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 In last year's Thursday night matchup against the Browns, Dalton had
a career-worst performance, with a 2.0 rating in a 24-3 loss but he
delivered a steady performance on Thursday, going 21 of 27 for 234
yards and three touchdowns.
"A little different from last year, huh?" said Dalton, who improved
to 4-7 in his career in primetime games.
With the victory, Cincinnati improved to 8-0 for the first time in
franchise history.
"We don't get anything for that," said coach Marvin Lewis. "We've
had to grind through. We've just got to do what we've done so far,
take it one week at a time."
Receiver Marvin Jones had five catches for 78 yards against a Browns
secondary playing without cornerback Joe Haden and strong safety
Donte Whitner, who are both injured.
Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel started in place of injured Josh
McCown and played well in spots, passing for 168 yards and a
touchdown.
But Cincinnati's defense sacked Manziel three times in the second
half, during which the Browns (2-7) managed just 32 total yards.
"They came out and played a lot of cover two in the second half,"
said Manziel. "Things looked open a couple of times. But I could've
gotten it down to a tight end or a running back. We had momentum
going into the second half. We just didn't do enough."
Cincinnati figured to run the ball against the worst rush defense in
the league, and the Bengals had 152 yards on the ground, led by
running back Gio Bernard's 72.
On Cleveland's first possession of the third quarter, Manziel
appeared to have gained 13 yards on third-and-12 from his own
10-yard line but a Cincinnati challenge overturned the spot.
The Bengals converted that decision into three points when a 28-yard
field goal by Mike Nugent gave them a 17-10 lead.
The clinching touchdown came early in the fourth quarter when
receiver Mohamed Sanu scored on a 25-yard reverse with Dalton among
the lead blockers, making the score 24-10.
"That's my quarterback out there ready to block," said Sanu. "All I
saw was green turf."
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THRILL OF THE CHASE
Cincinnati orchestrated a 10-play, 63-yard drive on its first
possession.
After the Bengals converted on fourth-and-inches, Dalton passed to
Eifert for a nine-yard touchdown pass, putting them ahead 7-0.
The Bengals blitzed often on the Browns' opening drive, forcing
Manziel into a pair of third-and-long situations.
On their next possession, Cleveland used a quick-hit passing game to
ease the pressure on Manziel and drove 71 yards, but all the Browns
could manage was a 27-yard field goal by Travis Coons.
"I thought we competed well for a half," said Browns coach Mike
Pettine. "Our mistakes just caught up to us. That's a good football
team and they made more plays than we did."
Cleveland defensive end Desmond Bryant beat left guard Clint Boling
and sacked Dalton to force a punt. But the Browns offense stalled
again.
After the Browns held on fourth-and-2 at the 6-yard line, an offside
penalty gave the Bengals a first down. Two plays later, Dalton and
Eifert connected again, this time for a 2-yard touchdown making the
score 14-3.
Manziel was 11 of 18 for 128 yards in the first half and capped off
a 92-yard drive by finding Duke Johnson for a 12-yard touchdown pass
with 19 seconds left in the half.
"I felt like I was chasing him all game," said Bengals defensive end
Wallace Gilberry, of Manziel. "It felt good to get him on the
ground."
Now, after notching two AFC North wins in five days, the Bengals get
a break before hosting the Houston Texans on Monday, Nov. 16.
(Compiled by Peter Rutherford)
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