Heading into the 10th week of the NFL season, the Cleveland Browns are in first place in the toughest division in the league. Let that soak in.
Browns vs. Bengals 2014 final score: 3 things we learned from Cleveland’s 24-3 win
Andy Dalton completed just 30 percent of his passes as his Bengals were routed by the Browns on “Thursday Night Football.”
The Browns snapped a 17-game division road loss streak with a 24-3 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night, harassing Andy Dalton into the worst game of his career to improve to 6-3. The Bengals, who failed to find the end zone for the first time at home this season, fall to 5-3-1.
This is what we learned from yet another Thursday night blowout:
1) Andy Dalton wants to forget about this one.
This is not what the Bengals had in mind when they handed Dalton that fat new contract in the offseason (though remember, it’s not as fat as the advertised $115 million). He struggled badly with his accuracy, sailing throw after throw on the way to a 10-of-33, 86-yard, no-touchdown night. He tossed three interceptions (and had a fourth dropped) and his 30 percent completion rating was the lowest by a Bengals quarterback since 2000.
Seriously, there were a lot of incompletions.
With the Bengals trailing by 21 with just over four minutes remaining, Dalton was pulled for Jason Campbell.
2) Ben Tate is being replaced in the Browns' backfield.
Cleveland had a strong day on the ground against a porous Bengals run D, but it had little to do with Tate, the highly touted free agent signee who's seen his role shrink considerably over the last two weeks. While he did draw the start and scored a first-quarter touchdown, he finished the day with just 10 carries -- fewer than both Terrance West and Isaiah Crowell. West, a rookie third-round pick, had 26 totes for 94 yards and a touchdown and has now out-carried Tate in consecutive games. Tate will still play a role in this offense, but it would appear as though the rookie is taking over as the primary back. You've been warned, fantasy owners.
3) The Browns are only going to get better.
The scary thing, at least if you're a fan of another AFC North team, is that Cleveland was playing without three of its best playmakers on offense. Pro Bowl tight end Jordan Cameron continues to nurse a concussion but could be back in as little as two weeks, and wide receiver Andrew Hawkins was listed as inactive with a thigh/knee injury, but isn't expected to miss significant time. Then, of course, there's All-Pro wideout Josh Gordon, who will return from his 10-game suspension in Week 12. Brian Hoyer could start putting up some real numbers when all of those guys get back on the field.
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