Joe Burrow won’t ever have to hear another question about why he hasn’t defeated the Browns ever again.
The quarterback and the rest of the Bengals soundly beat Cleveland 23-10 on Sunday, keeping pace with the ravens at the top of the AFC North.
Burrow did not have several of his top weapons available for the contest, but still played well by leaning on Ja’Marr Chase. Burrow finished the day 18-of-33 for 239 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception. He hit Chase for a 15-yard touchdown to open the game’s scoring. He then connected with Trenton Irwin for a 45-yard score early in the third quarter off a flea-flicker.
Chase ended the game with 10 receptions for 119 yards, and the Bengals needed him to do just that. Tight end Hayden Hurst entered the weekend sidelined by a calf injury, as he was declared out on Friday. Receiver Tee Higgins barely played while dealing with a hamstring injury and Tyler Boyd went out with a finger injury on Cincinnati’s second play from scrimmage and didn’t return.
Joe Mixon was solid in his return, recording 96 yards on 14 carries. Samaje Perine had 22 yards on four carries with a 6-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.
On the other side, Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson showed some signs of improvement after looking extremely rusty last week against Houston. But he finished 26-of-42 for 276 yards with a touchdown and an interception in his second game back from his 11-game suspension.
Donovan Peoples-Jones caught eight passes for 114 yards. Tight end David Njoku caught seven passes for 59 yards with a touchdown — Watson’s first TD pass a Brown. that came with 2:17 left in the third quarter.
The Bengals defense largely shut down Nick Chubb, who finished with 34 yards on 14 carries.
Now at 9-4, the Bengals will head to Florida to face the Buccaneers next week.
The 5-8 Browns will host the Ravens next Saturday afternoon.
