Bengals 27, Browns 17
It came in a losing effort, but worth noting was the stellar performance of Browns second-year cornerback Joe Haden. He seems to be the A.F.C.’s next superstar. The No. 7 overall pick from a year ago, he shut out No. 4 overall pick A.J. Green (not counting the 44-yard touchdown that Green scored after the Bengals snapped the ball when the Browns’ D was still milling about in a huddle). Haden has rare agility; he changes directions like a fish, even out of a backpedal.
Bengals O vs. Browns D
It’s hard to believe that Cedric Benson had 121 yards rushing. That was a product of a high volume of carries. Benson played well, the left side of the offensive line got movement, but there was never the sense that the Bengals were dominating on the ground. Credit Jay Gruden for running the offense through Benson. Andy Dalton was good in his one half of work. He had enough time and space in the pocket to pitch a tent. He was extremely accurate. Tight end Jermaine Gresham was Cincy’s go-to guy. The Bengals designed several nice plays for him that forced the safeties and linebackers to make tough decisions in zone coverage. The Browns needed more of a pass-rush outside. Lastly, left cornerback Joe Haden was absolutely fabulous.
Browns O vs. Bengals D
The lack of explosiveness of the Browns’ passing attack became evident, especially late in the fourth quarter when they had to run the hurry-up. The Browns manipulated McCoy’s reads by having all of his downfield throws in the first half come from a moving pocket (usually off play-action). This tactic is common with young quarterbacks; it slices the field in half and makes for defined reads. But it’s a limiting tactic over all. The Bengals had good activity from their front four. Both corners played well (Leon Hall especially), and safety Reggie Nelson had the best second-half performance of his thus far underwhelming career. Nelson was effective in coverage and made several clean, fast stops as an added defender in the box.
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