Browns (11-5) at Bengals (8-8), Sunday, Jan. 7 at Paycor Stadium (Field Turf), 1 p.m. ET, TV: CBS (National), WKRC-TV Ch. 12 (Cincinnati), Tom McCarthy, James Lofton, Jay Feely, Tiffany Blackmon. Radio: Dan Hoard, Dave Lapham. 700 WLW-AM, WEBN-FM (102.7 FM), ESPN1530.
CINCINNATI — The Bengals have one final objective to achieve in a lost season – to finish with a winning record.
A winning record means something to Zac Taylor and the coaching staff, and they intend on coaching the game against their in-state rivals accordingly.
And history is on the line when the Cleveland Browns visit the Bengals in the regular season finale.
The two-time defending AFC North champion Bengals (8-8) were dethroned this year by the Baltimore Ravens and eliminated from playoff contention with last week’s 25-17 loss in Kansas City.
A Cincinnati win on Sunday would mark the first time since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger that every team in a division finishes above .500.
The Bengals biggest motivation is to finish with a third straight winning season under Zac Taylor, after capturing the division the last two seasons and going deep into the playoffs.
“I don’t think everyone is listening to me. We’re trying to win the game.” Zac Taylor makes it clear in no uncertain terms the Bengals want to win this game Sunday, individual accomplishments or not. pic.twitter.com/c4uvVlUmPC
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 4, 2024
“Unfortunately, not every year is your year,” said head coach Zac Taylor. “But again, we still have one more game to play. It’s a big game for us at home against a divisional team, so we’re not sitting here talking today like our season is over, because it’s not. We still have one big game left. We look forward to playing in front of our fans and I look forward to seeing our guys give their best effort.”
The Bengals will also be playing for some individual milestones. Running back Joe Mixon needs 77 yards for 1,000 on the season. Ja’Marr Chase needs four catches for 100 and defensive edge Trey Hendrickson will try to build on his team-leading 17 sacks and become the first Bengal to lead the NFL in the category.
Hendrickson enters the final week tied with Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt for the NFL lead.
Cleveland (11-5) comes to Paycor Stadium having won four straight games and is seeking its first 12-win regular season since 1986.
With the Ravens clinching the division title with a rout of Miami on Sunday, the Browns are locked into the No. 5 seed in the AFC, and the first wild-card position. The Browns are coming off an impressive 37-20 win over the New York Jets in their home finale.
Sunday will mark the 101st meeting in the “Battle of Ohio” between the two franchises founded by Paul Brown. Cleveland has won seven of the last nine meetings between the two, including a 24-3 rout in the season opener in Cleveland on Sept. 10. Cincinnati leads the overall series, 52-48.
The Browns have already announced that back-up quarterback Jeff Driskel will start Sunday’s game, allowing regular signal caller Joe Flacco to rest for the playoffs beginning next weekend. Driskell becomes the fifth starting quarterback for the Browns this season.
Driskell played one season in Cincinnati in 2018 after being drafted by San Francisco in 2016. He spent most of this season on Arizona’s practice squad before being signed off the practice squad by Cleveland last week.
“Jeff’s a guy with the system knowledge from Arizona, is helpful to get out there,” Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski said. “P.J. Walker will be the backup. He’s been great for us. He started in games and won for us. But just felt like this was the right thing to do for the team in this particular instance to give Jeff an opportunity to show us what he’s capable of as well.”
The Browns figure to rest most of their prominent starters in the same way Cincinnati did in Cleveland at the end of the 2021 season in the regular season finale.
“We’re going to use this opportunity to rest some guys,” Stefanski said. “I feel like we’ve earned that opportunity with how we took care of business the previous week. With the roster limitations, you cannot rest everybody. So, our full intent is to go down there, play well and get a win. That’s our motivation.”
Here’s what to look for:
- Trey Hendrickson:
Hendrickson figures to get plenty of chances early to get after Browns backup quarterback Jeff Driskel. How many Browns regular starting offensive linemen play will determine Hendrickson’s odds for adding to his 17 sack total and whether he can beat out Watt – among others – for the NFL lead.
- Ja’Marr Chase:
As was the case in the 2021, the Bengals would like to feed Chase when the opportunity arises but not force the ball in his direction. In the 2021 finale, Chase needed 12 receiving yards to pass Chad Johnson for the club’s all-time receiving yards record. After two catches and 26 yards, his day was over, finishing with 1,455 yards. Chase has 96 catches for 1,197 yards and seven touchdowns. Five catches would give him 101 and pass Carl Pickens (1996) for sole possession of second place on the club’s all-time list, behind T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who had 112 in 2007. That was also the same season Ocho set the team record for receiving yards in a season with 1,440, the mark that stood until Chase broke it in 2021.
- Joe Mixon:
This could be the swan song for the Bengals’ second-round pick from 2017. The running back needs 77 yards for his fourth-career 1,000-yard season and his first since finishing with a career-high 1,205 in 2021. Mixon will turn 28 next July 24 and has already taken a pay cut. The Bengals could save $5.75 million in cap space and with many holes to fill, this could be the final time to watch the third-most prolific back in team history in Stripes. It’s a real long shot but Mixon, with 6,301, is 147 yards shy of passing James Brooks (6,447) for second place all-time behind Corey Dillon (8,061).
- Jonah Williams:
He is a free agent and has done a solid job this season at right tackle for the Bengals, being asked to switch after the Bengals signed Orlando Brown Jr. to left tackle as a free agent last March.
“I’d like to think I added another tool to the toolbox” Jonah Williams on Brian Callahan’s complimentary assessment of his move to right tackle. pic.twitter.com/y5MHvRjWFQ
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 3, 2024
- Tee Higgins, Chido Awuzie
If Higgins and Awuzie don’t dress, last week against the Chiefs could have been their last game in a Bengals uniform. Higgins didn’t practice all week, though he went through stretching exercises in uniform to be with the team. Awuzie was in the same boat on Friday,
- Bottom Line:
The Bengals should finish with a kick. While the results haven’t been there the effort and preparation – for the most part – have been. The culture remains strong and they should lean on this as they try to finish with a winning record for a third straight season under Zac Taylor. Jake Browning could be playing his last game as a starter for a while as Joe Burrow returns for the 2024 season from right wrist surgery. Browning will not be facing most of the weapons in the Browns defense, like Myles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Martin Emerson Jr. and Greg Newsome II. Look for Chase to get at least one TD while Mixon could get a couple of TDs.
Bengals 31, Browns 16
