In a game of streaks Sunday at Paycor Stadium, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow looked to pick up the Bengals' fifth straight win and his eighth straight in December and January by ending the Browns' five-game winning streak in the series.
The numbers look good for him. He gets his 39th NFL start one day after his 26th birthday and Sunday's game marks the 17th anniversary to the day at Paycor Stadium the Bengals beat the Browns, 23-20, on the way to the 2005 AFC North title. The last time they played the Browns on Dec. 11 came in 2016 in Cleveland, a 23-10 win in which the only Bengal left from that game, slot receiver Tyler Boyd, rung up the longest run of his career on a 39-yarder.
INACTIVES: The Bengals fired another depth charge Sunday with an inactive list that included running back Chris Evans a week after he caught the winning pass in the fourth quarter against the Chiefs.
With running back Joe Mixon returning from a two-game absence after Samaje Perine replaced him in record fashion, the third and last game day spot for the backs went to Trayveon Williams against the Browns at Paycor Stadium
Running backs coach Justin Hill got terrific production from his bench when Mixon went down with a concussion before halftime of the Nov. 20 win in Pittsburgh.
In Pittsburgh, Williams set up a touchdown with an eight-yard run and the next week in Tennessee he converted a third down on a touchdown drive with a leaping 24-yard catch before a 16-yard second-effort job helped drain the clock in the win over the Titans. And special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons likes Williams' work returning kicks, which began in Pittsburgh when Evans missed the game with a knee injury.
Sunday's other inactives were tight end Hayden Hurst (calf) as well as offensive linemen Jackson Carman and D'Ante Smith and defensive end Jeff Gunter.
Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper (hip), who treated Halloween with five catches for 131 yards, was active after coming into the game questionable.
STREAKING BENGALS: In a game of streaks Sunday, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow looked to pick up the Bengals' fifth straight win and his eighth straight in December and January by ending the Browns' five-game winning streak in the series.
The numbers look good for him. He gets his 39th NFL start one day after his 26th birthday and Sunday's game marks the 17th anniversary to the day at Paycor Stadium the Bengals beat the Browns, 23-20, on the way to the 2005 AFC North title. The last time they played the Browns on Dec. 11 came in 2016 in Cleveland, a 23-10 win in which the only Bengal left from that game, slot receiver Tyler Boyd, rung up the longest run of his career on a 39-yarder.
PB TALK: The current Bengals know how this rivalry got started with Bengals founder Paul Brown, but they're always looking for more details. Cornerback Eli Apple, for one, is a huge fan of the NFL past and present.
"I know he coached the Browns before he got to the Bengals and created the Bengals," Apple said. "Didn't know what happened. I don't know why he left the Browns for the Bengals."
Apple was stunned to find out Brown was fired.
"He won a championship," Apple said.
Told he won three NFL titles in Cleveland, Apple asked,
"How do you fire someone who won a championship? Power struggle."
Pretty good reading of history. This is only Apple's second season in Cincinnati, but he knows what this game means to the Brown family. And to the town.
"They know what's up. We haven't won in (five) games," Apple said. "Last year you could feel it. You could feel the urgency. We really didn't show up and this year it was the same story the first time. Of course, you want to come back and show you're a better team and show more fight and do whatever is necessary to win."
