Safety predicts a win if A.J. Green doesn’t play

The stop A.J. Green theme is the one that works for Damarious Randall and the rest of the Browns’ defense.

The Browns are not concerned about former Browns coach Hue Jackson helping the Bengals now that Jackson rejoined the Bengals’ coaching staff less than a month after being fired by the Browns on Oct. 29.

There is, however, another Bengal that could give the Browns fits Nov. 25 when they meet their Cincinnati foe in Paul Brown Stadium, and that player is wide receiver A.J. Green.

Green is second among Bengals receivers with 45 catches for 687 yards and a team-high six touchdowns. He has 62 catches for 953 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 career games vs. the Browns.

Green has missed the last two games with a toe injury. He has not practiced this week and is listed as questionable for Sunday.

“If they don’t have A.J., they’re going to get their ass beat,” Browns safety Damarious Randall predicted boldly after practice Nov. 23.

The Bengals have other problems, too. They lost backto-back games against the Steelers and Chiefs on Oct. 21 and 28 with Green in the lineup catching a total of 14 passes for 202 yards and no touchdowns.

Defense has been the biggest problem for the Bengals after winning four of their first five games. They have given up an average of 504 yards and an average of 36.4 points a game over their last five games, but the stop A.J. Green theme is the one that works for Randall and the rest of the Browns’ defense.

“He’s a top-five receiver, one of the best in the league,” Randall said. “I have a lot of respect for him. I hope he plays to make the game a little more interesting.

“He’s definitely a guy that

attracts a double team, a guy that opens up a lot of their running lanes and I mean, he’s definitely a differencemaker out there.”

Safety Jabrill Peppers said the Browns shouldn’t take the Bengals lightly even if the toe injury prevents Green from playing again.

Tyler Boyd leads Cincinnati with 56 catches for 756 yards. He has five touchdown catches.

Speedy wide receiver John Ross has only 11 catches, but four of them are for touchdowns. Running back Joe

Mixon has 128 rushes for 584 yards and five touchdowns on the ground plus 24 catches for 177 yards and another touchdown.

“Obviously, when (Green) is off the field, it hurts them, but a lot of guys have stepped up in his absence,” Peppers said. “(Boyd) has been coming on strong. John Ross is a deep threat, and Mixon has been able to get their ground game going. That opens up their play-action pass game and their intermediate routes. We still have to be on our Ps and Qs.”