The Bengals just swept the division and are 3 games up on the Ravens/Steelers for the division title. However, there are many Bengal fans still questioning the Bengals talent. Fans are wondering why the Bengals didn't close out the game against the Browns by scoring 2000 points and Palmer throwing for 500 yds.

It is no secret that the Bengals play to the level of their competition and they always seem to struggle with the Browns. Like I said all season a win is a win and I am glad the Bengals put the Browns away and stayed relatively healthy. One more cupcake game before the Bengals face a good team on the road.

What I Liked:

 - There was a few Andre Smith sightings.  It was weird seeing the big 71 in there but I like that the Bengals are getting him in the game. Offensive line depth will be needed in January.

 - Larry Johnson ran for a hundred yds. LJ had a little over half of the Bengals 200yd rushing day. This also is great for depth in the stretch.  Good teams have depth and the Bengals have done an incredible job filling in the roster in some key places this year.

 - Once again Scott made some good plays, this guy is going to be great as a change of pace back for the Bengals as long as Cedric and Larry Johnson are on the roster. I just hope the Bengals use him like that.

 - Purify was kind of involved in the passing game. Could have probably made the catch in the end zone that was well defensed but it is good that Palmer has the confidence to throw to him.

 - Bengals have a 3 game lead with 5 to go in the division. Huge.

What I didn't like:

 - Whether it was needed or not, Palmer did not look good throwing the ball.  We are going to need that arm in the stretch number 9.

 - Scott has a turf toe injury apparently.  This is not a good injury for a running back that makes a lot of cuts, I have heard it is a very painful injury to deal with and can be a lingering injury.

 - The O line seemed to struggle in pass protection. 

All in all I am pumped. The Bengals swept the division for the first time in history. The Steelers are in 3rd in the division where all the experts had them winning easily. The Ravens barely squeaked out a win against them with out two of the Steeler stars in the game.  These teams are going to struggle now for the wildcard and as a Bengals fan I would be glad to not catch either of these teams in the Playoffs.

WhoDey

The Browns would win a "We Suck at Football Contest" just like Regis Philbin would win an "Old Man Penis Look Alike Contest".

I'm not actually allowed to show old man penis on the site so you're going to have to use your imagination.

This weekend, the Bengals host the B(cl)owns and are looking for some payback after dropping the ball in Oakland.  There are about 8,000,000 reasons why the Bengals should win this game but the reason I'm choosing to write about is this..... Brady Quinn will be too busy thinking about pleasuring himself to his own reflection to actually focus on playing football.  When I decided to write a post linking the Browns to something having nothing to do with football at all, I google image searched Brady Quinn and what I found was more pictures of a guy with his damn shirt off than any other man in the world.  If you would like to pollute the internet with half naked pictures of yourself because you think you're hot shit, then go ahead and do it... to each his own right?  However, before you do it, you should probably make sure that you're good at something other than looking like a complete douchebag in every single one of them.  One picture stood out more than the rest though:

Not only does Quinn's throwing arm get bigger every time he looks in the mirror (get it?... get it?... ahhh you get it) he is trolling for hot man-ass on the non-hetero version of adultfriendfinder.com.  I'm sure his profile gets more views than any other on findmen4men.com, either that or he gets tons of "I'm tired of you making the Browns look like a hot steaming pile of crap" comments... either way, I bet he's popular.  I would be willing to bet that his center has a few pending sexual harassment suits against Quinn and prays for the shotgun formation in every huddle.  I'm sure that the Browns center has a hard time focusing on blocking for Quinn when he's too busy worrying about Quinn's inappropriate hand placement.  Don't believe me?  Here's your proof:

I have the feeling that Quinn has had his hands on more weiners than this guy:

All I know is that the Bengals need this win.  They are still in the hunt for a first round bye and they can't afford to lose any ground in the AFC North to Pittsburgh or Baltimore.  I would love to see another Chicago Bears type of blowout.  It's time for the Bengals to play at their full potential against a lesser team and show the entire football world that the Bengals can play with any team in the NFL.  The only way to do that is to embarrass the Browns defense and keep Quinn exactly where he wants to be, underneath a pile of sweaty aggressive men in tight pants.

Whodey

A win is always better than a loss.  I made some comments last week about how I didn't care what the score of the game would be as long as the Bengals pulled out the win.  I even mentioned I didn't care if it went into overtime as long as they pulled it out.  Well, that is exactly what happened.  The Browns out uglied the Bengals in overtime to allow the Bengals to win the game.

