The Bengals host the Jaguars in their 2025 home opener Sunday at 1 p.m. for this year's Open in Orange game.

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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: Ben Savarick

Top-Pick Quarterbacks Face Off Once Again

Sunday is the third game all-time featuring Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence under center on the same field. The first such matchup came in the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, when Burrow and LSU bested Lawrence and Clemson, 42-25, in New Orleans. Burrow passed for a national title game-record 463 yards and five touchdowns, with two of those scoring throws going to Ja'Marr Chase. On the Clemson side, Lawrence, current Jacksonville running back Travis Etienne Jr. and Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins all scored a rushing touchdown for the Tigers.

That championship game occurred three months ahead of Burrow being selected No. 1 overall by Cincinnati in the 2020 NFL Draft. The following year, Jacksonville took Lawrence with the top pick. The two met once again in Week 4 of the 2021 season on Thursday Night Football, when the Bengals overcame a 14-0 halftime deficit to beat the Jaguars 24-21 at Paul Brown Stadium. Burrow threw for 348 yards that night, with 68 of those coming on a game-winning drive to set up Evan McPherson's walk-off field goal.

Ja'Marr Approaches 400th Catch

Ja'Marr Chase heads into Sunday with 397 career receptions (regular season), just three shy of 400. Should he reach the milestone in what will be his 64th game, he would tie Julio Jones and Jarvis Landry as the fifth-fastest player in NFL history to do so.

The only players in league history to get to 400 catches in fewer games are Michael Thomas (56), Odell Beckham Jr. (61), Justin Jefferson (62) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (63). Chase also was in historic company when he reached 200 receptions (34th game, tied for fourth-fastest) and 300 receptions (51st game, tied for eighth-fastest).

Hendrickson Blitzes For Top 5

On the other side of the ball, Trey Hendrickson sits just one sack shy of tying former edge rusher Ross Browner for the fifth-most sacks in Bengals history. Hendrickson has 58 sacks since joining the team in the 2021 offseason, while Browning recorded 59 in his Cincinnati career.

The reigning NFL sack champion in 2024, Hendrickson picked up right where he left off in the Bengals' opener at Cleveland, as he took down Joe Flacco for a loss of six yards in the third quarter. The sack pushed the Browns into a second-and-16, leading to Jordan Battle's interception on the following play.

Since coming to Cincinnati in 2021, Hendrickson's 58 sacks rank third in the NFL behind Myles Garrett (62) and T.J. Watt (58.5).

Bengals Shoot for 250th All-Time Home Win

The Bengals enter Sunday's contest with 249 all-time victories in games played in Cincinnati. The team has won 242 home games in regular-season play and seven in the postseason.

Here are some notable and milestone Bengals victories in the Queen City:

• The first home win came in the franchise's first home game, which was played at Nippert Stadium on the University of Cincinnati's campus on Sept. 6, 1968. The Bengals defeated the Denver Broncos, 24-10.
• The team's first postseason win was a 28-21 result over the Buffalo Bills in an AFC Divisional Playoff on Jan. 3, 1982, at Riverfront Stadium.
• Cincinnati followed up that victory with one of the most storied wins in team history, a 27-7 AFC Championship win over the San Diego Chargers in the "Freezer Bowl" on Jan. 10, 1982.
• Cincinnati captured the AFC title for the second time in team history with a 21-10 win over Buffalo at Riverfront on Jan. 8, 1989, to advance to Super Bowl XXIII.
• The Bengals' 100th home win occurred on Sept. 17, 1989, when they took down the Pittsburgh Steelers 41-10 at Riverfront. That contest featured 328 passing yards from Boomer Esiason and six sacks from the Cincinnati defense.
• The 200th home win came on Sept. 14, 2014, in a 24-10 victory over the Atlanta Falcons at Paul Brown Stadium. Wide receiver Mohamed Sanu had a 76-yard touchdown catch and also threw a 50-yard completion.
• The two most recent postseason victories came via a 26-19 win over the Las Vegas Raiders in an AFC Wild Card Playoff on Jan. 15, 2022, and a 24-17 decision against the Baltimore Ravens in the following year's Wild Card that featured Sam Hubbard's 98-yard "Fumble in the Jungle" return.

Check out the Bengals 2025 Schedule.