Browns welcome challenge from Bengals receivers
The Cleveland Browns defensive backs weren’t bashful the last time they played the Cincinnati Bengals. They made it abundantly clear they took an extra level of joy out of their Oct. 31 win.
“When you call us out and say it’s on sight, it’s always going to be on our mind,” cornerback Greg Newsome II said immediately after the 32-13 Week 8 win. “That was a game that I circled, honestly, from the beginning of the season. So to come out here and do what we did today, I’m proud of us.”
The Bengals would be quick to point out they were without star receiver Ja’marr Chase, who missed that game with a hip injury, the first of four consecutive games he sat out. The Browns would be quick to respond that they were without their best cornerback, Denzel Ward, who missed that game due to a concussion.
Both are expected to be back on the field on Sunday whey they meet again in Cincinnati.
“Yeah, I mean I like matchups like those and enjoy those matchups, so definitely looking forward to him being back and going against those guys,” Ward said. “They’ve got a great receiving group, great quarterback obviously. I think it will just be a great matchup — offense and defense.”
Chase returned to the field last Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. The second-year pro had seven catches for 97 yards, including a 40-yard catch, in his return.
The return of Chase means a return to full strength for a Bengals offense which is, when healthy, one of the league’s best. The Bengals are fourth in the league in passing at 271.5 yards per game, with Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd all in the top 27 in the league in receiving yards.
The Browns secondary knows all about those receivers. The fact Chase, who stirred things up with some offseason comments made about the Browns’ defensive backs, is back to make them whole again is only an added bonus.
“Like I said, it’s all about competing,” safety John Johnson III said. “They’re a competitive group. They want to get the better of us and we wanna get the better of them. So it’s always a prime matchup and looking forward to it.”
It’s a matchup that, for all of Cincinnati’s offensive talent, the Browns have gotten the best of lately. Since the Bengals selected quarterback Joe Burrow No. 1 overall in 2020, they have not beaten their in-state rivals.
The Browns have won five in a row in the series, four of which were started by Burrow.
“You look at all the games we’ve played against them, until last game, we really moved the ball really well,” Burrow said. “We just had some key turnovers in bad spots that have limited out ability to win these games. We’ve got to take care of the ball, execute, run the ball well and take our opportunities when they come.”
Despite averaging 309 passing yards in four games against Cleveland, Burrow has thrown four interceptions. None were as big as the one Ward came up during the Browns’ 41-16 win the last time they were in Cincinnati in Week 9 last season. The Bengals had reached the Browns 3 when Ward stepped in front of a Burrow pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown.
Earlier this year, it was a first-drive pick by A.J. Green off of a Myles Garrett deflection that ended a drive deep in Browns territory. That marked the third consecutive game against Cleveland in which Burrow has thrown a first-drive interception