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Browns will again have their hands full with fierce pass rush: 6 matchups to watch
Posted November 25, 2017 at 12:00 PM | Updated November 26, 2017
(Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns are in the middle of a string of games against some of the best pass rushing teams in the NFL. They faced the best team in the league when it comes to sacks on Sunday when they lost to Jacksonville. This week, they’ll face the team tied for fifth in the league in the Bengals. Next week, it's off to Los Angeles to face the Chargers, who surpassed the Bengals in sacks during their Thanksgiving Day win.
Cincinnati has 29 sacks on the season, led by defensive tackle Geno Atkins' six. Atkins is the top interior defensive lineman in the NFL in sacks, tied with Dallas’ David Irving.
Center JC Tretter said the pressure up the middle from Atkins and other interior defenders makes it hard for the quarterback to step up and allows the Bengals’ ends to make plays.
"Geno kind of runs it," Tretter said, "but having everybody else doing their job puts them in position to get sacks."
Speaking of those ends, Carlos Dunlap is coming off of a two-sack performance against Denver a week ago and has four sacks, 14 quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception that he returned for a touchdown against Indianapolis.
The Bengals also have the league's rookie sack leader in linebacker Carl Lawson. The fourth round pick out of Auburn has 5.5 sacks. (It’s worth noting that Browns defensive end Myles Garrett isn’t far behind Lawson with four sacks.)
Here are five more matchups to watch on Sunday when the Browns take on the Bengals.
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By Dan Labbe, cleveland.com
Follow: on Twitter | on Facebook
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Browns rushers vs. Bengals run defense
Sunday against Jacksonville marked the first time in three weeks the Browns were held under 100 yards rushing and just the second time in their last six games. The Bengals come into Sunday’s game ranked No. 27 in opponent rushing, so there might be an opportunity there for the Browns to find their run game again.
The Browns, for their part, have not had a 100-yard rusher all season and running back Isaiah Crowell has rushed for 60 or more yards just three times. Run game coordinator Kirby Wilson put the onus on the backs to prove to their head coach, Hue Jackson, that they deserve to keep getting the football.
"The runners have to inspire the play caller," Wilson said. "It does not matter if it is a 1-yard gain or a 4-yard gain; if you are running violently and you are finishing and hitting holes aggressively, sometimes they tend to make them believe that you got five yards."
Tretter said the offense believes it will be able to run the ball every week, but when the game starts, that will have to be proved.
"You can go all week and think you can," Tretter said, "but you've got to go out there and start off fast, start off strong, get ahead of the downs so we don't start throwing it a bunch."
(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)
Browns red zone offense vs. Bengals red zone defense
The Bengals have been excellent defensively in the red zone this season, ranking third in the NFL in red-zone defense after 11 weeks. They have allowed touchdowns on 41.2 percent of opponents' red-zone trips and, over the last five games, they've allowed 10 touchdowns on 25 trips.
The Browns offense? Not so good. They ranked 27th in the league after 11 weeks, scoring just 12 touchdowns on 26 appearances in the red zone.
"They have always done a really good job over the years (in the red zone)," Wilson said. "They have had some issues in some other areas, but that is not one of them."
Corey Coleman vs. Bengals secondary
Coleman returned on Sunday and put together a strong performance against the Jaguars' defense, more specifically against cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who has established himself as one of the top corners in the game already in his young career.
Coleman won't face a player of Ramsey's caliber on Sunday, so there could be some opportunities for quarterback DeShone Kizer to get him the ball down the field. That said, there are some guys in that secondary that have been around a while and can make some plays.
The only time Coleman has faced the Bengals in his two seasons was on Dec. 11 last season. He had just three catches on 11 targets, but Coleman struggled in general last year after returning from his broken hand. If his return on Sunday is any indication, this time could be very different.
(Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)
Garrett vs. Bengals left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi
Ogbuehi was taken No. 21 overall in the 2015 draft and has been asked to fill big shoes this season when left tackle Andrew Whitworth left to protect Jared Goff's blindside in Los Angeles.
Garrett played with Ogbuehi for a season at Texas A&M.
"I went against him a lot my freshman year," Garrett said, "so definitely have some history, mostly positive, so it should be a good matchup."
Ogbuehi is the 70th-ranked tackle on the grading website ProFootballFocus.com, and Garrett will likely be licking his chops to face the former Aggie on Sunday.
Bengals returners against Browns special teams
Adam Jones has only returned five punts this season, but his long on the year came against the Browns when he broke off a 40-yard return in the opening quarter of the first matchup between these two teams. Cincinnati's offense turned that return into the first score of the game.
Alex Erickson had a big return in that game, too, a 44-yarder that got called back on an illegal block in the back.
Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said on Friday that he thought the Bengals’ special teams dominated the Browns in the first meeting.
"As you keep watching them throughout the whole year, their return game has been outstanding," Tabor said. "We are going to have our hands full there."
Erickson is sixth in the NFL in kick return yards and fourth in punt return yards. The Browns don’t need to help a scuffling Bengals offense by giving them good field position.
