The Cincinnati Bengals have spent an entire offseason talking about getting off to a fast start. This Sunday in Cleveland against the Browns, they finally get to put up or shut up.
The Bengals enter the season after a 9-8 campaign in 2024, while the Browns are in full rebuild mode after a 3-14 season.
The Bengals have struggled under head coach Zac Taylor in the month of September and in the first two weeks of the season, in particular.
The Bengals have just one win in 12 tries in the first two games of the season in Taylor’s six seasons as head coach. They are 7-14-1 in 22 games in the month of September under Taylor.
“I don’t know that the external expectation will ever exceed the internal expectation,” Taylor said. “What we expect from ourselves is to be the best and to be at the top at the end. And so there is no external anything anybody can say or think that’s different than the pressure we put on ourselves. We put that urgency and expectation on ourself every single day. I’m excited, that’s why you do this job.”
Taylor’s Bengals started 0-3 and 1-4 in 2024 on their way to a 4-8 mark through 12 games. They rallied to win their final five games but just missed the playoffs. Coming into this season, quarterback Joe Burrow is healthy, but many have the Baltimore Ravens winning the AFC North and the Bengals only competing for an AFC wild card.
“I certainly think that the narrative surrounding our team has shifted,” Burrow said Wednesday when asked if the team has something to prove. “I’m not sure I would say most to prove. I would say that we certainly are trying to go out and win as much as we can.”
Burrow is coming off a season in which he led the NFL and set Cincinnati single-season records in completions (460), passing yards (4918) and TD passes (43). Burrow is flanked by arguably the deepest group of receivers in the NFL, led by fifth-year receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Last season, Chase became the sixth player in the Super Bowl era to claim the receiving “Triple Crown,” as he paced the league in receptions (127), receiving yards (1,708) and receiving TDs (17).
The question for the Bengals comes on defense, where Lou Anarumo was replaced with Notre Dame’s Al Golden as defensive coordinator. Cincinnati struggled against the run last season and was poor in the tackling department.
Helping matters is getting star end Trey Hendrickson back, after the two sides reached an agreement on a one-year deal totaling $30 million in compensation.
The Browns, like the Bengals, re-signed their biggest name on defense this offseason, bringing elite edge rusher Myles Garrett back on a four-year, $160 million extension.
“Yeah, Myles is extremely competitive,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “I don’t know that he needs any more motivation ever to get up and play for games. And so, I think he treats all the games the same. He just loves to compete, and we’ll need him.
“He’s obviously a huge part of who we are. He’s a huge part of our team. He’s a huge part of our defense. And affecting the game typically is something that gives us a chance.”
Offensively, after an offseason of turmoil and with quarterback Deshaun Watson sidelined, the Browns are starting Joe Flacco, per the NFL just the 18th quarterback in NFL history to start at the age of 40 or older.
“It seems, with how these guys are taking care of their bodies off the field, certainly the rule changes probably help the health of the quarterbacks long-term, which I think is a good thing for our league,” Stefanski said. “So I do think that’s something that’s here to stay.”
The Bengals swept the season series in the “Battle of Ohio” in 2024 for the first time since 2017.