NFL: Cleveland Browns beat Cincinnati Bengals to grab share of AFC North lead

The Cleveland Browns continued their surprising season with a shockingly one-sided 24-3 victory over Ohio rivals Cincinnati Bengals to take a share of first place in the AFC North.

For years the division’s whipping boys, the Browns confirmed their genuine playoff credentials as they built on their best start for 20 years with a demolition job on their state rivals in Cincinnati.

It was a defensive masterclass from Cleveland, who swarmed all over Andy Dalton to restrict the Bengals quarterback to just 86 yards while also grabbing three interceptions and two sacks.

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The Browns moved on to 6-3 for the season, joining Pittsburgh on the same mark in the division as they finally ended a run of 17 straight games without a win on the road in their division.

Cleveland QB Brian Hoyer did not throw a touchdown pass, but did not need to as the browns ran for 170 yards after struggling to move the ball on the ground in recent games.

Dalton started the game badly with his second pass being intercepted by Craig Robertson, and five plays later Ben Tate ran it in from four yards.

National flops

Despite a Mike Nugent field goal the Bengals could not get a foothold in the contest from then on as they again crumbled in a prime time game just as they did at New England on a Sunday night – with Cincy now 18-41 when playing in front of a national TV audience in the States.

The Browns took advantage of a short 25-yard punt from Kevin Huber into the wind to go 59 yards and score a second touchdown from Isaiah Crowell.

Terrance West put the game to bed in the third quarter when he capped off a 63-yard, 10-play drive with a one-yard run.

"This is a little different Browns team than the rest of the league is used to seeing,” said Browns cornerback Joe Haden.

Haden played his part in shadowing star Bengals receiver AJ Green for most of the night, leading to him catching just three balls for 23 yards in another below-par display against Cleveland.

It’s another worryingly poor display by fourth-year quarterback Dalton as well, who seemingly struggles in the big games as he’s shown when leading the team to the playoffs the last three years but losing in the first game each time.