in week 6, Cleveland went on to suffer a 24-6 loss in Jacksonville. If they would like to stay in contention, this is the game to do so.
The Bengals had some struggles after their 3-0 start. They came off of an early bye in week 4 and have seen their record slip to 3-2-1 but have bounced back with 2 consecutive wins over the Ravens and the Jaguars. Andy Dalton has struggled a little, throwing for 1,874 with 8 TDs but with 6 INTs to go with those numbers. The big part of the offense that has helped Cincinnati comes from both Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill. Their rushing attack ranks 9th in the NFL, relieving some pressure off of their QB.
FINAL PREDICTION:
Both defenses are not much to brag about. Cincinnati’s ranks 30th while Cleveland’s ranks 28th. Hoyer has found much more success than Dalton in the passing game but Dalton gets the benefit of a sturdy run game. Playing at home also plays a big role in the division match-up.
Cleveland 17, BENGALS 24
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