By Paul Daugherty
November 26, 2017
PITTSBURGH, PA - OCTOBER 22: Le'Veon Bell #26 of the Pittsburgh Steelers carries the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half during the game at Heinz Field on October 22, 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
After thrashing the Cleveland Browns Sunday, the Bengals return to playing actual National Football League games next Monday night at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And that’s the last cheap Cleveland joke you’re getting today.
The Browns are Homecoming, the Browns are the last kid picked for kickball. They are the closest thing the league has to spring break. The Bengals beat the Browns. Everyone beats the Browns.
The Browns get the same super-sized money-goodies every team gets, for being a member of the richest sports league in the land. They get to whiff on the highest draft picks and play the easiest schedules. And yet they’ve now lost 29 of their last 30 games. It’s a miracle, really.
So when you beat the Browns, you need to find significance in the beating, beyond the beating. For the Bengals, it was having an earth-moving day against a top-10 run defense. This was important on a few levels:
(1) It was getting a little embarrassing being the 32nd-best running team in the NFL. How many 2-yard runs should one fan base have to endure?
(2) It revived the myth, widely shared, that running the ball wins games late in the season. Especially in the AFC North where apparently everyone’s playing on permafrost. This is news to Football/Geography double majors, who could swear that football is also being played outdoors in Green Bay and Foxborough, Mass., shivery places known for great passing teams.
(3) No matter. Whether the weather is brutal or fair, running does matter. On Sunday, Joe Mixon ran 23 times for 114 yards. That’s a 5-yard average against a team previously allowing 3.1 yards a try.
Mixon is shedding his rookie impatience, just in time. This isn’t Oklahoma, and those guys in the other uniforms aren’t the Kansas Jayhawks. You aren’t going to bust every run, so don’t try. “He’s sticking with the runs,’’ guard Clint Boling said. “He’s running north-south.’’ Instead of squirming and dancing laterally and losing two yards, Mixon is cutting his losses and gaining two.
This week, he showed he didn’t need huge holes to make big yards. He just needed holes big enough to drive a Mack truck through. One of those little, die-cast Mack trucks.
Mixon’s 11-yard TD run with 2:54 left removed any suspense from a dull game. Unless you count A.J. Green’s impossible grab in the 3rd quarter. The leaning out of bounds, yet catching the ball inbounds reception was a triumph of gravity defiance, even for him. “Front foot down, drag the back one. Do it every day. Becomes second nature,’’ Green explained. Greatness is making the impossible seem routine.
I asked Green if he’d ever worked on a complementary skill, such as dancing or ballet or being a member of the Wallenda family. “Nah, man,’’ he said. “I don’t do none of that stuff. God given talent. Blessed to have it.’’
The Bengals trailed 0-3 before leading 23-6. The Browns did get it to 23-16 with seven minutes to go. But, well, they are the Browns. Given a chance to shock the world (as bounded by Mentor and Lorain) the Browns then allowed the Bengals a 75-yard drive that was as effortless as a fork through pumpkin pie.
They’re headed into the Pittsburgh Week! bunker now. The Bengals 5-6 record shoudn’t equate to big playoff hope, but in the AFC it does. “We’ve let a lot of games to go,’’ said Giovani Bernard, who emerged from witness protection Sunday to carry three times and catch a 15-yard pass. “We shouldn’t be in the position we’re in. It’s kinda sad to say, but we know how to play from behind.’’
Or, as Marvin Lewis put it, “We don’t get any more do-overs.’’
An 8-8 wildcard team is possible in the AFC. A 9-7 is more likely. That means the Bengals are allowed one more loss to stay in the mix. Problem is, there are no more Clevelands to play. The Bears come closest, but then it’s Detroit, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and the Ravens. All January possibles.
Beating the Steelers would make the road a little straighter. It’d also be a win over a good team. That hasn’t happened yet this year. Counting Cleveland twice, the teams the Bengals have beaten owned a combined 12-42 record as of 6 Sunday night.
“It ain’t who you play, it’s how you play,’’ said Chris Smith. “The (Steelers) game isn’t going to be won on (Monday), it’s going to be won during the week. Like coach Paulie (Guenther) says, I like nasty stuff.’’
It will get nasty next Monday. Any resemblance to the game just completed will be coincidental. The Bengals are right. They still have time. Now that the pastry part of the schedule is nearly complete, we’ll see if they’re up to it.
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