Nick Chubb rushed for two touchdowns and Myles Garrett and Cleveland’s defense frustrated Joe Burrow as the Browns thrashed Cincinnati 32-13 on Monday night, keeping the Bengals star quarterback winless against them.
Garrett, who came to FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland wearing a Halloween costume, led a scary defense that sacked Burrow five times and held the Bengals (4-4) to 229 total yards — 100 in the first half.
Burrow has already been to the Super Bowl in just three NFL seasons. However, the Ohio native has yet to beat Cleveland, dropping to 0-4 in four career starts against Cincinnati’s AFC North rival.
The Browns (3-5) ended a four-game losing streak, and in the process saved their season from slipping away as they try to stay competitive while awaiting quarterback Deshaun Watson’s return from an 11-game suspension.
Jacoby Brissett ran for a TD and passed for another, leading Cleveland to its fifth straight win over Cincinnati. He completed 17 of 22 for 278 yards and a 133.7 rating while outplaying Burrow.
Chubb scored on runs of 3 and 11 yards, and Brissett added a 3-yard TD run and connected with Amari Cooper on a 4-yard pass in the second half as the Browns built a 25-0 lead while playing their best all-around game in 2022.
Led by Garrett, Cleveland’s defense, which has struggled for most of the season, put relentless pressure on Burrow, who was without top receiver Ja’Marr Chase because of a hip injury.
However, even a healthy Chase may not have been enough to help Burrow. He finished 25 of 35 for 232 yards with two TDs and one interception.
Burrow connected on scoring passes in the fourth quarter to Tyler Boyd and Tee Higgins, but those only helped him pad his stats and took some sting out of the scoreboard.
Garrett set the tone for a scary performance for the Browns by dressing up as Vecna, the sinister alien-like character from the TV series “Stranger Things.” This was indeed a strange night as the Browns finally looked like a competent team and recorded a lopsided win after so many close losses.
Bears agree to trade linebacker Smith to Ravens
The Chicago Bears agreed to trade linebacker Roquan Smith to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been announced.
Smith, the NFL leader in tackles so far this season, joins a Baltimore team that has won two in a row and sits atop the AFC North.
The Ravens have had their issues defensively this season, but they’ve improved in that area and now add a second-team All-Pro to their linebacking group.
It’s the Bears’ second major trade involving a defensive player in less than a week. They dealt three-time Pro Bowl defensive end Robert Quinn to Philadelphia for a 2023 fourth-round pick on Wednesday.
Smith was at the dais addressing reporters when reports of the Quinn trade surfaced. He became emotional and cut the session short.
The 25-year-old Smith has 83 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks this season. A first-round pick by Chicago in 2018, he has 16 1/2 sacks in his career.
With his rookie contract set to expire, Smith was hoping to strike a new deal. He participated in voluntary and mandatory offseason workouts, but with negotiations at a standstill with the Bears, things took a heated turn once training camp started.
Bills set to activate cornerback White
The Buffalo Bills intend to activate cornerback Tre’Davious White to their 53-player roster this week some 11 months after the starter tore a ligament in his left knee.
Coach Sean McDermott made the announcement Monday while saying it’s uncertain as to whether White will play in Buffalo’s game at the New York Jets on Sunday.
White opened the season on the physically unable to perform list before being cleared to practice three weeks ago. Under NFL rules, the Bills have until Wednesday to add White to the roster or place him on season-ending injured reserve.
Commanders’ Young to resume practice
Chase Young is expected to practice with the Washington Commanders this week for the first time since tearing the ACL in his right knee 11 months ago.
Coach Ron Rivera said Young will take part in positional workouts Wednesday before getting ramped up to participation in team drills at some point. It’s not clear when the young edge rusher will make his season debut.
“He’ll work on the side, and then we’ll see how he is after the day and then going into the next day, and that’ll dictate what our next step is in terms of where he goes from there,” Rivera said Monday on a video call with reporters. “He’s going to have to get back into condition. Believe me: Playing football is completely different from rehabbing, obviously, and the more reps he can get on the practice field prior to stepping onto the game field would be very beneficial to him.”