CLEVELAND – The Cincinnati Bengals swept the Battle of Ohio, and swept it with a broom stretching sideline to sideline.

The Bengals overwhelmed the Cleveland Browns 37-3 on Sunday behind three touchdowns by quarterback Andy Dalton for their 10th victory of the season.

The Bengals (10-2) were dominant from beginning to end and strengthened their hold on the AFC North with four games remaining in the regular season. Dalton had a 3-yard run for a score and threw a pair of TD passes.

"This was huge," said Bengals running back Jeremy Hill, who rushed for 98 yards and a touchdown. "We want to win the North and have home field (advantage) and win the Super Bowl. We're taking it week by week. It's been working, so why change it?"

The Browns (2-10) are heading the opposite direction.

The loss was their seventh straight. Cleveland has been outscored by the Bengals 98-13 in the last three games dating back to December of 2014 when the Bengals won, 30-0, in Cleveland in the first game started by Johnny Manziel.

"It's tough; it's frustrating," Browns head coach Mike Pettine said. "You find out who you are. It's a healthy dose of adversity. When things finally turn the other way, this is what you remember."

The Browns' record is the worst in the league after 12 games.

The Bengals expanded a 20-3 halftime lead with 17 more points in the second half highlighted by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Hill and a 21-yard touchdown pass from Dalton to wide receiver Marvin Jones with 42 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Bengals, 31-10 victors over the Browns in Cincinnati last month, picked up where they left off on their second possession of the rematch in Cleveland with a pair of first-half touchdowns and two field goals by Mike Nugent.

"Once we get down so much we're not able to fight back," Browns linebacker Paul Kruger said. "That's what we can't allow ourselves to do. We can't stop the momentum."

Dalton got things going on the Bengals second possession of the game on a 57-yard pass play to wide receiver A.J. Green to the Browns 27. Nine plays later, Dalton ran a quarterback sneak from the 3 for a 7-0 lead.

"We play hard and we play for each other," Green said. "We let the score take care of itself. We're just making plays. The way Andy is playing is unbelievable."

Dalton completed 14 of 19 passes with no interceptions and had a passer rating of 146.8.

The Browns, using quarterback Austin Davis this week and their third starter in three games, had difficulty getting any offense going with wide receivers Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel on the inactive list and Travis Benjamin leaving the game with a shoulder injury.

Davis completed 25 of 38 passes for 230 yards. He was sacked three times and threw an interception. Pettine said he will decide whether to start Davis against the San Francisco 49ers next week or go back to Johnny Manziel. He has said the starter will be determined week to week with Josh McCown on injured reserve with a broken collarbone.

Twice in the second quarter the Browns decided to go for it on fourth down and twice they failed.

On fourth-and-11 from the Bengals 36, Davis was sacked on the first play of the second quarter. He overthrew tight end Gary Barnidge on fourth-and-one from the Bengals 40.

Davis threw an interception on a pass intended for wide receiver Brian Hartline. The three turnovers led to a touchdown and two field goals by the Bengals for a 20-0 lead.

Travis Coons kicked a 47-yard field goal for the Browns on the final pay of the first half.

NOTES: Bengals TE Tyler Eifert was inactive because of a neck injury. He caught three touchdown passes against the Browns on Nov. 5…Shawn Williams started at strong safety for the Bengals in place of George Iloka who was inactive with a groin injury...LCB Joe Haden missed his fourth straight game for the Browns with a concussion. Charles Gaines started at cornerback in place of Pierre Desir.