COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Cleveland Browns fans are used to watching their team play meaningless football at season’s end, but rarely is it because the starters are taking a siesta in preparation for the NFL playoffs.
The Browns clinched a postseason spot for the second time in three seasons, but it was also for the second time in 21 seasons, third time in 29 seasons, and fourth time in 34 seasons. It’s safe to say mid-January football is still foreign territory for a starving fan base. So, what should fans expect from a team that can look ahead to Week 19?
On the flip side, what can Cincinnati Bengals fans look forward to after being eliminated from playoff contention just one week ago?
Here are the things to watch for when the Browns visit the Bengals at Paycor Stadium at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Get healthy: For the Browns, anyway, there will likely be a focus on preserving much of the starting lineup, or at the very least, key players primarily to get healthy. Twenty-two players were listed on the team’s Week 17 injury report, more notably LB Anthony Walker, CB Denzel Ward, G Joel Bitonio, S Juan Thornhill, PK Dustin Hopkins, and P Corey Bojorquez, among others.
Coach Kevin Stefanski said Wednesday that several key players will sit in the season finale. Those likely will include DE Myles Garrett, DE Za’Darius Smith, Ward and WR Amari Cooper, who missed last week’s game because of a heel injury, and potentially the RB tandem of Justin Ford and Kareem Hunt. Getting a week off would ensure optimum physical readiness for the Wild Card round.
Get right: For the Bengals, anyway, Sunday’s game represents a chance to finish with a winning record and to wash the stink off the 2023 season opener in which the Bengals lost to the Browns 24-3. Likewise, it is one more chance for QB Jake Browning to get additional snaps in an offense he’ll likely be asked to observe next season, pending the health status of Joe Burrow.
Despite playing against a watered-down Cleveland team, the Bengals need to make significant strides defensively. The 2023 youth movement in the secondary backfired spectacularly, with the team ranking 29th in the league in passing yards allowed (255.2 per game). Without Burrow, it was tasked, unsuccessfully, with keeping scores low while the inexperienced Browning accustomed himself to live action. The defense also ranked 26th in the league against the run (127.6 yards allowed per game).
As a collective unit, the team allowed the fourth most first downs in the league and had the seventh worst third-down conversion rate allowed (42.1 percent).
Finally, a win would prevent the team going 0-6 in the AFC North for the first time since 2002.
Get paid: There are also a handful of players that may suit up for monetary reasons. QB Joe Flacco, for example, could earn an extra $75,000 for one more regular season victory, but it was announced Wednesday that backup Jeff Driskell will start and PJ Walker will be the No. 2. Driskel signed with Cleveland on Dec. 29.
Of course, Flacco can earn $250,000 for a wild card win and double each monetary value moving forward. There’s far more incentive to be ready for the playoffs and potentially collect nearly $4 million in bonuses.
Likewise for the Bengals, LG Orlando Brown Jr., RB Joe Mixon, DE Sam Hubbard, WR Tyler Boyd, LB Logan Wilson, G Alex Cappa, DT B.J. Hill, LB Germaine Pratt, C Ted Karras and CB Mike Hilton all can pocket regular season per-game bonuses. Mixon can also earn an extra $250,000 with one more touchdown and WR Tee Higgins has an undisclosed performance escalator for 2023.
Odds: Bengals 7. O/U: 37 1/2.
Prediction: Bengals get retribution, barely, 20-17.