Browns treat their fans to a 32-13 Halloween night Thriller over the Bengals to improve to 3-5 and snap their 4-game skid
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — When your star defensive player Myles Garrett marches into the Monday Night game on Halloween game dressed as the evil Vecna from Stranger Things, you better bring it.
Garrett and the rest of the Browns did just that in a 32-13 beatdown of the Bengals at FirstEnergy Stadium filled with flickering orange lights, a Thriller halftime show and everything these home fans have wanted to see from their team all season.
In snapping their four-game losing streak, the Browns improved to 3-5 overall and 2-1 in the division, and breathed new life into their season heading into the bye week. They also sent the Bengals home 4-4 and 0-3 in the AFC North. Joe Burrow, who led the Bengals to the Super Bowl last season and was a on a tear this year, dropped to 0-4 against the Browns in his career.
It was reminiscent of last year’s 41-16 rout of the Bengals in Cincinnati on Nov. 7.
Garrett, who lumbered into the Stadium in his fearsome costume and had a mockup of Burrow in Vecna’s tentacles in his front yard, said heading in that ‘I like our chances’ because of their potential to make Burrow uncomfortable and fluster him throughout the game.
He also stated the Browns planned to ‘put him in the dirt’ to win the game. Garrett set the tone with a tipped pass that led to a Burrow pick by A.J. Green on his opening drive, and followed that with a sack that served notice the Browns had come to play. He finished with 1 1/2 sacks for 7 1/2 on the season.
Garrett also vowed to ‘empty the tank’ heading into the bye and urged his teammates to do the same. They happily obliged and had FirstEnergy rocking from start to finish.
The defense, playing by far its best game of the season despite the absence of Denzel Ward (concussion) and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (knee), made Burrow look more like a rookie for most of the game instead of the Super Bowl QB he is. Playing without his star receiver in Ja’Marr Chase (hip), Burrow completed 25 of 35 attempts for 232 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception, and was sacked five times. Martin Emerson — three breakups — and Sione Takitaki (sack-fumble) were among those that had big games.
The quarterback who looked more like he had played in a Super Bowl last season was Jacoby Brissett, who lived up to his recent promise to be better. Brissett went 17-of-22 for 278 yards with 1 TD for a 133.7 rating.
Amari Cooper, playing against a depleted Bengals secondary, was outstanding, catching 5 of 7 targets for 131 yards and a TD. He threw an interception on a trick play but made up for it with one spectacular catch after another, including one for a 4-yard TD that made it 25-0 with 3:10 left in the third.
Cooper also caught a 53-yarder that led to Nick Chubb’s second TD, an 11 yarder that made it 32-6 with 8:46 left.
Chubb was equally outstanding, rushing for 101 yards on 23 carries and two TDs. Kareem Hunt, who had no idea if it was his last game at FirstEnergy Stadium, had 72 all-purpose yards.
Donovan Peoples-Jones had one of his usual big games against the Bengals, catching all four of his targets for 81 yards. The Browns, who led 11-0 at the half, stormed out of the locker room in the third quarter and extended their lead to 18-0 on a 3-yard run to the left by Brissett, who played his best game of the season. The drive featured a 26-yard pass to a wide-open Peoples-Jones and a 21-yard run by a wide-open Chubb.
The defense forced a three-and-out, and the Browns marched right back down and scored on a 4-yard touchdown catch by Cooper, who also caught a 27-yarder on the drive, to make it 25-0 with 3:10 left in the third quarter.
By that point, the Browns were dominating, and the Bengals had no answer.
The Bengals avoided the shutout on a 13-yard touchdown catch by Tyler Boyd with 14:15 left in the game, but the great Evan McPherson, who earlier missed a 47-yard field goal, sent the extra point attempt wide right. Tee Higgins caught a 41-yard TD to cut the deficit to 32-13 with 6:40 remaining.
The Browns led 11-0 at the half on a 3-yard touchdown run by Chubb off of a direct snap and 55-yard field goal by Cade York as time expired in the half. Chubb also ran in from two for the two-pointer after his touchdown.
It was a wild first half that featured some excellent defense by the Browns, the interception by Cooper, a sack-fumble by Brissett, an interception and sack-fumble Burrow, a blocked field goal by York, and the missed field goal by McPherson.
Oddly enough, neither team managed to score off of all of any of those four turnovers.
Burrow was picked off on his opening drive against the Browns for the third straight game, but the pick went for naught when York’s 53-yard field goal attempt was blocked. It was his second straight block, following the gametying attempt at the end of last week’s 23-20 loss to the Ravens.
Green picked off the pass after Garrett tipped it. Garrett blew up the next drive with an 8-yard takedown of Burrow, who was sacked three times in the first half alone.
The Browns got fancy on their next drive with a trick play, but Cooper’s pass intended for Michael Woods II was picked off by Vonn Bell for his fourth of the season. Fortunately for Cooper, the defense forced a three-and-out.
The Browns finally got on the scoreboard on the 3-yard run by Chubb off another trick play — the direct snap. Brissett lined up behind center as if to take the snap, but motioned out to the right, and Chubb plowed ahead for the score. The Bengals had 12-men on the field on the extra point, and the Browns opted to go for two. Chubb rumbled in to make it 8-0 with 5:04 left in the half.
Takitaki strip-sacked Burrow on the ensuing drive, but instead of cashing in, Brissett was strip-sacked himself when Bell crashed in on a blitz. The Bengals started at their 49, and marched to the 29, but McPherson’s 47-yard attempt at the Dawg Pound end was wide right.
The Browns took over at their 37 with 40 seconds left in the half, and Brissett completed passes of 12 and 14 yards to Hunt and David Bell to the Bengals’ 47. York sailed a 55-yard field goal through the middle of the uprights to extend the Browns lead to 11-0 as time expired.
The lights dimmed and FirstEnergy Stadium and a Thriller halftime show broke out. It matched the performance of the team.
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Cleveland Browns cornerback A.J. Green (L) and Cleveland Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II (R) clebrate the sack by Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett in the first quarter, October 31, 2022.
© John Kuntz/cleveland.com/TNS