The history between the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns runs deep. And, even in years where one or both teams are putting forth subpar performances, the rivalry seems to often have an edginess.
It’s hard to tell exactly where the emotion level resides within both franchises as the face-off this week, given the roller coaster that has been 2019. Still, both teams at least have somewhat-significant things to play for this week.
The storyline to set the stage for this unusually-late first of two annual contests is in their rookie head coaches. Freddie Kitchens of Cleveland and Zac Taylor of Cincinnati have combined for just six total wins in 2019 through 13 weeks.