Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns staff predictions for Week 8 NFL game
Four losses in a row. No sign of anything changing. The reward for the Browns? A home game against the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals on "Monday Night Football."
Another loss and there will be literally nothing suspended quarterback Deshaun Watson can do when he returns except get familiar with his teammates in game action. The season will be an unmitigated disaster. It's doused in gasoline now and the Bengals hold the torch.
If the Browns don't win and extinguish the torch, the season will be ablaze.
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The defense played a little better against Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens but the offense continues to be its own worst enemy at the most crucial junctures of each game. Penalties, poor decisions and questionable play-calling have all be among the culprits. The players say it's a matter of execution, a little mistake here, a big mistake there.
That's been on a postgame loop since the Browns beat the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 22. Can the Browns exorcise the ghosts that have been haunting them with a win over the Bengals on Halloween or will the Bengals add fuel to the dumpster fire?
Predictions for Browns vs. Bengals 'Battle of Ohio' 2022 game
Our Browns coverage team tells you what they think:
Chris Easterling (4-3)
Score: Bengals 27, Browns 20
Comment: The injuries on both sides make the game a bit more difficult to project. The fact those injuries don't involve Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and do involve the Browns defense give the edge to the team from Southwest Ohio.
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Steve Doerschuk (3-4)
Score: Bengals 27, Browns 20
Comment: In a cluster of AFC North fights at about this time last year, the Bengals belted Baltimore and Pittsburgh by a combined 82-27 score but lost to the Browns 41-16. So, anything can happen. Cincinnati's 4-1 hot streak suggests what probably will happen.
Marla Ridenour (4-3)
Score: Bengals 28, Browns 27
Comment: Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is 0-3 against the Browns and this has been a good matchup for Cleveland. But even without receiver Ja'Marr Chase, Burrow has enough weapons to pick the Browns apart.
Nate Ulrich (5-2)
Score: Bengals 24, Browns 20
Comment: Ja'Marr Chase being out with a hip injury increases the likelihood of an upset win by the Browns, but the Bengals haven't surrendered a second-half touchdown this season, so I'm still leaning their way.
Postgame video:WATCH: Post-game Huddle - Ravens 23, Browns 20 - Groundhog Day Edition
George Thomas (5-2)
Score: Bengals 24, Browns 17
Comment: Sooooo... did anyone see Cincinnati QB Joe Burrow play last week? Just askin'.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns staff predictions
