Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is not happy that he is 3-5 against the Browns, including 1-3 in Cleveland. (Cincinnati Bengals)
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Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns and NFL analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.
Browns v. Cincinnati Bengals
Sunday, 1 p.m., in Huntington Bank Field
Record: 9-8, third place AFC North in 2024; 1-2, preseason, 2025.
Last game: Lost to Indianapolis Colts, 41-14, August 23, in Cincinnati.
Coach: Zac Taylor, 51-54-1, seventh year.
Series record: Bengals lead, 55-48.
Last meeting: Bengals won, 24-6, December 22, in Cincinnati.
League rankings: In 2024, offense was ninth overall (30th rushing, first passing), defense was 25th overall (19th rushing, 21st passing) and turnover differential was plus-3.
Things to watch
1. The entire Bengals offseason has been devoted to averting another 0-1 start. Some facts: Joe Burrow is 1-4 in season openers. Coach Zac Taylor is 1-11 in the first two games of the season. The biggest change Taylor made to get off to a winning start was to scrap joint practices with other teams and play his regulars in preseason games. The intent was to concentrate more on the Bengals, rather than competition with other teams. As a result, quarterback Joe Burrow had his best preseason. Prior to this summer, he had attempted only eight passes in two preseason games in five years. This summer, Burrow played in the first two preseason games and conducted four TD drives in five possessions. Burrow’s preseason passer rating was 136.3.
2. Offensive line improvement has been a Bengals priority every year since drafting Burrow No. 1 overall in 2020. They think they’re good at the tackle spots now with left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. and right tackle Amarius Mims, and at center, where Ted Karras begins his fourth season with the club. The uncertainties are at the guard positions. Left guard has been entrusted to second-round rookie Dylan Fairchild. Right guard is manned by journeyman Lucas Patrick, who is embarking on his third team in three years.
3. The big mystery surrounding the Bengals is their problematic defense. They fired coordinator Lou Anarumo and replaced him with Al Golden, a 30+ year veteran of the coaching ranks who had head coaching stints with Temple and Miami and also coached Bengals linebackers in 2020-21. Golden comes from the Bill Parcells coaching tree, via Al Groh, former head coach at Virginia (and assistant coach with Browns under Bill Belichick). Golden intentionally kept things vanilla in preseason. He is all about creating pass pressure and has two ends in Trey Hendrickson and rookie Shemar Stewart to make life difficult for quarterbacks. But the Bengals’ biggest bugaboo last year was defending the run. They addressed that by signing one of the higher-rated nose tackles, T.J. Slaton of Green Bay, to line up next to tackle B.J. Hill.
4. In their Super Bowl season of 2021, the Bengals fielded a formidable safety duo of Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell. They haven’t been able to duplicate that tandem since they both departed in free agency. The current starters, Jordan Battle and Geno Stone, reflect a shift of resources to the cornerback position. The Bengals believe their secondary strength is in starting cornerbacks Cam Taylor-Britt and D.J. Turner, and nickel back Dax Hill.
5. The Bengals’ image as tight-fisted spenders took a hit this year. They doled out big money on new contracts for receiver Ja’Marr Chase (four years, $161 million), receiver Tee Higgins (four years, $115 million) and tight end Mike Gisecki (three years, $25.5 million). Then, to end a stalemate over a year in the making, they gave 2024 NFL sack leader Trey Hendrickson a raise from $16 million to $30 million in 2025. The deal leads Hendrickson, 30, into free agency after the 2025 season.
Did you know … ?
1. In eight starts against the Browns, Joe Burrow is 3-5 (1-3 in Cleveland). He’s completed 64.6% of his passes for 1,990 yards, 15 touchdowns v. five interceptions, good for a 93.0 passer rating. He’s taken 27 sacks in eight games.
2. The great Ja’Marr Chase has only three touchdowns in seven games against the Browns. He’s averaged 5.4 receptions and 57.7 yards against the Browns.
3. Joe Flacco won his first NFL start as rookie with the Baltimore Ravens in 2008 against the Bengals. Flacco was meh – 15 of 29 for 129 yards, with a 38-yard touchdown run -- in the 17-10 Baltimore victory. The 38-yard run has stood for 17 years as Flacco’s longest run.
4. The Browns are 13-13 vs. the Bengals in Cleveland in their expansion era.
5. Two of the highest-scoring games in both franchises’ histories involved each other. The Bengals won a game in 2004, 58-48, and the Browns won, 51-45, in a 2007 meeting.
Small world: President and owner Mike Brown is the son of Browns founding coach Paul Brown … Offensive line coach Scott Peters was Browns assistant offensive line coach from 2020-23 … Assistant offensive line coach Mike McCarthy was an offensive quality control coach with the Browns in 20215 … Assistant special teams coach Ben Jacobs played linebacker for the Browns in 2011-12.