Browns vs. Bengals final score prediction for Week 7
Back in Week 2, the Cincinnati Bengals came up five points short during a primetime loss to the Cleveland Browns, hinting the Joe Burrow-led squad was heading in the right direction and the in-state rivals were about the same as usual.
But things have a way of changing fast in 2020.
Fast forward to Week 7, the Bengals are desperately looking to avoid a 1-5-1 hole while dealing with reportedly holding trade talks for Carlos Dunlap. The Browns, despite taking blowout losses to Baltimore and Pittsburgh, are 4-2.
Interestingly, those Browns have plenty of adversity of their own with Baker Mayfield getting yanked from last week’s 38-7 loss to Pittsburgh while he deals with a nagging injury.
Mayfield seems to have the green light this week, which is bad news for the Bengals given his talented surrounding pieces and the fact the Bengals won’t have top corner William Jackson on the field.
Speaking of absences, the Bengals also won’t have star running back Joe Mixon to help out Burrow. That should mean a heavy dose of Giovani Bernard, who will need to be effective to help keep Burrow safe against a Myles Garrett-led pass rush.
That’s “easier said than done” territory though. Burrow got a big game out of A.J. Green for the first time last week, so the hope is the passing game will keep making positive steps.
Still, it’s hard to ignore how the Browns have actually taken care of business against beatable opponents this year. Cincinnati won’t have an easy time trying to overcome the losses of two of their best outright players, one on each side of the football.
While it seems like we’re destined to see some Burrow magic each week, the inability to control the pace of the game via Mixon and Mayfield having an easier time with no WJ3 on the field could mean the visiting team steals it late, sweeping the Battle of Ohio in 2020.
Prediction: Browns 27, Bengals 20
