Hard to believe that the Bengals struggled to beat the Browns in their first meeting this season.
They eked out a 23-20 win on October 4th, just a week after ekeing out a 23-20 win against the Steelers at Paul Brown Stadium. Those were the middle games in the Bengals' 4 game win streak that started with the Packers and concluded with their win at Baltimore.
The closeness of that first 'Battle of Ohio' has Carson Palmer on high alert for Sunday's rematch. He admits that Cincinnati didn't play well in any facet of the game but managed to come out with a "W".
A win Sunday would give the Bengals a season sweep of the AFC North division. That Carson Palmer says, is just part of the payoff. "Winning the division is something we talked about during the off season and into training camp. We have the opportunity to do that. And to purge the memory of how badly we played during our first game at their place."
Chris Crocker is of a mind that as motivated as Cincinnati might be, the Browns will be all the more so. "We have a bullseye painted on us. We're the division leaders. This is their playoff game".
From this seat, I see the Bengals making team wide amends for last weeks' snoozer at Oakland.
Cincinnati 34-12.
