Before the Bengals season opener in Cleveland on Sunday, Ja’Marr Chase was asked if has ever considered jumping into the notorious fan section known as the “Dawg Pound” a la Chad Johnson back in the day. Chase demurred, noting that he had heard “they stab people in there.”
Not an issue! Chase, held to just two catches for 26 yards, didn’t sniff the end zone Apparently, Cleveland fans grew impatient with the Bengals not giving him a chance to leap and threw the surprise they had in store for him onto the field in the second quarter.
Indeed, it was a typical gear-grinding afternoon by the lake for the Bengals offense, as they were held to 17 points and just 141 total yards, an unthinkable 7 of them after halftime. And yet, with a defiant fist to the face of national narratives, Cincinnati found a way to win a 17-16 slopfest and, at long last, secure their opener. Zac Taylor for Coach of the Year! Thank goodness Joe Burrow played in the preseason, huh?
In this column and on various podcasts and radio appearances all summer, I noted that the 2024 defense—the collective whipping post for why the team missed the playoffs—was undone mainly by failures in high-leverage spots. When they at last began to stop teams in key moments in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati went on the five-game winning streak that coulda/woulda/shoulda meant a playoff appearance.
So what happened Sunday? The Bengals protected a 1-point lead through four Cleveland drives in the final 15 minutes (not counting the two-play no-hoper in the last few seconds). The quartet of chances to spin the Bengals into a season-defining “No, Not Again!!!” tizzy resulted in two turnovers (one on downs), a punt, and a missed field goal. Yes, the latter was fortunate. But after the Bengals essentially missed the postseason last year because of a flubbed kick in overtime against Baltimore and after losing Burrow’s first-ever game on a missed field goal at the gun and losing the 2023 opener to Pittsburgh after a blocked PAT, I’d say we all deserved some Week One good karma.
Another key was Cincinnati’s run defense, usually two words that are surrounded by air quotes. The Bengals held Cleveland to just 49 yards on the ground, at two yards per carry, easily the best they’ve done in that regard versus the Brownies in the Burrow Era. In the previous 10 games since 2020, the Browns have averaged 143 yards rushing against the Bengals, topping the 200-yard mark thrice. New tackle T.J. Slaton was important in stuffing the run, as were holdover B.J. Hill and late pickup Mike Renner.
So score one for Al Golden, who comes out a winner in his first game in this all-important gig. Certainly, some of the young players it is his charge to develop looked solid Sunday, including rookies Shemar Stewart, whose violent tendencies on the front line were apparent, and linebacker Demetrious Knight, who was all over the place with 10 tackles. Jordan Battle had 12 and a diving interception, Dax Hill looked good playing multiple secondary positions, and of course D.J. Turner iced the game with another pick that was tipped by a Browns receiver.
It wasn’t perfect, of course. Cam Taylor-Britt in particular remains the weak link in the cornerback chain and needs to step it up or his 99 targets last year will seem like a light workload. Just two sacks of ancient mariner Joe Flacco was a bit disappointing, though the sack by Hill just before the late botched field goal looks enormous in retrospect. Perhaps if Andre Szmyt, who also missed a PAT, had bought a vowel or spelled his name the proper way, he’d have been more successful.
But this is the NFL commentariat, and we need to focus relentlessly on the negative. In that vein, what the hell was that from Cincinnati’s offense? Really, it was a 30-minute debacle, as the Bengals put together a Chase Brown-oriented opening drive that looked fantastic and got Noah Fant his first Bengals TD on a jumbo look at the goal line in the second quarter.
But that second half was U-G-L-Y, and there is no alibi. Well, except to say that Myles Garrett, as is his wont when he lines up against Bengals linemen, destroyed Cincinnati’s attack and got Burrow jittery. Look back at the infamous three-straight-sack sequence—on the last two JB had time, a clean pocket, and open receivers underneath. We don’t know the call or what he saw exactly, but after getting behind the sticks it’s clear he wanted to go longer to overcome the initial sack and got burned. As we all know, Garrett has sacked Burrow more than any other QB he’s faced, and sadly this game was typical.
Oddly, the guard combo of rookie Dylan Fairchild and just-signed Dalton Risner (who went in for Lucas Patrick when he of course got injured almost immediately) wasn’t terrible. Faint praise, perhaps, but given the dread all summer about the position, they held their own. But when the line needed to excavate the Browns for running room to kill off some clock, they were utterly incapable of doing so. Needless to say, that has to change going forward.
In many ways this game was reminiscent of last year’s Browns game in northern Ohio, just inverted. That one began with a 100-yard kick return for a score by Charlie Jones. Cincinnati then amassed all of 86 yards on six drives in a punchless first half. They got two TDs in the second, held the Browns to just 77 yards rushing, had a key interception off a deflected pass, and benefitted from a missed Browns FG in a 21-14 win. Burrow threw for just 181 yards, took three sacks, and afterwards noted that road wins are always good but there was a lot to work on.
Sound familiar? Oh, and the Bengals then averaged 31 points over the next five games.
Certainly, we will take that, starting on Sunday in the home opener against Jacksonville. The Jags buried pitiable Carolina in their first game, a crude affair bisected by a long lightning delay. With Brian Thomas Jr. and rookie Travis Hunter, the Jags have a pair of elite targets for Trevor Lawrence. They also have a squadron of running backs who should provide a firmer test for the run D than the Browns did. Jags edge rusher Josh Hines Allen was even more marauding than Garrett, if possible, and will be the focus of Cincinnati’s game plan.
The Bengals have won three straight over the Jags and averaged 30 points in those wins. Nothing says “That’s the NFL!” more than following up a poor offensive game with a high-flying one and/or a sturdy defensive effort with a mediocre one—so another high-scoring affair would seem to be in the offing.
The thing that matters most is doing the job in those critical moments. The Bengals did it on Sunday, and if that becomes a trend the 2025 season will indeed be memorable.
Robert Weintraub heads up Bengals coverage for Cincinnati Magazine and has written for The New York Times, Grantland, Slate, and Deadspin. He guests on Mo Egger’s radio show every Thursday in the 5 p.m. hour. Follow him on X at @robwein.
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