The Browns play their final road game of the year Sunday afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium.

The Browns’ longest road trip since the 2001 season comes to end Sunday afternoon against the Cincinnati Bengals on the synthetic turf at Paul Brown Stadium.
Should the Browns win Sunday, it will be their most successful three-game road trip since they posted a 2-1 record with wins at the New England Patriots and Houston Oilers bookending a loss to the Bengals during the midway point of the 1992 season.
The Browns are 36-38-0 all-time against the Bengals dating back to the first meeting on October 11, 1970 and hold a 14-23-0 record in away games. After dropping three straight games to the Bengals going back to a 14-0 decision on December 21, 2008, the Browns defeated their in-state rivals 23-20 on October 3, 2010.
In that victory, the Browns controlled the time of possession (30:46 to 29:14) and held a 116-to-67 edge in rushing yards, paced by Peyton Hillis’ 102-yard, one-touchdown performance.
Hillis, who carried 27 times in the game, scored the Browns’ only second-half touchdown on a one-yard run with 8:54 remaining in the third quarter. By registering that touchdown, he became the first Brown to score a rushing touchdown in four consecutive games since Greg Pruitt had a five-game streak during the 1975 season. Hillis’ rushing efforts helped the Browns exhaust the final 4:41 of the game.
The defense also stood tall against the Bengals, as Scott Fujita sacked Carson Palmer and forced a fumble that Kenyon Coleman recovered. The Browns added a field goal after the turnover. Later in the game, the Bengals had a third-and-13 in Browns territory, but linebacker Matt Roth registered a sack and ended Cincinnati’s drive.
As the game unfolds, here are several things to keep an eye on:
With a victory Sunday, the Browns would reach their highest win total since the 2007 season, when they went 10-6.
Running back Peyton Hillis needs six rushing touchdowns to tie Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Brown for the team record of 17. Brown set the franchise record in 1958 and equaled it again in 1965.
With 153 rushing yards, Hillis would pass Pro Football Hall of Famer Leroy Kelly (1,239) for tenth place on the team’s single-season list. Last weekend, Hillis became the ninth player in team history to reach 1,000 yards in a season. Brown reached the mark seven times, while Mike Pruitt achieved the feat in four different seasons. Pro Football Hall of Famer Leroy Kelly and Greg Pruitt each tallied three 1,000-yard seasons and Jamal Lewis reached the mark twice. Kevin Mack, Earnest Byner and Reuben Droughns gained 1,000-plus yards in a season once during their time with the Browns.
Should he gain 100 or more yards Sunday, Hillis would join Brown and Kelly as the only Browns to have six or more 100-yard rushing games in a single season.
He needs nine receptions to pass Mike Pruitt for first place on the Browns single-season list for receptions by a running back.
Kicker Phil Dawson has played 21 career games against the Bengals and is 28-of-31 on field goal attempts, including a season-long 52-yarder on September 15, 2002. He has converted 44-of-45 points-after-touchdown kicks in those same games.
With two field goals Sunday afternoon, Dawson now has 249 for his career. He is the most accurate kicker in Browns history and the ninth-best in NFL annals, connecting on 249-of-300, or 83 percent of, his field goals.
Dawson is 29 points away from equaling fellow kicker Don Cockroft for second on the team’s all-time scoring list. In 17 seasons with the Browns, Pro Football Hall of Famer, the late Lou Groza, set the team record by scoring 1,349 career points.
First-year Brown Benjamin Watson leads all AFC tight ends with 51 receptions. He is the Browns leader with 582 yards and three receiving touchdowns.
With the addition of Watson, the Browns tight ends have increased their production. In 2009, the Browns tight ends accounted for 32 receptions, 396 yards and two touchdowns. This season, Watson, Evan Moore and Robert Royal have combined for 931 yards and four touchdowns on 70 catches.
Watson is 62 yards away from his career high of 643 receiving yards, which he achieved in 2006 with the New England Patriots. With 18 yards Sunday, Watson will join Milt Morin, Ozzie Newsome and Kellen Winslow Jr. as the only tight ends in team history to have 600 or more receiving yards in a single season.
Reggie Hodges has 67 punts for 2,992 yards this season and is averaging a career-best 44.7 yards-per-punt. He has pinned 13 punts inside the 10-yard line, the second-highest total in the league and is fourth with 25 kicks inside the 20-yard line.
