CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – With an eye towards the playoffs, Kevin Stefanski took the opportunity Sunday to give key players the week off.
The game went as one would expect. The Bengals won 31-14.
Here’s our top Brownie Bites from the regular season finale.
The Browns finish the regular season 11-6, tied for the second-most wins in a season for the franchise overall and the most in the post 1999 expansion era, matching their 2020 win total.
Kevin Stefanski joined Paul Brown as the only two Browns head coaches to win 11 games multiple times in a season.
With the Bengals victory, Cincinnati finished 9-8 and the entire AFC North ended the regular season above .500 with three teams making the playoffs.
Jeff Driskel got the start and looked like he just arrived on December 29. Driskel completed 13 of 26 passes for two touchdowns and two interceptions with a rating of 63.9.
Second year receiver David Bell caught both touchdowns for the Browns Sunday from Driskel – 31 and 24 yards giving him three scores on the season.
At one point late in the second quarter the Browns had as many yards as the Bengals had points – 24. And it doesn’t matter.
Bengals running back Joe Mixon should send the Browns a bouquet of flowers. He scored a pair of touchdowns to hit a contract bonus. Mixon ran in from a yard out and caught a 6-yard TD while rushing for 111 yards on 14 carries yards.
With Cincinnati up 31-0, A.J. McCarren relieved Jake Browning late in the third quarter. Browning finished 18 of 24 for 156 yards and three touchdowns.
The reason Stefanski held back so many players was to prevent injury. Defensive tackle Shelby Harris suffered a shin injury, running back Pierre Strong a back injury and receiver Cedric Tillman also suffered a head injury.
It’s on to Houston.