When the Browns play the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium, they’ll be in familiar territory.
They’ll be facing a better team, and one that is a prohibitive favorite.
And this time, they’ll also be facing a desperate team. At 2-4 and already two games behind the AFC North-leading Pittsburgh Steelers well before the season even hits the halfway point, and nowhere near being in contention for a wild-card playoff berth, either, the Bengals have to get going right now before the year begins to really get away from them. They’ll obviously look at the 0-6 Browns, a team they’ve beaten three straight times decisively, by a combined score of 98-13, as an excellent opportunity to do just that.
In addition, did we mention that the young, inexperienced Browns, who need all hands on deck in order to be competitive, are about as beaten up physically as a team can be? They are working out players every week trying to find enough competent players to fill the roster. If you can play, give the Browns a call. They’re hiring now.
So if ever there was a team ripe for the taking, it’s the Browns on Sunday.
But let’s keep in mind that the head coach of the Browns is a guy named Hue Jackson, who has an extensive history with the Bengals and their head coach, Marvin Lewis. Lewis believed in Jackson enough to hire him on two different occasions. Jackson’s success in Cincinnati is a big reason why he got the job in Cleveland, and as such this game means more – a whole lot more – to him personally, although he will probably never admit it.
Jackson would love to get his first win against the Bengals, and especially in Cincinnati. Helping him is the fact he knows the Bengals personnel inside and out. He knows how he can attack them, and how he can beat them. He also knows the Cincinnati coaching staff very well and knows how those guys think, giving him a chance to stay one step ahead of them.
Plus it’s a division game, and Jackson will no doubt drill into his players this week the idea that the first thing the Browns must do in their attempt to be relevant again is to start being relevant in the North by defeating the Bengals, Pittsburgh and Baltimore Ravens. This, then, is their opportunity to get that underway.
With exception of the 33-13 pounding they took from the New England Patriots, a team that has pounded a lot of teams, including Cincinnati 35-17 last Sunday, the Browns have been getting better just about every week. You have to believe that, sooner or later, that improvement will be enough to earn them a victory.
It would not be that terribly surprising if it came at Hue Jackson’s former workplace.
