Doc: Bengals glad they're not Browns as they play out string

CLEVELAND – They started halfway through the 2nd quarter: the sweats, the shakes, the visions of Akili Smith. For some reason, the Browns called a flea flicker on 1st down from their 2-yard line. Quarterback Robert Griffin III threw a 40-yard quacker into triple coverage. Bengals safety George Iloka picked it off and the world went black.

Lost Decade flashbacks.

They don’t occur often, thankfully, mostly because few teams are bad enough to disturb the legacy of the 1990s Bengals. These Browns, though, they have all the tools. The Bengals scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and led 20-0 at halftime en route to a 23-10 win. Griffin had a quarterback rating of 0.0, a John Blutarsky testament to perfection that also could have been achieved by a canned ham calling signals.

By halftime, the Bengals had three TDs and the Browns had three first downs. The 15,000 or so fans/self-loathers in attendance were so frozen and numb, they didn’t bother to boo when the half ended.

After the game, grim Browns coach Dave Shula said, “I thought Dave Klingler did some good things, but we just couldn’t get Derrick Fenner going. And when Jeff Query got hurt, I knew our passing game was in trouble.’’ At least that’s what I thought he said. Flashbacks are scary things.

It’s really hard to understand how clubs like the Browns exist in the NFL, which wants all its teams to be 8-8. How does this happen, and shouldn’t the Browns have to give back some of their large, shared-revenue cash pile?

The best thing Cleveland did all day was pick up an extra-point try that Mike Nugent slammed into the ground and lateral it four times trying to score two points. They got to the 50-yard line, where they were greeted by a several Bengals tacklers and Larry, Curly and Moe.

After the game, Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, an Alabama guy who’d never played a game in the snow before, said he’d wanted to make snow angels on the field. “Mister (Mike) Brown and coach Lewis might not like that,’’ Kirkpatrick decided.

Bengals other cornerback, Pacman-on-game-days Jones, suggested Browns wideout Terrelle Pryor was “garbage.’’

Suggested it, Doc?

No. Jones declared it, repeated it, did everything but dress it up and take it for a jog. At one point, Jones pointed to a trash can and said, “Is he in there? Get him outta there.’’

Instant analysis: Why Bengals beat Browns

Pryor apparently had offended Pacman’s sensibilities the first time the two teams played, in October. Jones took note. It should also be noted (and was, in the Bengals locker room) that Terrelle Pryor had one catch Sunday, for 3 yards.

In other words, there was nothing exactly momentous on the line Sunday.

You could say the Bengals have played better the last two weeks. You could also say they played the Browns and an Eagles team accused by their fans of tanking last week. It’s a little bit of both, probably.

The Bengals have played better lately. It’s a bittersweet thing, given two months of mediocrity had already doomed their season. Better-late-than-never is dubious praise. But, as Iloka put it, “Even though we were losing, I didn’t feel like we were losers.’’

He and Andrew Whitworth said a fast finish this year would provide a springboard for a better 2017 season, “Experience, camaraderie culture,’’ explained Iloka. “Things like that will carry over.’’

Bengals' run game carries the day

Or as Whitworth put it, “Every great year I’ve seen, the team ended the year before with winning. It carries over. Especially to the young guys. For them to get a taste of what that feeling is like is important.’’

The game was nothing special. The Bengals wanted to start fast to crush any Browns hope that this game might be different from their previous 13. They did. Two possessions, 15 plays, 128 yards, two TDs. Andy Dalton looked like he was knocking over milk bottles at the state fair. Jeremy Hill was difficult to tackle. Mike Nugent missed an extra point. It didn’t matter.

They have three more games, none as easy as this one. A chance to finish with a winning record means something. So does the momentum it might bring to next season. Beyond that? Cold solace on a snowy day. A chance to fatten stats. Garbage time, you might say.