Michael Johnson slams negative Cincinnati Bengals fans

Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Michael Johnson has criticised his side's fans after they booed during Sunday's match against the Cleveland Browns.

A number of supporters reacted angrily to a sequence late in the first quarter when the Bengals offense failed to make a first down while trailing the Cleveland Browns 13-0.

The Bengals roared back to eventually win the contest 41-20, but Johnson was left unhappy with the fans who had expressed such negativity towards his side's slow start.

"If you're not believing and being positive, leave," Johnson told reporters in the locker room after the match.

"We don't need you. Because that's what we're about around here - staying focused, staying positive and keeping our energy going. Negativity breeds negativity, and we don't do that around here."

The Bengals currently sit top of the AFC North with a 7-4 record.