The Bengals kick off the 2025 campaign Sunday against the Browns. Cleveland finished 2024 with a 3-14 record, including two losses to Cincinnati.
Browns Offense
The Browns averaged the fewest points per game in the NFL last season. They also ranked last in big plays (10+ yard carries and 20+ yard receptions) and third-down percentage. As a result, they re-tooled their offensive attack, bringing QB Joe Flacco back to Cleveland after going 4-1 as a starter in 2023 and leading the team to the playoffs. Cleveland averaged 28.6 points per game under Flacco. He spent last season with the Indianapolis Colts, playing in eight games and starting six. He posted a 71.6 PFF offensive grade in 2024, ranking 26th among 42 eligible quarterbacks.
A first-round pick by the Ravens in 2008, Flacco becomes the eighth quarterback since 1950 to make a Week 1 start at the age of 40 or older, and he made his first start exactly 17 years ago, also against the Bengals.
Cleveland's receiving corps features Jerry Jeudy, who led the team with 1,229 yards last season, including 811 from Weeks 11-18, as well as tight ends David Njoku and Harold Fannin Jr. Njoku led Cleveland with five receiving touchdowns last year, and Fannin Jr. was selected 67th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft after leading the FBS with 117 receptions and 1,555 yards last year at Bowling Green.
The Browns shifted their running backs room around, drafting Quinshon Judkins from Ohio State and Dylan Sampson from Tennessee. Long-time starter Nick Chubb left in free agency. Judkins has yet to sign his rookie contract, so veteran back Jerome Ford could be in line to start in the backfield Sunday. Ford carried the ball 11 times for 92 yards and a touchdown in Week 16 last season against the Bengals, one of the six games he started in 2024.
Blocking for Flacco, Ford and company, the Browns offensive line enters 2025 looking for a more successful campaign after posting the third-lowest PFF run block grade (50.2) and sixth-lowest pass block grade (59.5) in 2024. They struggled with injuries, using seven different offensive line combinations over the first eight weeks of the season. Cleveland brought depth into the offensive line room, adding Tevin Jenkins and Cornelius Lucas during free agency to help anchor a group led by veterans Joel Bitonio, Jack Conklin, Ethan Pocic and Wyatt Teller.
Browns Defense
Defensively, Cleveland is once again led by edge rusher Myles Garrett. He became one of the highest-paid defenders in NFL history this offseason, signing a deal worth more than $40 million per year. Garrett posted the second-highest PFF defensive grade in 2024 among edge rushers (92.3) and had 14 sacks. In two games against the Bengals last season, the 2017 first overall pick combined for four pressures and one sack.
Cleveland added talent to the defense during the 2025 NFL Draft, selecting Michigan DT Mason Graham in the first round and UCLA LB Carson Schwesinger in the second. Graham projects to line up alongside Garrett in the middle of the defensive line, while Schwesinger mans the middle linebacker spot. LB Devin Bush had a breakout season last year, posting the ninth-best PFF defensive grade among 84 eligible linebackers (79.2).
On the back end, CB Denzel Ward remains as one of the top cornerbacks in the game. Per PFF, Ward allowed four catches on six total targets for 59 yards and three first downs in two games against the Bengals last year. The starter the last few seasons on the opposite side of Ward has been Martin Emerson. Emerson tore his ACL during training camp, however, pushing CB Greg Newsome II outside from his slot position. Newsome played in 13 games last season and lined up in the slot about half the time, per PFF, posting a 54.0 coverage grade overall.
One special teams item to note: Cleveland enters 2025 with a new kicker after releasing Dustin Hopkins on August 26. Andre Szmyt gets the nod after hitting a game-winning kick in the Browns last preseason game against the Rams. Szmyt entered the league as an undrafted free agent out of Syracuse, spending time on the Bears and Browns practice squad in 2024 and kicking for the UFL's St. Louis Battlehawks.
Check out the Bengals 2025 Schedule.
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)
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.
DE Trey Hendrickson hits QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, October 20, 2024.
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)
CB DJ Turner celebrates a stop during a Week 1 game in Cleveland during the 2023 season.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) celebrates after a play during an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, December 11, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Kevin Sabitus/NFL)
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 Andrei Iosivas celebrates a catch for the first down against the Browns in Week 16, Sunday, December 22, 2024.
CB Mike Hilton and DE Sam Hubbard combine to make a tackle during Week 8 of the 2022 season against the Browns in Cleveland.
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.
WR Ja'Marr Chase celebrates a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, October 20, 2024.
QB Joe Burrow throws a pass during Week 8 of the 2022 season against the Browns in Cleveland.
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Sam Hubbard (94) makes a tackle attempt on Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) during an NFL football game on Sunday, December 11, 2022 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Kevin Sabitus/NFL)
WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Jermaine Burton celebrate Chase's fourth-quarter touchdown in Week 16 against the Browns, Sunday, December 22, 2024.
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 running back Bernard Scott in action during the second half of their NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns in Cincinnati, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2009. (AP Photo/David Kohl)
Cincinnati Bengals' Tyler Eifert (85) dives for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2015, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Frank Victores)
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)
Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson (91) jumps in the air before an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, January 7, 2024 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Aaron Doster/NFL)
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)
WR Ja'Marr Chase hauls in a catch against the Browns in Week 16, Sunday, December 22, 2024.
