Rivalries are part of football’s charm. The Bengals/Browns rivalry has been fairly tame for 20 years, but that should change in 2019.
When you consider that the Bengals were founded in Cincinnati mostly so Paul Brown could stick it to the franchise that is named after him, but also forced him out of football for a time, the rivalry between Cincinnati and Cleveland on the gridiron has always had natural animosity.
However, apart from a brief stretch in the 1980s, both teams being good at the same time has been rare. Thus, the rivalry is often overlooked on a national scale.
In fact, the most famous moment in its history took place while Cincinnati wasn’t even playing the Browns. In December 1989 against the Seahawks, always animated Bengals head coach Sam Wyche took a microphone and uttered the now legendary line ” Will the next person that sees anybody throw anything onto this field, point ’em out, and get ’em out of here. You don’t live in Cleveland, you live in Cincinnati!”. This was a not so subtle shot at Browns fans, who were known for throwing dog bones at opponents at the time. You can watch the moment below thanks to the 1530Homer YouTube channel.
Since the Browns returned to the NFL in 1999, they have played the Bengals twice a year. For that entire time, one or both franchises have been a dysfunctional mess. Thus, the only thing on the line in most of the games has been draft positioning. Regardless of natural animosity, it is hard to get too fired up about a rivalry when that is the case.
2019 should be a new era for football’s “Battle of Ohio” though. The Bengals have a new coach, approach, and more talent than most people realize.
Up north, the Browns may still be a dysfunctional mess. Even so, with guys like Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr, Kareem Hunt, and Jarvis Landry, they suddenly have the makings of a talented dysfunctional mess that should be competitive at the very least.
The Steelers or Ravens will likely keep at least one of the two in state rivals from legitimate playoff contention in 2019, but there seems to be room for at least one Ohio team in the playoffs.
Lastly, the Bengals play the Browns twice in the final four weeks of the regular season this year. If one team is out of the race by then, the chance to knock the in state rival out of the playoffs is plenty worth playing for. This rivalry having a lot on the line is completely foreign to an entire generation of fans. That possibly changing this year is one of the more intriguing preseason storylines in the AFC North.