Cincy fans are used to early season disappointment.
Coming into Sunday, Head Coach Zac Taylor was famously a league-worst 1-11 in the first two weeks during his tenure in Cincinnati.
Then consider that the 2025 opener, the latest Battle of Ohio, was up the I-71 in Cleveland.
The old foe has always been a thorn in the side, with the 24-3 loss two years ago particularly horrific viewing.
Trying not to take offense
In recent seasons, an offense featuring Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins has shown it can blow the doors off anybody, despite a flaky O-line.
The defense – well, that is the team’s Achilles heel. So for once, could it just be inferior rather than tragic?
At first, everything felt normal. Burrow made four of his first five passes. Chase Brown ran in for the opening score. New tight end Noah Fant caught four passes including a touchdown grab.
Even when Lucas Patrick went down, newbie right guard Dalton Risner slotted in seamlessly.
But after the break, with Cincy 14-10 to the good, it all just dried up.
Drives stalled. The rhythm disappeared. And our dear friend Myles Garrett started wreaking havoc, posting two of the Browns’ three sacks.
The Cincinnati offense looked as flat as it did in that loss back in 2023, when Burrow was crocked. Not good for a side desperate to “start fast”.
Flipping the script
But hold the phone… For once, the defense picked up the slack. OK, they were hardly world-beaters but they did enough. And that in itself makes a pleasant change.
Fresh from a training camp where turnovers were the focus, Jordan Battle and DJ Turner each came up with spectacular diving interceptions.
Along with a punt, a turnover on downs and a drop, the Joe Flacco-led Browns were held without a score on their last five series.
Their ground attack, usually so potent, was suffocated. Twenty-four carries produced 49 yards, with the longest run gaining just five.
Free agent nose tackles TJ Slaton and Mike Pennell, the latter fresh in from Kansas City just days before, were instrumental in clogging the middle.
Second-round draft pick Demetrius Knight also made his mark with 10 total tackles at linebacker. And Trey Hendrickson got his sack tally up and running.
Everything went right in the end
For all that, the bottom line is that Cincy enjoyed two massive slices of luck, courtesy of Cleveland’s debutant kicker Andre Szmyt.
The rookie missed an extra point at 16-14, then fluffed a potential game-winning field goal with 2:22 remaining. Both attempts drifted wide right and a crucial four points went begging.
So yes, the Cincinnati attack misfired. The team recorded just 141 total yards and set a new NFL low with -18 yards in the fourth quarter. The 17-16 win was that ugly and that lucky.
“We stole one,” confessed Burrow afterwards.
But none of that mattered. What mattered was getting the win, by any means necessary. A one-point win. A road win. A divisional win. A Week 1 win.
After all, a W on the board is essentially etched in stone. Everything else can be corrected.
