Browns: 3 keys to victory against the Bengals in Cincinnati

Pressure Joe Burrow into making mistakes

The Browns defense only works when it has turnovers to play off of. They’re not going to be the type of defense that can load up the box and stop a running back with four straight stoppages to prevent a first down. That’s not them. They’re best when teams fumble and toss interceptions. Something you can’t always guarantee will happen no matter the pressure. So what can you do to at least help ensure mistakes are made? Just hit the quarterback as many times as humanly possible. Get Joe Burrow to throw passes that have less of a chance to find their target by making him scramble and throw on the run.

Burrow is a rookie, so forcing him into mistakes is going to happen. As noted before, the Browns pass rush outside of Myles Garrett is non-existent the last few games, but the last time the Browns faced the Bengals, people actually thought Sheldon Richardson was back to his old form. He’s not, the Bengals (and subsequently Washington’s) offensive line was just that terrible.

Thankfully, we’re talking about the Bengals. So that means the Browns defensive line should actually play like they are world-beaters again. Hopefully. If the defensive line can’t get after Burrow then this is going to be a long day all around. Thankfully Joe Mixon is awful and the odds of the Bengals running on the Browns aren’t great.

Still a possibility, just not a likelihood.