The Bengals look to win three straight games to finish the season when they host the Cleveland Browns in Week 18. The Browns are coming off a 13-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Cleveland and sit at 4-12 on the year. These teams last met in Week 1, with the Bengals winning a tight 17-16 contest in Cleveland.

Browns Offense

The last time these teams played, current Bengals QB Joe Flacco was under center for Cleveland. Cleveland is on its third starter of the season: Fifth-round pick Shedeur Sanders has started the last six games and played in seven total contests after third-round pick Dillon Gabriel started six games with a 1-5 record.

Sanders sits at 2-4 as a starter with seven touchdown passes and 10 interceptions. Sanders completed 17-of-23 passes for 186 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions in the Week 17 win. The former Colorado Buffalo now has thrown two or more interceptions in three consecutive games and has thrown nine interceptions since becoming the starter in Week 12. However, Sunday was Sanders' best game in terms of completion percentage, completing 73.9% of his passes.

Cleveland lost running back Quinshon Judkins for the season in Week 16 when he went down with a right leg injury. Fellow rookie Dylan Sampson started in his absence, carrying the ball 11 times for 27 yards. Undrafted free agent Raheim Sanders has received 19 carries in the last two games as well.

Cleveland has gotten a lot of production from rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. The Bowling Green product leads all rookies with 72 receptions this season, ranks second with six receiving touchdowns and is fourth with 731 receiving yards. Fannin left Week 17 with a groin injury.

WR Jerry Jeudy has received the second-most targets on the team (100), hauling in 48 receptions for 585 yards.

The Browns have allowed 45 sacks this season, including 17 to Sanders in seven games played. They have the lowest PFF pass-block grade as a unit in the NFL (47.8). Sanders has completed 42.4% of his passes when pressured this season and thrown six of his 10 interceptions.

Browns Defense

The story of the Browns season has revolved around DE Myles Garrett and his pursuit of the NFL single-season sack record. Garrett needs a half sack to tie Hall of Famer Michael Strahan and Pittsburgh's T.J. Watt's record of 22.5 and a full sack to break it. Garrett was held without a sack and had just one QB hit in Week 17, his first game without at least a half sack since Week 6, also against the Steelers.

Garrett is the second player with 20+ sacks and 30+ tackles for loss in a season since tackles for loss first started being tracked in 2006, joining J.J. Watt in 2012.

As a unit, Cleveland has allowed the second-fewest yards per game in the NFL (278.6) and the second-fewest passing yards per game (163.8). The defense held the Steelers without a touchdown in Week 17 after they had scored at least 25 points in each of the previous three games.

Rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger has the fourth-highest PFF defensive grade among all rookie defenders this season and is tied for the fifth-most tackles in the NFL (156). He's one of five rookies since 2000 to record 125+ tackles, 10+ tackles for loss and two or more interceptions.

On the back end, Cleveland made a trade at the deadline, acquiring former Jaguars CB Tyson Campbell in exchange for CB Greg Newsome II. Campbell is tied with Bengals CB DJ Turner II for the second-most passes defensed (18) in the NFL. In the seven games since moving to the midwest, Campbell has allowed 26 receptions on 51 targets for 310 yards and three touchdowns.

CB Denzel Ward is coming off his best game of the season in Week 17, not allowing a catch on two targets. In the first matchup of the season with the Bengals, Ward allowed three receptions for 18 yards on five targets.

Check out the Bengals 2025 Schedule.