What I liked
When this offense has its back against the wall they fight.  This is the 4th game in a row where the Bengals have been down at the end of the game and Palmer and company need to drive the length of the field to win the game.  They actually had the opportunity to do it in this weekends game twice. It is a good feeling to know that the offense can perform when it matters. 

The defense is still tough.  After being on the field for most of the last 3 quarters the Bengals defense did a good job of keeping a Browns offense that was finding life in their passing game in check.  The Browns had plenty of opportunities to put this game away and the Bengals came up with some key turnovers and stops to allow the offense the chance to win this game.

What I didn't like
What is going on with this offense.  It starts off hot, then extremely conservative and the play makers are unable to make plays.  Then with the game on the line they come to life and usually on 4th down make the necessary plays to win the game. I blame Bob Bratkowski for a lot, he does not understand how to adapt to game changes in his play calling.  However, in this most recent games you also see Chad Ochocinco dropping passes and Carson Palmer floating balls to open receivers when he should put some zip on it.

All in all the Bengals are 3 and 1 tied with the Baltimore Ravens for the division lead. For all of the people on the ledge thinking the Bengals are exposed or whatever nonsense is going on in your mind think about the following things.  The Bengals are 3 and 1.  They have defeated two quality opponents, one on the road. They are winning their division games. They are a fluke tip away from being 4 and 0 and in the process beating a very good Denver team (who is 4 and 0). Like many of you my initial gut reaction was that the Bengals are getting destroyed by the Ravens this weekend. The more I think about it though, I think the Bengals have just as good a shot to win this game as the Ravens.  Who have they beat?

As of right now the Bengals are 5.5 point favorites against the Browns on the road.  Let's see what Tecmo Bowl thinks of the Bengals odds.

Rey Maualuga records a first drive sack and Cleveland is forced to punt.
The Browns also force the Bengals to punt.  Not a very exciting first quarter.
After another Browns punt Jeremi Johnson puts the Bengals on the board.
Braylon Edwards has an answer.  All tied up at the half.
The Bengals get the ball and Carson strikes first.
Again, Cleveland has an answer.  Chad gets all the yds on a bomb from Carson Palmer.
Cedric punches it in.  Cleveland is driving late in the 4th quarter for the tie.  A big 4th down.
The drive ends on a Maualuga sack.  The Bengals miss a late field goal.
The Bengals cover on the road.  WHODEY!

This week we sent our 5 questions over to the guys at DawgPoundDaily.com. 

What Scares You About the Bengals?
The Bengals "D", in my opinion it has really stepped it up so far.

What Match-Up Makes You Feel Confident in the Browns?
Possibly the Browns front 7 getting a "pass rush" against the Bengals o-line, maybe there will be some extra motivation there too this week with all the media reports about Mangini

Best Current Browns Player most Bengal Fans have Never Heard Of?
D'Qwell Jackson

Who Wins the Game and What's the Score?
Hurts me to admit this but 24-17 Bengals.

If there was a steel cage match instead of a football game featuring one current player, who do you nominate?
(Tie)
Derek Anderson, in the hope that he would either get hurt or win....either way it would be used to end this crazy QB situation. 
Shaun Rogers, because no one would be able to stop him.

A couple years ago I was pumped for the Bengals season.  They opened up with a huge Monday night win against a good Ravens team.  Then I decided to make the road trip to Cleveland.  The tailgate sucked, Cleveland fans were not cool even though I think they hated themselves more than they hated me. More importantly this game became one of the highest scoring games in NFL history.  Every third play was a touchdown it seemed like. The final score was 51-45.

A Bengals team that just came off an emotional win against a division opponent.  A Browns team that was just destroyed by a division foe.  It sure is lined up like that season.  I was thinking of making the trip to Cleveland this weekend, maybe I should not.  Is this the same kind of team that could overlook an opponent like the Browns?  It seems like the Bengals have warmly welcomed many young quarterbacks into the NFL with career days.  Brady Quinn needs that kind of reception.

The problem with the previous game in Cleveland was the defense absolutely did not show up.  I don't think Mike Zimmer is the kind of coordinator that would allow the mental focus to be lost in any game. The Bengals need a solid effort and most importantly a W this weekend.  I think they have it in them.