CLEVELAND — Heading into tonight's matchup with the Cincinnati Bengals on "Monday Night Football," a Browns win wasn't completely out of the realm of possibility.
But goodness, we're not sure anyone expected this type of an effort. Maybe the Halloween spirits were just on their side.
Cleveland delivered its best performance of the year with a resounding 32-13 win over the defending AFC champions. Not only did they snap a four-game losing streak, but they also may have rescued their season, improving to 3-5 overall and 2-1 within the division.
The shining star of this evening was the Browns' defense. Under fire seemingly from kickoff in Week 1, they held the high-powered Bengals to just 229 yards of total offense and sacked quarterback Joe Burrow five times. They also forced two huge turnovers, one on an A.J. Green interception (off a Myles Garrett deflection at the line) and another on a Sione Takitaki strip sack.
Takitaki tallied a career-high 13 tackles, while Garrett (aka "Vecna") imposed his will with 1 1/2 sacks and four QB hits. Cincinnati (4-4) got two late touchdown throws from Burrow, but it wasn't nearly enough after the Browns raced out to a 25-0 lead.
Cleveland's offense got off to a slow start with two giveaways of their own, but eventually got rolling with a well-balanced game plan. Nick Chubb hit that magic number of carries by taking the ball 23 times for 101 yards and two scores, while Jacoby Brissett finished 17-of-22 for 278 yards and a TD. His favorite target, once again, was Amari Cooper, who hauled in five passes for 131 yards and that touchdown.
Tonight's matchup was also notable in that it may have been the last in a Browns uniform for Kareem Hunt, who has been rumored to be on the trade block with the NFL's deadline approaching Tuesday afternoon. The Willoughby South High School alum was solid, putting up 15 touches for 72 yards from scrimmage.
The Browns have now won five in a row over the Bengals dating back to 2020. They head into their bye in Week 9, trailing the first-place Ravens by 1 1/2 games in the AFC North.
The Ultimate Cleveland Sports Show has your instant reaction to tonight's game:
