The Bengals kick off the regular season with the 104th installment of the "Battle of Ohio," as they take on the Cleveland Browns on Sunday at Huntington Bank Field. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. on FOX (Cincinnati's Channel 19).

Here is what to watch for:

Bengals Passing Attack vs. Browns Secondary

Among the most intriguing matchups for this game is Cincinnati's high-powered passing offense against a talented Cleveland secondary headlined by four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Denzel Ward. The Bengals are coming off a 2024 campaign in which they led the NFL and set a team single-season record with 272.9 net passing yards per game. Steering the ship was quarterback Joe Burrow, who now enters his sixth pro season looking to make it an encore for his individual performance a year ago. Burrow led the league in completions (460), passing yards (4,918) and touchdown passes (43), and his totals against Cleveland included five TD throws with no interceptions in two games.

Burrow is flanked by what he has described as the deepest receiver room in his Cincinnati career. The top threats remain reigning Triple Crown winner Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, whose 10 touchdown grabs in 2024 were a career high and tied for sixth in the NFL. But the Bengals also saw impressive training camps from Andrei Iosivas, Charlie Jones, Jermaine Burton and preseason-standout Mitchell Tinsley, and each player figures to complement the passing attack at some point this year.

Cleveland's passing defense was one of its strong points last season, as the Browns ranked 12th in the NFL with just 212.4 net passing yards allowed per game. They held Burrow to 433 combined passing yards in the two contests, his fewest against any of the three AFC North Division opponents.

The Browns also kept opposing passers to a 61.8 completion percentage in 2024, the third-lowest in the NFL. Alongside Ward, Cleveland boasts cornerback Greg Newsome II, who has 19 passes defensed over the past two seasons, and safety Grant Delpit, a former teammate of Burrow and Chase's at LSU who has crossed the 100-tackle threshold twice in his NFL career.

Elite Pass Rushers on Both Sides

As is always the case against the Browns, the game plan to keep Burrow protected revolves around limiting All-Pro edge rusher Myles Garrett. The former Defensive Player of the Year has nine sacks against Burrow, his most versus any quarterback in his career. Garrett was held to just one sack across the two meetings last season, a stat that contributed to Cincinnati sweeping Cleveland for the first time since 2017.

Among the many challenges Garrett poses is his versatility, as he is known to line up along the entire defensive line throughout a game. The Bengals revamped their guard position during the offseason, and Sunday will feature the debut in stripes for rookie left guard Dylan Fairchild (third-round draft pick) veteran right guard Lucas Patrick (signed as free agent in March). The three remaining spots from last year are unchanged, as Orlando Brown Jr. (left) and Amarius Mims (right) man the tackle spots, and Ted Karras takes center.

On the other side of the ball, Cincinnati trots out the reigning sack champion Trey Hendrickson, whose league-leading 17.5 sacks in 2024 matched his career high. Hendrickson was a presence in the Battle of Ohio last year with three total sacks and seven QB hits. He was a first-team All-Pro choice and finished second in voting for DPOY.

Hendrickson and Garrett have separated themselves from the pack as the top two rushers in the NFL over the past few seasons. They are the league's only players to post 40-plus sacks since the start of the 2022 campaign, with Garrett's 44 in that span just one ahead of Hendrickson's 43. They also rank first and second in fastest average get-off since 2021 according to Next Gen Stats, as Garrett averages 0.71 seconds and Hendrickson at 0.75.

Free Agency Additions Look to Make Immediate Impact

Alongside Patrick, several veterans the Bengals signed during free agency will be featured in prominent roles on Sunday. Defensively, T.J. Slaton Jr. will take the start at defensive tackle, bringing four years of experience as a run-stuffer with Green Bay. Linebacker Oren Burks, who totaled 24 tackles and forced two fumbles in the postseason to help Philadelphia win Super Bowl LIX seven months ago, will be rotated in frequently.

Offensively, Samaje Perine makes his return in a Bengals uniform after spending the past two years with Denver (2023) and Kansas City (2024). He will be featured in a second-string role at running back, offloading carries and blocking responsibilities for starter Chase Brown.

Cincinnati also inked a pair of noteworthy free agents in recent weeks, as seventh-year tight end Noah Fant joined the team early in training camp and seventh-year guard Dalton Risner signed last Thursday.

"That is rare to be able to get players of that caliber this late in the process," said Burrow on Wednesday. "Obviously, you'd like to be able to get them earlier so they can get integrated into the scheme and the team, but they're all pros. At the end of the day, when you're out there on Sundays, you've got to be able to play well and execute the play that is called. Those guys are veterans and know how to play football, and it's really been seamless so far."

Draft Picks Set to Make Career Debuts

Cincinnati's six-player draft class from this past April will get its first taste of regular-season NFL action on Sunday. Two of the draftees are slated to start, as in addition to the aforementioned Fairchild, second-round pick Demetrius Knight Jr. will line up at linebacker alongside Logan Wilson.

First-round pick Shemar Stewart, who showcased his elite athleticism during camp practices, will be rotated in regularly at defensive end according to defensive coordinator Al Golden. Also figuring to see the field are fourth-round linebacker Barrett Carter and fifth-rounder Jalen Rivers, who spent time during camp at offensive tackle but recently has settled in at guard.

Halfback Tahj Brooks, who rounded out the Bengals' draft class in the sixth round, received the bulk of the workload in the preseason with a team-high 21 carries for 73 yards.

"Battle of Ohio" Superlatives Up For Grabs

A win on Sunday would mark the first time the Bengals won back-to-back games in Cleveland since the 2016 and '17 seasons. Cincinnati is 21-30 all-time when traveling to Cleveland, but currently holds an even 13-13 mark as the road team since the Browns' rebirth in 1999.

After dropping five in a row to their in-state rival from 2020 through the first meeting of 2022, the Bengals have won four of the last five matchups including each of the past three.

Another victory on Sunday would give the Bengals their seventh win streak of at least four games against the Browns. Cincinnati's longest win streak over Cleveland is seven, which it compiled from the second matchup of 2014 through the 2017 campaign.

Check out the Bengals 2025 Schedule.