Cleveland @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 1, 2017 ) Cincinnati 31, Cleveland 7

After snapping its three-game skid last week, the Cincinnati Bengals look to boost their long-shot playoff hopes when they host the winless Cleveland Browns on Sunday. The Bengals, who blasted the blasted the Browns 31-7 earlier in the season, opened the week just one game out of the final wild-card playoff spot.





The Bengals hope that last week's 20-17 win at Denver jump-starts an unlikely playoff drive. Only two NFL teams have ever made the playoffs after starting a season 3-6. Cleveland was competitive once again last week, but fell apart late in a 19-7 loss to Jacksonville. The Browns dropped to 1-25 under coach Hue Jackson and are 4-43 since Nov. 30, 2014 -- the worst 47-game stretch in NFL history.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, CBS. LINE: Bengals -8. O/U: 38.

ABOUT THE BROWNS (0-10): Turnovers continue to plague rookie quarterback DeShone Kizer, who was intercepted twice, sacked five times and lost two fumbles against the Jaguars. The Browns were held to just four yards of offense in the first quarter and scored their only points when Kizer hooked up with Duke Johnson for a 27-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Corey Coleman made an instant impact in his return to action, catching six of his team-high 11 targets for 80 yards.
ABOUT THE BENGALS (4-6): Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes in the win as the Bengals won in Denver for the first time since 1975 last week. Dalton has re-invigorated the deep passing game with four touchdown passes of 18 yards or more over the past two games after having just three through the first eight outings. A.J. Green has scored in consecutive weeks and ranks eighth in the NFL with 743 yards receiving and is tied for third with six touchdowns.

EXTRA POINTS
1. Bengals TE Tyler Kroft caught a scoring pass last week, but injured his hand and is questionable.
2. Cleveland is just the third team in NFL history to start consecutive seasons at 0-10.
3. The Browns are last in the NFL in scoring, averaging 15 points per game.

PREDICTION: Bengals 20, Browns 17