Browns QB Brian Hoyer hopes to give Cleveland their first 6+ win season since 2007.
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The Cincinnati Bengals host the Cleveland Browns on Thursday Night Football to kick off Week 10 of NFL action.
The Bengals are just barely holding on to first place in the AFC North with a 5-2-1 record, giving them less than half a game ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the division title race. The team was able to just barely make do without WR A.J. Green who finally made his return last week in a win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, now they are on a two-game winning streak and stand alone at the top of the division – for now.
The Cleveland Browns, who won their fifth game of the season by beating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, have now matched or exceed their win totals from each of the last 6 seasons. Since rejoining the league in 1999, the Browns have only had 4 seasons with 6 wins or more and only two winning seasons. Needless to say, a road win over the defending AFC North champion would spell great things for the Browns future – especially with QB Brian Hoyer and not 1st-round draft pick Johnny Manziel at the helm.
The two teams both bring top-15 offenses to the table but both have struggled mightily on defense, ranking in the bottom four.
Prediction: Bengals – With A.J. Green back and RB Jeremy Hill looking like a more-than-suitable stopgap solution while Giovanni Bernard recovers from injuries, there’s little reason to believe that the Bengals won’t go back to being the offensive juggernaut that dominated the AFC last year. And while the Browns are certainly no pushovers, their lack of a running game may be their Achilles heel in this game.
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