Blanking the Browns

Anybody remember the Thursday Night football debacle when the Cleveland Browns marched into Paul Brown Stadium and embarrassed the Cincinnati Bengals in front of a national audience? That was an absolutely terrible game in which the Bengals turned in a downright horrendous performance.

Anybody remember the Sunday afternoon football game when the Cincinnati Bengals marched into FirstEnergy Stadium and embarrassed the Cleveland Browns in front of not only the Dawg Pound, but also a national audience as the country witnessed Johnny Manziel’s first professional career start in the National Football League? That was an absolutely fantastic game in which the Bengals turned in one of the season’s best performances as they shut out the Browns by a score of 30-0.

The offense set the tone of the game on the opening drive as they went down the field and put the first points of the game on the board when Bengals running back Jeremy Hill ran into the end zone from 2 yards out for a touchdown. Later in the quarter, Bengals kicker Mike Nugent drilled a 44-yard field goal to give the Bengals a 10-0 lead over the Browns.

The men in the black and orange stripes continued to pour it on their instate rivals in the second quarter as Hill scored another touchdown on a 16-yard run to make it 17-0 in favor of the Bengals. Nugent kicked another field goal and the halftime lead for the Bengals was 20-0.

Another three points were added to the Bengals’ total in the third quarter courtesy of Nugent’s foot to make it 23-0. Towards the end of the fourth quarter, Bengals running back Rex Burkhead ran into the end zone from the 10-yard line to seal the Bengals’ 30-0 shutout victory in round two of the Battle of Ohio.

The big story of the game was how dominant the rushing attack of the Bengals was as they ran for a total of 244 yards off 45 attempts. Hill was responsible for 148 of those yards. He also scored two out of the Bengals’ three touchdowns of the game.

The other big story was the defensive dominance of the Bengals. They held the offense of the Browns to 107 yards, and, much to the delight of Bengals fans everywhere, they spoiled the first career start of Johnny Football. Bengals cornerbacks “Doctor” Dre Kirkpatrick and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones each picked off Manziel. The interception by Jones was a key play in the game as he snatched the ball out of the air in the end zone to help keep the Browns scoreless in the game. The defense also managed to sack Manziel three times for a total of 26 yards lost. Bengals defensive tackle Brandon Thompson had the most impressive sack of the day as he dragged Johnny Football to the ground with only one hand.

This 30-0 shutout win over the Browns was much needed for Who Dey Nation after last week’s fourth quarter collapse against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not only did the win improve the Bengals’ record to 9-4-1, but it also allowed them to keep their half game lead in the AFC North as both the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens won. Coming up next for the Bengals is a Monday Night showdown against Peyton Manning and the reigning and defending AFC Champion Denver Broncos. Hopefully the Bengals are able to avoid another primetime meltdown and come away with a win. Until then, enjoy these highlights from round two of the Battle of Ohio.

Who Dey!