Browns will again have their hands full with fierce pass rush: 6 matchups to watch
Posted November 25, 2017 at 12:00 PM | Updated November 26, 2017
(Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Browns are in the middle of a string of games against some of the best pass rushing teams in the NFL. They faced the best team in the league when it comes to sacks on Sunday when they lost to Jacksonville. This week, they’ll face the team tied for fifth in the league in the Bengals. Next week, it's off to Los Angeles to face the Chargers, who surpassed the Bengals in sacks during their Thanksgiving Day win.
Cincinnati has 29 sacks on the season, led by defensive tackle Geno Atkins' six. Atkins is the top interior defensive lineman in the NFL in sacks, tied with Dallas’ David Irving.
Center JC Tretter said the pressure up the middle from Atkins and other interior defenders makes it hard for the quarterback to step up and allows the Bengals’ ends to make plays.
"Geno kind of runs it," Tretter said, "but having everybody else doing their job puts them in position to get sacks."
Speaking of those ends, Carlos Dunlap is coming off of a two-sack performance against Denver a week ago and has four sacks, 14 quarterback hits, seven tackles for loss, a forced fumble and an interception that he returned for a touchdown against Indianapolis.
The Bengals also have the league's rookie sack leader in linebacker Carl Lawson. The fourth round pick out of Auburn has 5.5 sacks. (It’s worth noting that Browns defensive end Myles Garrett isn’t far behind Lawson with four sacks.)
Here are five more matchups to watch on Sunday when the Browns take on the Bengals.
-----
By Dan Labbe, cleveland.com
Follow: on Twitter | on Facebook
-----
Browns rushers vs. Bengals run defense
Sunday against Jacksonville marked the first time in three weeks the Browns were held under 100 yards rushing and just the second time in their last six games. The Bengals come into Sunday’s game ranked No. 27 in opponent rushing, so there might be an opportunity there for the Browns to find their run game again.
The Browns, for their part, have not had a 100-yard rusher all season and running back Isaiah Crowell has rushed for 60 or more yards just three times. Run game coordinator Kirby Wilson put the onus on the backs to prove to their head coach, Hue Jackson, that they deserve to keep getting the football.
"The runners have to inspire the play caller," Wilson said. "It does not matter if it is a 1-yard gain or a 4-yard gain; if you are running violently and you are finishing and hitting holes aggressively, sometimes they tend to make them believe that you got five yards."
Tretter said the offense believes it will be able to run the ball every week, but when the game starts, that will have to be proved.
"You can go all week and think you can," Tretter said, "but you've got to go out there and start off fast, start off strong, get ahead of the downs so we don't start throwing it a bunch."
(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)
Browns red zone offense vs. Bengals red zone defense
The Bengals have been excellent defensively in the red zone this season, ranking third in the NFL in red-zone defense after 11 weeks. They have allowed touchdowns on 41.2 percent of opponents' red-zone trips and, over the last five games, they've allowed 10 touchdowns on 25 trips.
The Browns offense? Not so good. They ranked 27th in the league after 11 weeks, scoring just 12 touchdowns on 26 appearances in the red zone.
"They have always done a really good job over the years (in the red zone)," Wilson said. "They have had some issues in some other areas, but that is not one of them."
Corey Coleman vs. Bengals secondary
Coleman returned on Sunday and put together a strong performance against the Jaguars' defense, more specifically against cornerback Jalen Ramsey, who has established himself as one of the top corners in the game already in his young career.
Coleman won't face a player of Ramsey's caliber on Sunday, so there could be some opportunities for quarterback DeShone Kizer to get him the ball down the field. That said, there are some guys in that secondary that have been around a while and can make some plays.
The only time Coleman has faced the Bengals in his two seasons was on Dec. 11 last season. He had just three catches on 11 targets, but Coleman struggled in general last year after returning from his broken hand. If his return on Sunday is any indication, this time could be very different.
(Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com)
Garrett vs. Bengals left tackle Cedric Ogbuehi
Ogbuehi was taken No. 21 overall in the 2015 draft and has been asked to fill big shoes this season when left tackle Andrew Whitworth left to protect Jared Goff's blindside in Los Angeles.
Garrett played with Ogbuehi for a season at Texas A&M.
"I went against him a lot my freshman year," Garrett said, "so definitely have some history, mostly positive, so it should be a good matchup."
Ogbuehi is the 70th-ranked tackle on the grading website ProFootballFocus.com, and Garrett will likely be licking his chops to face the former Aggie on Sunday.
Bengals returners against Browns special teams
Adam Jones has only returned five punts this season, but his long on the year came against the Browns when he broke off a 40-yard return in the opening quarter of the first matchup between these two teams. Cincinnati's offense turned that return into the first score of the game.
Alex Erickson had a big return in that game, too, a 44-yarder that got called back on an illegal block in the back.
Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor said on Friday that he thought the Bengals’ special teams dominated the Browns in the first meeting.
"As you keep watching them throughout the whole year, their return game has been outstanding," Tabor said. "We are going to have our hands full there."
Erickson is sixth in the NFL in kick return yards and fourth in punt return yards. The Browns don’t need to help a scuffling Bengals offense by giving them good field position.
