Two bad teams -- one bad game?

Browns-Bengals rematch pairs struggling teams, but at least one will get a win.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- Chad Johnson should have saved the antacid for this one.
The Bengals' Pro Bowl prankster injected a little sizzle into last month's game against Cleveland by sending bottles of Pepto-Bismol to the Browns' defensive backs, a warning they'd get sick trying to cover him.
Instead, Johnson was sickened by his poor play, the Browns won convincingly and Ohio's two pro football teams went their ways -- the same way, it turns out.
Straight down.
Just about everybody has a bad feeling in their stomachs as the Browns (3-7) and Bengals (4-6) get set for their rematch today. Too bad Johnson doesn't have something in his bag of tricks to make it more palatable.
Both teams reeling
Truth is, not even a win could cure what ails them.
"They're down. They're reeling," Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer said. "But we're reeling, too."
It's definitely a two-reel feature.
Up in Cleveland, the Browns spent the week wondering whether a loss to the Bengals would mean the end for embattled coach Butch Davis. The team's president provided temporary security by saying Davis' job was safe through the end of the season.
Not exactly a show of support.
"Guys are worried about their futures, and [the] coaches, and rightfully so," safety Robert Griffith said. "There's probably going to be some changes, and every man has to look out for his family and his well-being. With just that on the back of people's minds, it can be a challenge."
The last thing the Browns needed was another distraction. They've lost four games in a row and quarterback Jeff Garcia has a strained shoulder and will miss the game. Fans have turned on the team and the organization is at another crossroads.
Anyone got a cure for this?
"It's hard right now coming to work every day and not winning and you've got all the things that's going on in the media about coach getting fired," safety Earl Little said. "I'm not walking on eggshells, but I don't know about the next man."
Coach's rep on the line
The Bengals had to step lightly after coach Marvin Lewis screamed at them for letting another game slip away last Sunday. His locker room tirade after a 19-14 loss to Pittsburgh grabbed the players' attention.
Will they play much better against the Browns?
"It's a reflection on me if they don't," Lewis said.
It could get really ugly if they don't. The Bengals play their next two games on the road, at Baltimore and New England. After home games against Buffalo and the Giants, they finish in Philadelphia.
A loss to the Browns would drop them back into the basement of the AFC North with a nasty part of the schedule ahead.
"If that does happen, we're in the cellar," linebacker Kevin Hardy said. "We don't plan on that happening. We still have an opportunity. We feel we can beat every team on the schedule."
The bravado comes from Lewis, who insists his team will be just fine as long as it keeps its poise. The Bengals had only two first downs and seven penalties in the second half against Pittsburgh, prompting Lewis to erupt.
Must-win game
Now, everyone's waiting to see if there's major improvement against Cleveland.
"It's our rival. It's a game that we should win," Palmer said. "We need to go out and play the way we're taught to play, and we'll win this game."
Aside from the two head coaches, no one has more invested in this one than Johnson, a Pro Bowl receiver who looked like some over-his-head rookie in Cleveland.
After revving up the Browns' defensive backs with his Pepto gag, Johnson dropped three passes as Cleveland pulled away 34-17 on Oct. 17. The Dawg Pound taunted him and Browns players berated him for his lack of respect.
Taking his cue from the angry head coach, Johnson kept it low-key heading into Sunday's rematch. No antacid pranks, no inflammatory remarks. Just a determination to look better against the Browns.
"I helped them out," Johnson said, referring to his three dropped passes in their last game. "No one stopped me; I stopped myself. Coming into this one Sunday, I've got to be completely focused, which I will be. It's going to be a good one."
That was a guess, not a guarantee. There's too much bad karma involved to allow promises.
"It's a scary game," Palmer said. "It's easy to say, 'Their coach is on the line. Guys are going to get fired. Nobody's going to want to play.' But it could be the exact opposite. Guys could be trying to rally around their head coach.
"You don't know what to expect."
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