Over the course of the next few weeks, we will be taking an in-depth look at the Bengals' 2026 opponents. The Bengals face off against the Browns in the Battle of Ohio in Weeks 13 and 18.
2025
The Browns finished fourth in the AFC North last season with a 5-12 record and fired head coach Kevin Stefanski at the end of the year.
Cleveland averaged 16.4 points per game on offense in 2025, the second-worst average in the league. The offense started three different quarterbacks last season: Joe Flacco logged four starts before being traded to the Bengals while rookies Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders started six and seven games, respectively. Cleveland ranked 31st in passing yards per game (140.3).
Gabriel was selected in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft out of Oregon. He went 1-5 as a starter, completing 59.5% of his passes for 937 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Sanders, meanwhile, was a fifth-round selection and went 3-4 as a starter while completing 56.6% of his passes for 1,400 yards, seven touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
The Browns drafted two running backs in the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting Ohio State's Quinshon Judkins in the second round and Tennessee's Dylan Sampson in the fourth round. Judkins played and started in 14 games, rushing for 827 yards and seven touchdowns on 230 carries. Sampson added 33 receptions out of the backfield for 271 receiving yards. Cleveland's fifth-round pick in the draft, TE Harold Fannin, led the team with 72 receptions for 731 yards and six touchdowns.
Defensively, the Browns ranked 14th in points per game allowed (22.3). DE Myles Garrett won Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year after setting the single-season record for sacks with 23. Rookie LB Carson Schwesinger took home the Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year after compiling 156 tackles.
Offseason Changes
After firing Stefanski, Cleveland hired former Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken as the team's next head coach.
On the field, the team's biggest change came when it traded Garrett to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for DE Jared Verse, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 third-round pick. Verse enters his third season in 2026 and has 12 sacks in two seasons, winning the 2024 Associated Press Defensive Rookie of the Year award.
The Browns put an emphasis on improving an offensive line that produced 3.9 yards per rush (fourth fewest) and allowed 51 sacks (seventh most). They traded for Texans OT Tytus Howard, re-signed G Teven Jenkins and signed G Zion Johnson from the Chargers and C/G Elgton Jenkins from the Packers.
Cleveland continued its offensive overhaul in the draft, selecting Utah OT Spencer Fano ninth overall. It selected receivers with its next two picks, taking Texas A&M WR KC Concepcion with the 24th overall pick and Washington WR Denzel Boston with the 39th pick.
Coaching Staff
Monken spent the past three seasons leading the Ravens offense after helping the University of Georgia win back-to-back National Championships in 2021 and 2022, serving as the Bulldogs offensive coordinator from 2020-2022. Monken previously worked for the Browns as their offensive coordinator in 2019 and was the Buccaneers offensive coordinator from 2016-2018.
Travis Switzer followed Monken from Baltimore and will lead the Cleveland offense. Switzer spent the past three seasons as the Ravens run game coordinator. On the defensive side, Mike Rutenberg will be a first-time defensive coordinator after 14 years of coaching in the NFL, most recently serving as the Falcons defensive pass game coordinator.
Series History
The Bengals and Browns have faced off 105 times in the teams' histories. Cincinnati holds a 56-49 series lead and has won four of the last five matchups.
Cleveland Browns
What To Watch For
The Browns overhauled their offensive line this offseason while the Bengals overhauled their defensive line. Cincinnati added DTs Dexter Lawrence II and Jonathan Allen, DE Boye Mafe and rookie DE Cashius Howell to its defensive line. Last season, Cleveland allowed eight sacks in two games against the Bengals.
View the best photos from Bengals-Browns matchups of years past
WRs Tee Higgins and Ja'Marr Chase celebrate Higgins's touchdown against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, October 20, 2024.
D.J. Turner, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Dax Hill and Cam Taylor-Britt celebrate an interception against the Browns in Cleveland, Week 1 of 2023.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas (80) gestures during an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, January 7, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Aaron Doster/NFL)
Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert (85) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Dax Hill returns an interception against the Browns in Cleveland, Week 1 of 2023.
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas (80) catches the ball for a touchdown during an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, January 7, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Aaron Doster/NFL)
CB DJ Turner II intercepts a pass from QB Joe Flacco in the fourth quarter of the Bengals' Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025.
RB Trayveon Williams hurdles a defender against the Browns in Cleveland, Week 1 of 2023.
QB Jake Browning takes off towards the endzone in a Week 18 game against the Browns during the 2023 season.
WR Ja'Marr Chase stretches for a catch against the Browns in Cleveland, Week 1 of 2023.
WR Charlie Jones makes a catch during a Week 18 game against the Cleveland Browns at the end of the 2023 season.
Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) escapes from Cleveland Browns linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk (51) during the first half of an NFL football game in Cincinnati, Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
S Jordan Battle celebrates an interception during the Bengals' Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025.
CB DJ Turner celebrates a stop during a Week 1 game in Cleveland during the 2023 season.
Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (14) plays against Cleveland Browns defensive end Chad Thomas (92) during the second half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Ron Schwane)
WR Tee Higgins celebrates a first-down catch during the Bengals' Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025.
WR Andrei Iosivas celebrates a catch for the first down against the Browns in Week 16, Sunday, December 22, 2024.
Cincinnati Bengals running back Larry Johnson (27) breaks through the line during the first half of their NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cincinnati, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/Tony Tribble)
QB Joe Burrow throws a touchdown to WR Tee Higgins in the first quarter against the Browns in Week 16, Sunday, December 22, 2024.
DE Sam Hubbard celebrates a stop in Week 8 of the 2022 season against the Browns in Cleveland.
QB Joe Burrow throws a pass during Week 8 of the 2022 season against the Browns in Cleveland.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap (96) hits Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2019, in Cleveland. The Browns won 27-19. (AP Photo/David Richard)
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco (85 goes for a pass against Cleveland Browns defensive back Brandon McDonald (22) in the first half of their NFL football game in Cincinnati, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/David Kohl)
WR Ja'Marr Chase hauls in a catch against the Browns in Week 16, Sunday, December 22, 2024.
LB Demetrius Knight Jr. celebrates a stop during the Bengals' Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025.
