Cleveland
Browns
4-12
35
FINAL
38
Cincinnati
Bengals
9-7
AI Recap
AI RECAPIn a thrilling conclusion to the regular season, the Cincinnati Bengals narrowly defeated the Cleveland Browns 38-35 in Week 18, securing their playoff positioning with a hard-fought victory. The stakes were high as both teams battled for momentum heading into the postseason, making every play critical.
Joe Burrow was the standout performer for Cincinnati, throwing for an impressive 481 yards and four touchdowns, showcasing his elite talent and poise under pressure. Tee Higgins also had a remarkable day, racking up 231 receiving yards, proving to be Burrow's favorite target and a key factor in keeping the Bengals' offense firing on all cylinders. Quinshon Judkins led the Browns' rushing attack with 58 yards, but it was clear the Bengals' air game dominated the narrative.
Defensively, the Bengals were led by Tacario Davis, who recorded 12 total tackles, solidifying their run defense. Cashius Howell contributed significantly with two sacks, pressuring the Browns' quarterback and disrupting their rhythm. The game's turning point came in the fourth quarter when Kyle Dugger intercepted a crucial pass, halting a potential game-winning drive for Cleveland and allowing Burrow to orchestrate the final scoring drive that sealed the victory.
Passing
| Player | Pos | ATT | CMP | CMP% | YDS | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Burrow | QB | 39 | 31 | 79% | 481 | 4 | 1 | 141.5 |
| Shedeur Sanders | QB | 39 | 26 | 67% | 344 | 2 | 2 | 90.1 |
Rushing
| Player | Pos | ATT | YDS | YPC | YAC | TD | LNG | FUM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quinshon Judkins | HB | 16 | 58 | 3.6 | 17 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
| Dylan Sampson | HB | 7 | 24 | 3.4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
| Joe Burrow | QB | 3 | 15 | 5.0 | — | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Samaje Perine | HB | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | — | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Shedeur Sanders | QB | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | — | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Chase Brown | HB | 8 | 4 | 0.5 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 1 |
| Jerry Jeudy | WR | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | — | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Erick All Jr | TE | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Drew Sample | TE | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tee Higgins | WR | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ja'Marr Chase | WR | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Harold Fannin Jr | TE | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
| Player | Pos | REC | YDS | YPR | YAC | TD | LNG | DROP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tee Higgins | WR | 10 | 231 | 23.1 | 151 | 4 | 78 | 0 |
| Mike Gesicki | TE | 9 | 130 | 14.4 | 36 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| Denzel Boston | WR | 9 | 124 | 13.8 | 35 | 1 | 24 | 0 |
| Jerry Jeudy | WR | 5 | 81 | 16.2 | 10 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| Ja'Marr Chase | WR | 4 | 80 | 20.0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1 |
| KC Concepcion Jr | WR | 2 | 69 | 34.5 | 68 | 1 | 70 | 0 |
| Harold Fannin Jr | TE | 4 | 43 | 10.8 | 17 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Chase Brown | HB | 3 | 21 | 7.0 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Joe Royer | TE | 3 | 17 | 5.7 | 5 | 0 | 13 | 0 |
| Erick All Jr | TE | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Adonai Mitchell | WR | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
| Drew Sample | TE | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Samaje Perine | HB | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Quinshon Judkins | HB | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Defense
| Player | Pos | TKL | SACK | INT | FF | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tacario Davis | CB | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Grant Delpit | SS | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Barrett Carter | MIKE | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Dugger | SS | 3 | 0.5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Dax Hill | CB | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Cashius Howell | REDG | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Dexter Lawrence II | DT | 3 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah | WILL | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bryan Cook | FS | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carson Schwesinger | MIKE | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Tyson Campbell | CB | 4 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jonathan Allen | DT | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jordan Battle | SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DJ Turner II | CB | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Emmanuel McNeil-Warren | FS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Denzel Ward | CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mason Graham | DT | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Wilkins | DT | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Boye Mafe | REDG | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Williams | LEDG | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Murphy-Bunting | CB | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Swayze Bozeman | MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Oren Burks | WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Josh Newton | CB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Demetrius Knight Jr | WILL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jared Verse | REDG | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Justin Jefferson | MIKE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Yasir Abdullah | SAM | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | Pos | FGM | FGA | XPM | LNG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evan McPherson | K | 1 | 1 | 5 | 21 |
| Corey Bojorquez | P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Graham Gano | K | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |

