NFL Week 1 reality smacks Cleveland Browns. Are they who we thought they were?

CLEVELAND — Week 1 in the NFL is always fascinating because it’s when months of preseason narratives are finally tested by reality.

At the same time, the league’s regular-season openers can be misleading because a football season is the epitome of a marathon, not a sprint.

With those premises established, a first impression of the 2025 Browns suggests the team is better than last season’s 3-14 iteration but still not good enough to avoid self-sabotage.

Cleveland Browns news: Cedric Tillman, Jerry Jeudy lament dropped passes being intercepted in Week 1 loss

The Browns were smacked Sept. 7 with a sobering 0-1 record caused by a maddening 17-16 loss to the AFC North rival Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field.

The autopsy after defeat calls for reviewing positive season-preview theories and evaluating to what extent they have been debunked. There are too many ideas to count, so we’ll focus on three important to the big picture.

Browns vs. Bengals score, recap: How Cleveland’s loss to Cincinnati unfolded

Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco (15) runs the offense during the first half of an NFL football game at Huntington Bank Field, Sept. 7, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Has Joe Flacco retired yet?

Theory: Quarterback Joe Flacco still has some magic left from 2023, when he led the Browns on a four-game winning streak in December and into the playoffs.

First impression: This has not been debunked.

Why: Rather than retiring, Flacco became the eighth QB age 40 or older since 1948 to start in Week 1, according to Sportradar, and he proved he can still deliver competent play at the game’s most important position.

Flacco went 31-of-45 passing (68.9%) for 290 yards and a touchdown with two interceptions for a rating of 75.2. Each of his interceptions hit a Browns wide receiver in the hands before the Bengals secured them off deflections. Cedric Tillman and Jerry Jeudy were Flacco’s targets responsible for the crucial dropped passes.

Flacco also led a would-be, game-winning scoring drive, but kicker Andre Szmyt missed a 36-yard field goal with 2:22 left in the fourth quarter (he also missed an extra point in the third quarter). The Browns picked Szmyt over Dustin Hopkins during roster cutdown, but they already need a replacement for Szmyt.

Cleveland Browns place kicker Andre Szmyt misses a field goal against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7, 2025, in Cleveland.

Is Cleveland’s offense good?

Theory: The Browns offense will be good again because coach Kevin Stefanski’s schematic staples have returned.

First impression: This has been partially debunked.

Why: The stereotypical identity of a Stefanski offense is play-action passing married to an efficient running game powered by wide-zone blocking. Flacco had the quick-passing game down pat, as evidenced by rookie running back Dylan Sampson pacing the team with eight catches on eight targets for 64 yards and rookie tight end Harold Fannin Jr. adding seven catches on nine targets for 63 yards. However, the classic chunk plays from Flacco’s strong arm weren’t on display. Tillman and Jeudy each had a 25-yard catch to lead the way, but nothing deeper downfield materialized.

What’s of greater concern is the Browns rushed 24 times for just 49 yards (2.0 average) and a touchdown with a long gain of 5 yards. Yes, rookie second-round draft pick and projected starting running back Quinshon Judkins signing Sept. 6 but not playing amid an NFL investigation into his offseason domestic violence arrest (prosecutors eventually declined to pursue charges) hurt the Browns. Meanwhile, Nick Chubb had 13 carries for 60 yards (4.6 average) with the Houston Texans.

Also, Cleveland’s pricey, veteran offensive line had a chance to set the tone for the season with a statement game, yet it fell short of taking control and substantially boosting the running game. Right tackle Jack Conklin left with an eye injury in the second quarter and didn’t return. Cornelius Lucas filled in. Left tackle Dawand Jones committed four penalties: holding twice (one declined), ineligible man downfield (declined) and false start.

Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett celebrates after sacking Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow on Sept. 7, 2025, in Cleveland.

Browns defense stats

Theory: After disappointing in 2024, the Cleveland defense will come much closer to replicating what it did in 2023, when it led the NFL in fewest yards allowed (270.2 per game).

First impression: This definitely has not been debunked.

Why: The Browns defense produced a winning performance by limiting the Bengals to 141 yards and 11 first downs, including just one in the second half. It held Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow to 14-of-23 passing (60.9%) for 113 yards, a touchdown and a rating of 87.8. It sacked him three times (on three consecutive plays in the fourth quarter). It kept Cincinnati to 46 rushing yards and a TD on 23 carries (2.0 average). And it held the Bengals to seven yards in the second half — the fewest of any winning NFL team in the last 25 years, according to ESPN.

Defensive end Myles Garrett dominated by racking up five tackles, with two sacks and two more for loss to go along with three quarterback hits. Isaiah McGuire started opposite Garrett and had six tackles, with a sack, another tackle for loss and two QB hits. Rookie linebacker Carson Schwesinger compiled a team-high eight tackles, with one for loss and a QB hit. Starting cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II excelled against Bengals star receivers Ja’Marr Chase (two catches on five targets for 26 yards) and Tee Higgins (three catches on four targets for 33 yards).

Cleveland Browns cornerback Denzel Ward (21) makes a diving tackle attempt of Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown on Sept. 7, 2025, in Cleveland.

The defense generated zero takeaways, so there is room to nitpick. Overall, though, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz’s men did their part and then some. After the Bengals executed their script to manufacture a 12-play, 68-yard touchdown drive on the game’s opening possession, the Browns defense met the definition of lights out.

Missed kicks and dropped passes resulting in interceptions doomed the Browns, though. The self-inflicted nature of the team’s demise is all too familiar.

And what easily could have been a Cleveland win at the outset of a brutal six-game stretch to begin the season turned into a squandered golden opportunity.

Nate Ulrich is the sports columnist of the Akron Beacon Journal and a sports features writer. Nate can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cleveland Browns preseason narratives tested by reality of NFL Week 1

NFL Week 1 reality smacks Cleveland Browns. Are they who we thought they were? | Ulrich

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