Browns' Turnovers Hand Bengals 17-16 Win in Cleveland: Game Notes

The defense dominated, the offense had strong moments, yet they gave away a winnable opener.

CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 7: Chase Brown #30 of the Cincinnati Bengals runs the ball in the first quarter during the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on September 7, 2025 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Lauren Leigh Bacho/Getty Images)

We’re back in a place that feels all too familiar. A place of pain and anguish. The Browns did what I thought they would do: come out and play far better than the national media thought they would. And it was fun to watch. Then misfortunate hit. The type of misfortunate few other NFL fanbases can relate to. It came in the form of two dropped passes that landed in the hands of Bengals’ defensive backs, and two key short missed kicks. It led us back to a place where the Browns do something really well, and then find a way to lose despite the odds in their favor.

Following a quick first quarter that saw both teams posses the ball once for long touchdown drives, the second quarter was mired by some stalled drives and misses. The Bengals took a 14-7 lead with 4:18 left in the second quarter and then the Browns found a rhythm.

Coaches talk about the most important stretch of time in NFL games being the final four minutes of the first half and first four of the second. The Browns won those minutes. They took over before halftime and drove 51 yards on 11 plays to kick a field goal to cut the lead to 14-10 going into halftime.

Then out of the half, the Browns put together another long drive going 84 yards in 13 plays to take a 16-14 lead. Despite some uneven defensive moments in the first 20 minutes of the game, the defense settled in and dominated thorughout that second half allowing just seven total yards.

Andre Szmyt missed the PAT necessary to give the Browns a three point lead early in the third quarter and it was all downhill after. Two fluke interceptions, one missed field goal from just 36 yards and the Browns have somehow added to the long list of awful losses at Cleveland Browns Stad….or Huntington Bank Field. Right.

Despite the crushing outcome, not all was bad. This team had some really strong moments — especially from the new young additions.

Let’s discuss in the Week 1 Game Notes.

• I don’t have the data yet, but the Browns offense used motion effectively in this one. They leaned heavily into the “exit” and “cheat” motions that have become popular as a means of confusing man coverage assignments and stress zones horizontally. They also frequently used running back wide alignments and motioned him into the backfield to unfold coverage as well and those popular bunch sets with reduced splits to create two-way go option routes. Schematically things felt fine, and upgraded, but we will need to dig into the details in the coming days.

• It was encouraging how well Joe Flacco navigated everything. He played on time and in rhythm and found plenty of voids in coverage — including using his legs to extend some plays. This was as good as it can get for Flacco and good enough to win plenty of games this year. He was accurate most of the day and deciphered Bengals coverages well.

• The run game was a massive disappointment. We all thought things could start slow without Quinshon Judkins to start the season but they found zero consistency and kept getting under-center with poor results. The Browns became the 2nd team in the last 3 years to have at least 24 carries with a longest run of 5 yards according to TruMedia. This is a disaster formula for propping up an aging quarterback like Flacco. 45 attempts and nearly 50 dropbacks is far too many. The long highlight was the touchdown on the first drive on the key 4th and goal from Rocket Sanders. (I see you Adin Huntington)

• Dylan Sampson deserves credit. He ran the ball hard on his rushing snaps and was a stellar participant in the passing game where he had a team-high eight receptions for 62 yards. He consistently made the first defender miss in space and made plays throughout.

• The wide receiver crew just has to be better. There were three key drops on the day from the group and two of those were directly tied to interceptions off their hands.

• They had moments on some schematic wrinkles to get them open but they didn’t win the toughness battle and just didn’t create enough separation. The highlight of the day for the group was Tillman’s route and hands on the five-yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter.