AFC North: Bengals, Browns facing tough opponents in Week 10

by Christina "Tina" Rivers (3Rivers_Writer) on November 10, 2018

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a firm hold on the AFC North after they handed the Carolina Panthers a loss on Thursday night, but in Week 10 the Baltimore Ravens are on a bye while the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns face tough opponents in the New Orleans Saints and Atlanta Falcons respectively. This week is important to both the Bengals and Browns, but a win for Cincinnati would be more significant in helping maintain position within the division.

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Bengals hosting red-hot Saints

This Sunday, Andy Dalton and the Bengals will welcome Drew Brees and the Saints into Paul Brown Stadium in their first game following their bye week. It will be a true test of how well Cincinnati is able to rebound after barely escaping with a win against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team in Week 8, 37-34.

Brees is having one of the best seasons in his career due to the number of weapons at his disposal and great protection from his offensive line. Sacked a league-low nine times, Brees continues to orchestrate any innate ability to change the direction of big games and boasts the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the league (18 touchdowns to one interception in 279 passing attempts). The Bengals will need to dial up some healthy pressure with their defensive line comprised of Geno Atkins, Adolphus Washington, Josh Tupou, and Andrew Billings. It will require overpowering two of the highest-rated pass-blocking offensive tackles (per ProFootballFocus.com), Ryan Ramczyk and Terron Armstead, in order to get in Brees’ face and disrupt any tempo the Saints offense can generate. In the four games this season in which Atkins has logged at least one sack, the Bengals have won.

Dalton has handled the blitz more effectively this season and has an opportunity to take advantage of a weak Saints pass defense. It may be in Dalton and the Cincinnati offense’s best interest to use Joe Mixon to open up the field, however. The ground game would help Dalton control time of possession, limiting the time Brees has on the field to work, as well as set up potential mismatches in the passing-receiving game. Although Eli Apple was added as a free agent to help in the defensive secondary, the Saints still have back-end issues that speedy receivers John Ross, Alex Erickson, Jordan Franks, and Cody Core could exploit in the absence of A.J. Green from their roster (injury).

One of the biggest one-on-one matchups of the game may very well be between Bengals cornerback William Jackson and Saints receiver Michael Thomas. Thomas has the No. 1 grade (91.1 per PFF) in receiving to Jackson’s 64.3 coverage grade. The Bengals would be smart to get rookie Jessie Bates (83.8 coverage grade) involved in helping keep the deep ball from turning the game into a mismatch.

Game Info
Date: Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. (EST)*
Location: Paul Brown Stadium (Cincinnati)
TV: FOX
Radio: 700WLW • ESPN 1530 • 102.7 WEBN (Cincinnati market)

BREAKING: Just two days after becoming a New Orleans Saint, Dez Bryant ruptured his Achilles during practice. https://t.co/Th6K4m8aTX pic.twitter.com/Fzvg8SkIsG

— FOX44 Baton Rouge (@wgmbfox44) November 9, 2018

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Browns hope for rebound over Falcons

Cleveland plays host once again in Week 10, but their guests are an Atlanta team that has found new energy. After starting the season 1-4, unable to stop opponents from putting points on the scoreboard, the Falcons have found some rhythm after injuries first hurt their overall game. The Falcons are on a three-game streak while the Browns are still reeling after Hue Jackson and Todd Haley were fired and Gregg Williams took over as the interim head coach and the Kansas City Chiefs dismantled them.

The Browns found some success in moving the ball against the Chiefs and should do better against a Falcons defense that is still dealing with injuries (similar to their own). Getting Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson involved in the ground game early should help Baker Mayfield ease into a comfort zone and find success in hooking up with Antonio Callaway, Hollywood Higgins, Jarvis Landry, and David Njoku.

The biggest question mark will be whether Cleveland has enough to shut down Matt Ryan-to-Julio Jones and keep Calvin Ridley, Mohamed Sanu, and Tevin Coleman from breaking the game wide open. Again, Cleveland can’t just count on Myles Garrett to literally be their defense. It doesn’t help that E.J. Gaines and Christian Kirksey‘s seasons are over or that Damarious Randall (groin), Denzel Ward (hip), Tavierre Thomas (abdomen), Joe Schobert (hamstring), and Jamie Collins, Sr. (ankle) are dealing with injuries, decimating the defense.

The Browns could pull out a win if they can respond to the Falcons putting points on the scoreboard or earn takeaways from turnovers. It’s a big task, but Week 10 may be the week they find some magic again.

Game Info
Date: Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018
Kickoff: 1:00 p.m. (EST)*
Location: First Energy Stadium (Cleveland)
TV: FOX
Radio: ESPN 850 • 92.3 The Fan • 98.5 WNCX (Cleveland market)