Passing Offense: C-
The dominating run game and dismal starting debut of Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel masked a subpar performance by Andy Dalton, who was 14 of 24 for 117 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Browns cornerback Joe Haden dropped another interception before leaving the game with a shoulder injury in the first half. Even with Haden and cornerback Justin Gilbert (concussion) out in the second half, Dalton continued to struggle. His passer rating of 53.6 was his lowest ever in a victory.
Rushing Defense: A
After being thoroughly dominated at the point of attack and in last month’s 24-3 loss in which the Browns ran the ball 52 times, the Bengals rebounded in impressive fashion. They held Cleveland to 53 yards on 17 carries. Manziel’s five runs/scrambles netted just 13 yards. The Bengals held the Browns to 1 of 10 of third down, and three of those stops were on rushing attempts of third and 2 or less.
Passing Defense: A
The Bengals tied their season high with three sacks and came up with multiple interceptions for just the fourth time this season to ruin Manziel’s starting debut. Rey Maualuga had a third pick wiped out when Wallace Gilberry lined up offsides. The Bengals held Manziel to 10 completions on 18 attempts, and a couple of times when he was on target some big hits by defensive backs dislodged the ball from the receivers.
Special Teams: B+
Mike Nugent ran his streak of consecutive field goals to 11 by hitting from 44, 44 and 34 yards less than a week after his father’s sudden death, and while punter Kevin Huber’s average doesn’t look strong at first glance, it was due more to his limited sample size. Huber only punted twice, one of which came from the Cleveland 45. It led to a fair catch at the 15, and that 30 yarder offset a 47-yard boot in his only other attempt. Brandon Tate handled all the return duties with Adam Jones bothered by a chest injury, and Tate turned in a season-high 30-yard punt return to set up the Bengals’ second touchdown. The coverage units were solid as well, holding the Browns to a 20.2-yard average on five kickoff returns and 0 yards on punt returns.
Coaching: A
Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther resisted the temptation to throw a heavy dose of blitzes at a rookie making his first start, and it paid off as the Bengals did a great job of corralling Manziel in the pocket and taking away his ability to make plays with is feet. Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, who like Nugent was working with a heavy heart after the death of his father six days earlier, also drew up a gem of a game plan. Jackson installed some new plays that got Hill and Bernard to the edge with option tosses to take advantage of the way the Browns stacked the box in the first meeting. Plus, any time a team blows a fourth-quarter lead to drop a division game and comes back to win a division game on the road in the manner the Bengals did, the coaching staff deserves a lot of credit.
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