A bitter end

The Cincinnati Bengals the Browns face Sunday in the season finale in the Queen City are quite a bit better than the ones they knocked off in week 14.

That 27-19 victory kept the Browns’ flickering playoffs hopes alive for a nanosecond and could represent the last time the 2019 version of this still dysfunctional franchise celebrates a triumph.

Since that victory, the Browns flamed out at Arizona and the season ender at home against Baltimore and drag a 6-9 record into the last game of this extremely disappointing and eminently forgettable season.

In reality, the Browns did not play well enough to win the first game against the Bengals. The final stats sheet of that game lied.

The Bengals rang up 451 total yards (they average 320 a game), compiled 27 first downs, ran an astounding 72 plays to the Browns’ 52 and controlled the football for 34½ minutes.

Baker Mayfield completed only 11 passes for 187 yards  for the Browns and threw two picks; the offense rang up just 333 yards; and Odell Beckham, Jr. caught only two passes for 39 yards (on five targets).

The defense couldn’t get off the field, but managed to stiffen when the Bengals entered the red zone, where they were only one for five, forcing Randy Bullock to kick four field goals. Joe Mixon ran roughshod for 146 yards and scored the only Cincy touchdown.

The only thing Browns fans could get excited about were Denzel Ward’s 61-yard pick six and Nick Chubb’s 106 yards on the ground. Other than that, it was a struggle to emerge victorious.

But that was then and this is now.

The Bengals are coming off their most exciting game of the season outside their lone victory over the New York Jets in week 13 even though it was their 14^th loss last Sunday in Miami.

They trailed, 35-12, with less than 10 minutes to play against the Dolphins, but scored three touchdowns in a five-minute span, including the game-tying touchdown on the final play of regulation and a two-point conversion.

The improbable comeback fell short, though, the Dolphins winning on a field goal in overtime with no time left on the clock.

If nothing else, it gave the Bengals added incentive to finish on a winning note as they close out what will be their worst season in their 52-year history with a loss. A victory would enable them to match the 2-14 team in 2002.

Andy Dalton is coming off a four-touchdown performance against Miami in what might be his final game as a Bengal as the club is in the midst of a roster shakeup with new coach Zac Taylor.

The Cincinnati defense that pretty much shut down Mayfield earlier this month should be even better for Sunday’s affair. Defensive end Sam Hubbard, who missed the first game with a knee problem, is back and loves to play against the Browns.

Maybe it’s because the former Ohio State standout was on the board in the third round of the 2018 college football draft and the Browns, picking third, selected another edge rusher, Chad Thomas. Hubbard, who leads the Bengals in sacks with seven, was taken 10 picks later by Cincinnati.

The Browns, meanwhile, are just stumbling along as the vultures hover over 76 Lou Groza Blvd. in anticipation of the club making a move regarding the future of Freddie Kitchens.

The rookie head coach seems to be whistling past the graveyard, believing he has nothing about which to worry when it comes to coaching this team against next season.

His sputtering offense hasn’t played a consistent game in months. And his injury-ridded defense, which somehow managed to help him win four games in a five-game stretch, is too beat up to help him now.

Add his oftentimes and perplexing bizarre play calls to the equation and you have a better understanding of why the end of this season is collapsing in spectacular fashion.

The Bengals are playing better football right now and much more incentivized than the Browns. The Browns are flattening, a trend that by now has captured the attention of the front office and ownership.

The big question in this one is not who will win. It’s whether Kitchens’ head coaching career in Cleveland will end around 4 o’clock Sunday afternoon in Cincinnati., if not soon after.

A final record of 6-10 should be enough of a shove for the poobahs in the Ivory Tower to make a move. A victory might give them pause. That’s not going to happen. The Bengals are the better team now. That’s why they will win. Make it:

Bengals 27, Browns 20

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