CINCINNATI — In the second game of the 2022 edition of the Battle of Ohio, the Cincinnati Bengals defeated the Cleveland Browns, 23-10, Sunday afternoon at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.
Joe Burrow passed for 239 yards and two touchdowns while Ja’Marr Chase caught 10 passes for 119 yards. Joe Mixon rushed for 96 yards.
Deshaun Watson went 26 of 42 for 276 yards and a touchdown. Donovan Peoples-Jones had eight catches for 114 yards. Nick Chubb was held to 34 yards on the ground.
The Bengals improve to 9-4 on the season while the Browns fall to 5-8. Cincinnati stays tied for first place in the AFC North as Baltimore won at Pittsburgh.
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The Browns had a chance for the first points of the game in the first quarter.
After they forced a three-and-out, Cleveland faced a fourth and one from the Cincinnati 25-yard line. Back-up quarterback Jacoby Brissett entered the game and threw into the end zone to Donovan Peoples-Jones but the pass was incomplete and the Bengals took over on downs. The teams exchanged punts the rest of the quarter and it was no score after one.
The Bengals took advantage of four Cleveland penalties that resulted in first downs, including a roughing the punter call. Joe Burrow threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marr Chase to give Cincinnati a 7-0 lead with 9:43 to play in the second quarter.
The Browns responded driving 63-yards downfield on 13 plays to the Bengals’ eight-yard line. But Watson’s third down was incomplete and Cade York’s 26-yard field goal cut it to 7-3 with 2:59 left in the first half.
Cincinnati drove 75-yards on nine plays, converting twice on third down. The first was 34-yard catch by Trent Taylor on third and 10 and then Trent Irwin’s 13-yard reception gave the Bengals a first goal from the Browns six-yard line. On the next play, running back Samaje Perine broke one tackle and ran six-yards for a touchdown as Cincinnati led, 13-3, at halftime.
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After exchanging punts to start the second half, the Bengals scored first in the second half as Burrow found Irwin for a 45-yard touchdown pass to increase the lead to 20-3 with 7:26 left in the third quarter.
Cleveland responded with a 71-yard, 10 play drive as Watson found tight end David Njoku for a 13-yard touchdown reception to cut the deficit to 20-10 after three quarters.
Evan McPherson made a 39-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter to extend it to 23-10. Watson threw a 16-yard pass to Peoples-Jones on third and eight to give the Browns a first down. But Watson was intercepted by Jesse Bates on the next play and the Bengals took over.
Cincinnati drove to Cleveland’s 26-yard line but Burrow was picked off by Deion Jones. The Browns drove to the Bengals’ six-yard line but Watson threw three straight incomplete passes as Cleveland turned the ball over on downs with 5:28 remaining. After forcing Cincinnati to punt, the Browns were stopped once more on fourth down with 3:46 remaining and the Bengals ran out the clock.
Cincinnati played much of the game without two wide receivers, Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins.
Boyd suffered a dislocated finger on his right hand, according to head coach Zac Taylor. Higgins was on the field for the game’s first play but did not return. He was limited in practice Thursday and Friday due to a right hamstring injury but was not listed on the team’s injury report.
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The Browns will host the Baltimore Ravens Saturday afternoon, December 17, at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. It is part of a Saturday tripleheader that will be televised on the NFL Network. The game will also be broadcast on WHIO Radio.
The Bengals travel to Tampa, Florida to play the Tampa Buccaneers. Kickoff is at 4:25 p.m. The game will be televised on Channel 7.
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