CINCINNATI (AP) – The Browns took full advantage of Andy Dalton’s miserable night Thursday, dominating the Bengals 24-3 in an AFC North showdown that was shockingly one-sided from the outset.
Cleveland (6-3) improved its best start since 1994 and moved into a first-place tie with Pittsburgh in the NFL’s toughest division.
The Browns also ended one of their most enduring streaks of futility. They won a division game on the road for the first time since 2008, ending a streak of 17 consecutive losses. And they did it with a showing that suggested they’re finally for real.
Not the Bengals (5-3-1), who once again came apart in the national spotlight. Cincinnati is 18-41 in prime-time games.
The Browns roughed up Dalton, who was 10 of 33 for 86 yards with three interceptions and two sacks. Cleveland controlled the game by rushing for 170 yards.
One of the biggest cheers on the cold, windy night at Paul Brown Stadium came for Leah Still. The four-year-old daughter of Bengals defensive tackle Devon Still was on the field after the first quarter when the team presented Children’s Hospital with a check for more than $1 million to help with cancer research and treatment.
Leah was released from a hospital in Philadelphia where she is being treated for cancer and flew to Cincinnati to see her father play for the first time, sitting in an overhead suite for most of the game.