“We just didn’t play good,” wide receiver A.J. Green said. “Didn’t play good again on national TV. I don’t know what it is. It’s hard. It’s hard to play like that. You work your butt off and then you play like that. We all had a hand in it. We can’t play like that on national TV.”
The Browns improved to 6-3 and moved into a first-place tie in the AFC North Division with Pittsburgh, while the Bengals fell to 5-3-1.
It was Cleveland’s first road win in the division since a 20-12 triumph at PBS in 2008, its largest margin of victory in the Battle of Ohio since a 37-13 decision in 1994 and its biggest win in Cincinnati since a 34-0 shutout in the strike year of 1987.
For the Bengals, it was their fourth consecutive loss in primetime and 13th in their last 15.
“It’s definitely embarrassing,” safety George Iloka said. “We’ve come out flat every primetime game and playoffs. It’s surprising every time. It’s a primetime game and we want to win so bad and if one thing goes wrong, some guys fold up.”
Things went wrong right away when linebacker Craig Robertson intercepted an Andy Dalton pass on the opening drive of the game, giving the Browns the ball at the Cincinnati 18. Five plays later, Ben Tate scored on a 4-yard run for a quick 7-0 lead.
Dalton threw two more interceptions in the second half before watching the final two series from the bench. He finished 10 of 33 for 86 yards and a career-low passer rating of 2.
The 86 yards were the third lowest total of Dalton’s career, and his completion percentage of 30.3 was the lowest in the NFL since Tim Tebow went 6 of 26 (27.2 percent) Jan. 1, 2012.
“We didn’t start fast. That’s on me,” Dalton said. “I have to obviously play better. When you take turns missing assignments, missing a throw, whatever it might be, it’s not going to turn out well for you, and that’s what happened tonight.”
The Bengals failed to score a touchdown for the second time in four games, while Cleveland found a way to overcome its recent struggles as the Browns rushed for 170 yards after gaining only 89 in their last two games combined, and 158 in their last three.
Terrance West finished with 94 yards and a touchdown, while Isaiah Crowell added 41 and a score and Tate had 34. Cleveland quarterback Brian Hoyer was an efficient 15 of 23 for 198 yards and a passer rating of 92.3.
The Bengals totaled 165 yards of offense, including just 65 in the second half. Their only points came after a first-quarter fumble by Cleveland punt returner Jim Leonhard set them up at the Browns 34, leading to a Mike Nugent 43-yard field goal.
In addition to the three Dalton interceptions, running back Jeremy Hill lost a fumble at the Cleveland 28 early in the second quarter.
After running for a career-high 154 yards and two touchdowns last week, Hill managed just 55 yards on 12 carries against the NFL’s No. 30-ranked rush defense.
“It was on us today,” Hill said. “We gave them the game. They didn’t do anything special, just sat back in coverage the whole day. We just gave them the game. We’ll play them again and see what happens.”
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