In diagnosing the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive showing Week 1 against the Cleveland Browns, quarterback Joe Burrow ended up with the same understanding as his coaches and teammates.
“Obviously, second half wasn’t what we wanted last week but still things to build on,” Burrow said. “Still, obviously, room to improve and just like every week, you learn from both the good and bad and move on.”
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Cincinnati won the game, 17-16, as its defense stiffened up in the second half after the Browns scored to briefly take the lead at the outset of the second half. The Bengals managed a field goal, which allowed them to retake the lead and would prove decisive, but that was the last time Cincinnati changed the digits on the scoreboard. Burrow watched as the defense did the heavy lifting down the stretch in the victory.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) shakes hands after the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. The Bengals begin the season with a 17-16 win over the Browns.
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Not that Burrow or anyone else is going to complain about improved defensive play year over year, but Bengals fans − the Bengals themselves, even − expect explosive plays and high-octane offense. Absent that, there was some reason for all parties involved to be concerned coming out of the vital Week 1 win.
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“I thought the first half was really good. We scored on two of three drives, and the one drive we didn’t, we had a chance to convert a third down,” Burrow said. “Myles (Garrett) made a great play. In the second half, we just didn’t make enough plays.”
The Bengals had just seven yards in the second half, and finished with 141 yards for the game. Cincinnati’s leading receiver, Tee Higgins, was held to just 33 yards.
Cincinnati’s collective attitude in the days following the win reflected a realistic perspective about how the game was won.
Had Cleveland kicker Andre Szmyt not missed a point-after attempt, the Browns would have had a 17th point. It’s possible the game would have continued to overtime. And had Szmyt not missed a chip-shot field goal later in the contest, the Bengals might have lost outright in regulation, and again opened a season with an 0-1 record.
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But they didn’t lose and hypotheticals around what Szmyt didn’t do are irrelevant. The Bengals will look to improve on the Sept. 7 offensive effort ahead of the Sept. 14 home opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-0) at Paycor Stadium (1 p.m., CBS).
A win would give Cincinnati its first-ever 2-0 start under head coach Zac Taylor, and set the club up nicely for a pair of road games to conclude September against the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos.
A win will likely require the kind of offense Bengals fans are more accustomed to seeing from Burrow and his array of skill players.
How can the Bengals avoid another uneven performance offensively?
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) is sacked by Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett (95) in the second quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025.
During Sept. 10 news conferences with Taylor, Burrow and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, a few themes emerged from the discussion of how the offense operated at Huntington Bank Field.
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One of those themes was simply the presence of Garrett, Cleveland’s hulking defensive end. He had two sacks, five solo tackles and four tackles for loss. Most agreed Garrett significantly altered the game.
Burrow looked in the mirror to find answers regarding the narrow victory in Cleveland. He said he should have used his legs more and scrambled to extend plays. That was also an aspect of the game where Burrow said he would be more aggressive against Jacksonville.
Burrow’s bottom line assessment of Sept. 7 was that Cincinnati wasn’t itself and didn’t win the necessary one-on-one battles. It’s the kind of that are often overlooked and don’t make the final cut on the Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase highlight reels.
“We had good stuff called and against those guys, you’re gonna get one-on-one opportunities, both up front and on the perimeter and we didn’t take advantage of those opportunities in the second half,” Burrow said. “If you want to be a great offense in the NFL, you have to win your one-on-one battles, and in the second half we didn’t.”
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The Browns’ defense is a good one. It offers opponents intriguing one-on-one opportunities but also features capable defensive backs who can win the battles against the likes of Higgins and Chase. That was the often the case on Sept. 7.
Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II had one and two passes defended, respectively.
“The early down efficiency went away and struggled on third down,” Pitcher said. “Really there are three plays outside the numbers where if we make one of them we feel better coming out of it. We didn’t make any of them. They’re tough plays, they’re not easy plays to make. The defender made a good play on the one to Tee. I thought Tee did everything he could to stay inbounds on that one. Newsome made a strong play on the ball to Ja’Marr. None of this occurs in a vacuum. We’re playing a really good defense. The scheme is tailored toward their people. They play aggressively. They’re a challenge. They got the better of us in the second half.”
The Bengals know they can talk about being better Sunday but ultimately have to go out and do that, or the talk is all for naught.
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“You got to go and prove it,” Burrow said. “You got to go out and make those plays… We have to go prove once again, just like every year, every week that we can beat those kinds of players to make big-time contested plays in those situations, myself included. So, I’m looking forward to going out and proving it on Sunday.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Joe Burrow on the Bengals’ Week 1 offensive struggles vs. Browns