Bengals pile up points, yards in rout over Browns

Cincinnati snaps two-game losing skid to move to 3-4

There’s just something about Hue Jackson’s presence that brings out the best in the Cincinnati Bengals offense.

After putting up impressive numbers for two years under Jackson’s guidance, the Bengals exploited their former offensive coordinator in his return to Paul Brown Stadium as Cleveland head coach, torching the Browns defense for a 31-17 victory.

Jeremy Hill rushed for a career-high 168 yards, and A.J. Green caught a 48-yard Hail Mary on the final play of the first half as the Bengals posted season highs in points and yards (559) to snap a two-game losing streak and improve to 3-4.

The 559 yards are the most by the Bengals since they had 582 in 1990 overtime win against the Los Angeles Rams are tied for the seventh most in franchise history.

The Browns fell to 0-7 and lost starting quarterback Cody Kessler to a concussion late in the second quarter.

Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert made his season debut but was used sparingly, catching just one pass for 9 yards to extend the drive that ended with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Andy Dalton to Brandon LaFell to give Cincinnati the lead for good at 14-10 with 4:09 left in the second quarter.

Green's juggling Hail reception as time expired in the second quarter made it 21-10 at the break.

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The Browns, under the direction of backup quarterback Kevin Hogan, opened the third quarter with a 75-yard drive that Hogan capped with a 28-yard touchdown run.

But two plays later Hill ran around right end for a 74-yard TD to push the lead back to double digits.

Hill’s performance snapped a streak of 24 consecutive games without a 100-yard rusher, which was the second longest in the lead. His 168 yards were the most by a Cincinnati running back since Cedric Benson had 189 against Chicago in 2009.

Green finished with 169 yards on eight catches, topping the 150-yard mark for the third time this year, while Dalton was 19 of 28 for 308 yards and two TDs for a passer rating of 128.3. It was the third game in a row he had a rating of at least 100.

Hogan led the Cleveland offense with 104 rushing yards but was just 12 of 24 for 100 yards with two interceptions.

The Bengals return to action next Sunday in London against the Washington Redskins and another former offensive coordinator in Jay Gruden.

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