AFC NORTH Bengals next obstacle for Browns
Last place Cincinnati will try to derail Cleveland's playoff chances.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Long before Dwayne Rudd hurled his helmet for the first (and last) time, the Cleveland Browns were all abuzz about a playoff season.
Long before Gus Frerotte threw his first (and last) pass with his left hand, the Cincinnati Bengals were prattling on about an upcoming championship.
Playoffs? Championships? It all sounds rather silly two months later.
The "Battle of Ohio" is more akin to a cafeteria food fight as the Browns and Bengals get ready for their rematch at Paul Brown Stadium. It's messy and fun to watch, but doesn't seem to have much purpose.
Just a long shot now
The Browns (4-5) have thrown away enough games -- literally, in Rudd's case -- to leave them as a long shot for the playoffs. Rudd provided the signature moment of the Browns' season by flinging his helmet and drawing a penalty that allowed Kansas City to win the opener.
President Carmen Policy decided before training camp that anything less than a playoff appearance would be a disappointment. Disappointment is already at the doorstep.
"These next few games are crucial for us," quarterback Tim Couch said. "We're right in the thick of things now. We've lost some heartbreaking games right at the end on the last play. We've got to put that behind us and try to win the rest of our games."
Even if the Bengals (1-8) win the rest of their games, they'll end up without a winning record for the 12th straight season. So much for their playoff ruminations.
Their defining moment came Sept. 15 in Cleveland, when Frerotte tried to throw the ball away with his left hand to avoid a sack and instead threw an interception that set up the Browns' 20-7 win.
Jon Kitna is the quarterback now, but things haven't gotten much better. The offense is scoring more points, but the defeats continue to mount. A loss to the Browns might convince owner Mike Brown to start his annual late-season quarterback tryouts for next year.
"It seems to be the nature of the business and the nature of how things go around here that when you're out of the playoff picture, they start to look at other avenues," Kitna said.
No steady quarterback
The Bengals haven't had a steady quarterback since Boomer Esiason, one of 12 to start for them during their 12-year run as the NFL's worst team. If Kitna struggles today, they might start looking around again -- the worst thing for a team tired of being a laughingstock.
"Stick with one thing and give it a chance," receiver Chad Johnson said. "We're going to win and when we start winning, nobody is going to have nothing to say. We're going to win."
In Cleveland, cornerback Corey Fuller was talking in the same assured tones about the playoffs.
"We're going to make the playoffs," Fuller said. "We've got to win. We're going to make the playoffs, there's no other way for us to look at it."
The back-and-forth talk created hardly a stir, a sign of where the rivalry stands. Ticket scalpers in Cincinnati took out radio ads offering tickets for the game at below face value, the best barometer of the interest level.
The players can talk all they want. They know they won't be taken seriously until they finally start backing it up.