Andy Dalton had one of the worst days that a quarterback could have, and it contributed mightily towards the Bengals getting dominated at home by the suddenly first place Cleveland Browns. Dalton completed 10 of 33 passes for 86 yards and 3 interceptions, with no touchdowns. The Bengals looked inept all day. Perhaps part of it had to do with wind gusts that disrupted Cincinnati's offensive execution. And certainly, the Browns defense deserves quite a bit of credit, as well, as they are looking more and more like a solid defensive unit. But Dalton himself just made some poor decisions at times, and showed a lack of leadership and presence in the pocket, which contributed to a crushing loss for the Bengals.
In the process of losing this game, the Bengals not only got bounced out of first place in the division, but also were the team that found itself inadvertently ending a historic streak in the negative for Cleveland. Prior to this game, the Browns owned a dubious record of 17 consecutive divisional road losses. But they managed to end that streak on Thursday night, and now find themselves in first place in the AFC North.
The Bengals had been in first place in the AFC North all season, and entered this game with a 5-2-1 record. Cleveland entered with a 5-3 mark, but are now tied with Pittsburgh for first place, a 1/2 game ahead of the Bengals, and a game ahead of the Ravens, in what is the first division in a long, long time where every team has a winning record past the midway point of the season.
Looking ahead at their schedule, the Browns have a real chance at winning the division, and at the very least, a winning season, and a shot at the playoffs. The Browns have not been to the playoffs since 2002. They have not hosted, or won, a playoff game since 1994. And the last time that Cleveland won a division title? You have to go all the way back to the 1989 season, which was also the last time that the Browns went to the AFC Championship Game, where they met the Broncos for the third time in four seasons at that level, and, consequently, where they lost, yet again, to the Broncos for the third time in four season (the Broncos lost each of the Super Bowls that they advanced to back then, as well).
Now, that's going pretty far back in history! At least as far as professional sports, and the NFL, are concerned!
But this year's edition of the Cleveland Browns finally has a chance to make right what has been going wrong for such a long time there, and it comes right at the same time that Lebron James made his return to Cleveland in basketball!
I know that Cleveland has a rough sports history, and that it is known often times as kind of the purgatory for sports. But this year, things have a real chance of changing!
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