Hodges is part of a Browns special teams unit that is first in kickoff and sixth in punt coverage. They have allowed 17.4 yards-per-kickoff-return and 7.4 yards-per-punt-return this fall.
Two-time Pro Bowler Joshua Cribbs needs two return touchdowns to pull into a second place tie with Dante Hall and former Brown Eric Metcalf for third on the NFL’s all-time list. Cribbs is three return touchdowns behind Chicago’s Devin Hester and former Washington Redskins kick returner Brian Mitchell for first all-time.
With 247 more return yards, Cribbs would pass Michael Bates (9,154) for tenth on the NFL’s all-time list. He is 333 kickoff return yards away from passing Cleveland native and Super Bowl XXXI Most Valuable Player Desmond Howard (7,959) for seventh place on the NFL’s all-time list.
In 11 games against the Bengals, Cribbs is averaging 25.9 yards-per-kickoff-return. His longest return was an 85-yarder on November 16, 2007. Cribbs has gained 71 yards on 12 rushing attempts and 59 yards on eight receptions against Cincinnati.
Defensive back Sheldon Brown has played in all 141 regular season games during his nine-year NFL career, dating back to his rookie season with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2002. It is the second-longest streak among all active defensive backs.
Left tackle Joe Thomas has started all 61 career games and played every snap since the Browns took him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft.
Bengals running back Cedric Benson has been tough on opponents this season. He has gained 856 yards and scored six touchdowns on 245 carries. In addition to averaging 3.5 yards-per-carry, Benson has 25 receptions for 166 yards and one touchdown out of the backfield.
The receiving tandem of Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco has been a nice combination for the Bengals. Owens has a team-best 983 yards and nine touchdowns on 72 receptions, while Ochocinco has added 795 yards and four touchdowns from his 65 catches.
The impact of rookie wide receiver Jordan Shipley and tight end Jermaine Gresham gives Palmer two more targets in the passing game. The first-year players have combined for 94 catches, 978 yards and five touchdowns.
The Browns head to Cincinnati with a 5-8 record after a 13-6 loss to the Buffalo Bills last Sunday afternoon at Ralph Wilson Stadium. The Bengals are 2-11 and on a ten-game losing streak after suffering a 23-7 setback against the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field last weekend.
CONNECTIONS
Browns offensive lineman Eric Steinbach was selected by the Bengals in the second round (No. 33 overall) of the 2003 NFL Draft out of the University of Iowa. He played in Cincinnati through 2006 before signing with the Browns in 2007.
Bengals offensive lineman Kirk Chambers was a sixth round pick (No. 176 overall) of the Browns in the 2004 Draft and spent two seasons in Cleveland. Running back Cedric Peerman spent four weeks on the Browns’ practice squad and was inactive for two games as a member of the active roster last season.
Bengals wide receivers coach Mike Sheppard began his NFL career as the Browns’ tight ends coach in 1993. He spent the 1994-95 seasons coaching the Browns’ wide receivers. After leaving Cleveland, Sheppard coached the Seattle Seahawks quarterbacks from 1999-2000 alongside Browns President Mike Holmgren and Senior Advisor to the President Gil Haskell.
Brown and linebacker Chris Gocong played with Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones and Owens in Philadelphia.
Browns defensive lineman Kenyon Coleman and defensive back Abram Elam were teammates of Owens and Bengals defensive back Roy Williams with the Dallas Cowboys in 2006.
Watson and Bengals defensive back Johnathan Joseph are from Rock Hill, South Carolina and are graduates of Northwestern High School.
MEDIA
Fans can watch Sunday's game at 1:00pm ET on local CBS affiliate WOIO-TV 19. Don Criqui (play-by-play) and Steve Beuerlein (color analyst) will provide the coverage.
The game is also available along the Browns Radio Network with Jim Donovan, Doug Dieken and Jamir Howerton on the call. The Countdown to Kickoff pregame show hosted by Mike Snyder and Mike Pagel begins at 11:30am. The flagship station of the Browns Radio Network is 100.7 FM/WMMS.
Fans can also get up-to-the-minute information by following the Browns on Twitter at www.twitter.com/OfficialBrowns or get sideline updates from Howerton at www.twitter.com/Jamir2010Browns.