Browns, Bengals enter game winless, desperate

An in-state NFL rivalry pitting distant neighbor against neighbor has lost its bite.

Cincinnati vs. Cleveland is more of a professional pillow fight these days. The battle of 0-hio. Lumped together at the bottom of the AFC North’s standings, the Bengals (0-3) and Browns (0-3) both enter Sunday’s matchup winless and desperate to salvage seasons that are quickly slipping away. They haven’t both been without a win after three games since their matchup in 2008, when Cleveland rolled into Paul Brown Stadium and pulled out a 20-12 victory.

After losing their first 14 games last season, the Browns are falling back on old habits. They start slowly, make too many mistakes (dropped passes and penalties top the list), mount a comeback and lose. Week after week.

The league’s youngest team is again taking its lumps.

“We are becoming more experienced as an offense, and every individual is becoming more experienced every time we step on that field,” said rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer, who has been sacked 10 times and thrown seven interceptions. “We are learning. We are getting better. We definitely feel that progress here, and that mentality is what drives us at practice to get better.”

While the Browns suffer through growing pains, the Bengals are hurting nearly as badly.

Following consecutive home losses to start the season, they built a 21-7 lead last week at Green Bay only to have Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers work some typical Lambeau Field magic and pull out a 27-24 overtime win.

Cincinnati’s offense finally shook off some rust under new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor, who took over after Ken Zampese was fired just two games into the season.

Anyone, really, could see the Bengals weren’t getting the ball enough to two of their top playmakers: wide receiver A.J. Green and running back Joe Mixon. That changed against the Packers as Green had 10 catches, equaling his total in the first two games and Mixon had 18 carries, one more than in his first two.

“It was a step in the right direction,” Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton said. “We didn’t get shut out. We did score a couple of touchdowns, so we have that going for us. At the end of the day, winning is all that matters.”

And, at the end of Sunday, one of Ohio’s teams may finally do just that. he played 48 percent of the snaps and had five tackles, including one on Le’Veon Bell that resulted in the running back tearing up his right knee.

“He’s kind of the straw that stirs the drink there,” Browns coach Hue Jackson said.