The numbers you need to know when the Cincinnati Bengals host the Detroit Lions on Christmas Eve.
70-50-2: Marvin Lewis’ career record at Paul Brown Stadium
Sunday marks Marvin Lewis’ 123rd career game at PBS, and perhaps his last. Although the 15th-year head coach denied rumors this will be his last season, many are still following last week’s reports that he will step down. Lewis owns a .573 winning percentage at home, compared to a .431 rate on the road.
2010: The last time the Bengals had a losing record at home
Fitting that the 2017 Bengals compare to the 2010 squad. Way back in the one-year reign of the T-Ocho era, the Bengals went 3-5 at Paul Brown Stadium, with four of those losses by eight points or less. Cincinnati salvaged its home slate that year with wins over Cleveland and San Diego.
This season the Bengals are 3-4 at PBS after losses to Pittsburgh and Chicago. The Bengals look to play spoiler to the Lions, who sit one game back of the final NFC Wild Card spot.
25: Years since the Lions’ last win over the Bengals
You have to go back to Nov. 1992 to find the Lions’ last win over the Bengals. Barry Sanders ran for 151 yards and a touchdown and Jason Hanson made four field goals in Detroit’s 19-13 victory. Erik Kramer was the Lions quarterback – he went 12-for-25 for 141 yards and three picks.
The Bengals have won five straight since that day in the beginning of the lost decade. They’ve hosted the Lions once since, winning 23-13 in Dec. 2009.
Cincinnati leads the all-time series against Detroit, 8-3.
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4: Seasons Marvin Jones spent with Cincinnati
The Bengals used a fifth-round pick on Marvin Jones in 2012. The California product played three years with the Bengals (missing the entire ’14 season with a foot injury).
Jones had his best season in the Queen City in 2013. He racked up ten touchdowns that year, helping the Bengals win the AFC North. In 2015, Jones had a career-high 65 catches for 816 yards in another division-winning campaign.
Jones was ready to step out of A.J. Green’s shadow and be a number-one receiver elsewhere. He signed a five-year, $40 million deal with Detroit in March 2016. In his first season with Detroit, Jones had a career-high 930 receiving yards, a number he’s already eclipsed in 2017.
1999: The last time the Bengals gave up 30-plus points in three straight games
Going into a Week 14 tilt against Chicago, the Bengals had not allowed over 30 points in 22 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the NFL. But that streak was snapped after a 33-7 loss to the Bears and a 34-7 ambush by the Vikings.
If Detroit’s seventh-ranked scoring offense (25.6 points per game) hits 30 points, it would be the first time the Bengals allowed 30-plus points in three straight games since 1999. That year, the 4-12 Bengals allowed 109 points over a three-game losing streak to Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Seattle.
66: Consecutive games without a 100-yard rusher for the Lions
On Thanksgiving Day 2013, Reggie Bush ran for 117 yards in Detroit’s 40-10 stomping of the Green Bay Packers. Since then, however, the Lions have not logged a 100-yard rusher.
This season, the Lions have the 31st ranked rush offense (77.4 YPG), ranking only ahead of the Bengals (77.0 YPG).
Next: Keys To Victory Over Detroit
Ameer Abdullah, Detroit’s leading rusher, came the closest this season with 94 yards against the Vikings on Oct. 1.
Surprisingly, the Bengals own the NFL’s worst rush defense, giving up 131.5 yards per game. Over the last four games, Cincinnati’s banged-up defense has allowed five running backs to run for 75-plus yards.