3. Lazor vs. Williams:
Bay when he recorded 2.5 sacks and had another wiped out by penalty as teammate William Jackson was a fraction of a second late getting off the field.
Lawson became the first rookie since 2002 to have at least 2.5 sacks in one of the first three games of his career, but that came against a backup tackle who was hurt and placed on Injured Reserve after the game.
Today in Cleveland, Lawson will go against future Hall of Famer Joe Thomas, who has played 10,131 consecutive snaps in his 11-year career.
Led by Lawson and defensive tackle Geno Atkins, the Bengals are tied for fourth in the league with 10 sacks. The Browns have allowed 11, tied for fourth-most in the league. New Bengals offensive coordinator Bill Lazor will call his second game against an old friend.
Lazor and Browns defensive coordinator Gregg Williams worked on the same staff in Washington from 2004-07.
“Guys tend to play really hard for Gregg,” Lazor said. “He has a dynamic personality. He’s a good leader. I’ve witnessed it. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him on the practice field and how he built it back in those days. I know they’ll be wellcoached, I know they’ll play fast and they’ll play hard because they always do with Gregg.
“He’s certainly not afraid to call a blitz,” Lazor added.
Williams is in his first season with the Browns, and under his direction they lead the NFL in blitz percentage, bringing pressure 44.7 percent of the time. That could be an issue for a Bengals offensive line that has surrendered 11 sacks, tied for fourth-most in the league.
Browns
4. Top talent:
defensive end Myles Garrett probably won’t make his NFL debut today.
Garrett, the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, has been battling an ankle injury suffered in the preseason. But if he does play, it would be the fourth time in the Marvin Lewis era the Bengals have faced that year’s top pick.
The Bengals are 3-0 in those games, beating Houston’s Jadeveon Clowney (three tackles, one for loss) 22-13 in 2014; Detroit’s Matthew Stafford (11 of 26 for 143 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) 23-13 in 2009; and the New York Giants’ Eli Manning (19 of 37 for 201 yards, no touchdowns, one interception) 23-22 in 2004.
Dating back to 2000, the Bengals are 5-0 in their last five games vs. No. 1 picks. They also beat Houston’s David Carr (18 of 32 for 199 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions) 38-3 in 2002 and Cleveland’s Courtney Brown (seven tackles, 0.5 sack) 12-3 in 2000.
5. Storied streak:
The Bengals have won five in a row against the Browns dating back to 2014, tying their longest winning steak against their in-state rivals since the Battle of Ohio began in 1970.
It also would tie for Cincinnati’s second-longest winning streak against any opponent. The Bengals won seven in a row against the Houston Oilers from 1981-84 and prevailed in six straight against the Pittsburgh Steelers from 1988-90.
6. Fumble, finally:
The Bengals have gone 14 games without recovering an opponent’s fumble, the longest streak in modern NFL history (1933 and later). Guenther’s defense has done a good job of forcing turnovers against the Browns with 12 in the last six games, but only two of them came on fumble recoveries. After what the Cowboys did to a good Arizona defense, look out Rams.
Cowboys 34, Rams 21 The hundreds on hand will go home disappointed again. Eagles 20, Chargers 10 The Giants have to win one sooner or later, right? Right. Later. Buccaneers 27, Giants 21 Teams that play so soon after a Monday night game usually struggle, but fortunately for the Cardinals, the 49ers always struggle.
Cardinals 21, 49ers 20 Both teams looked awful last week. Denver is the more likely choice to rebound.
Broncos 31, Raiders 23 The Colts are a surprising 4-2 in their past six road games, but winning at Seattle is too much to ask.
Seahawks 24, Colts 14 The Kareem Hunt Show rolls on. Chiefs 27, Redskins 20 Somebody’s got to win, right? Might as well pick the team that’s won the past five in the series.
Bengals 31, Browns 20 6-9 29-16