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.

Click here to see how to watch.

Click here to view the latest injury report.

Scouting Report

By: Michael Hull

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.

What to Watch For

By: Diego Branda

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.