The Battle of Ohio was a tight one from start to finish, as both teams put together lengthy drives. After a series of miscues by receivers and the Browns’ new kicker, QB Joe Flacco still had a chance to lead a comeback. And yet, another drop by a Browns receiver led to a Bengals interception, and a 17-16 win for the Bengals.
1st Quarter – Bengals vs. Browns
The Bengals received the opening kickoff and ran a playaction fake to TE Noah Fant for a completion out to near midfield. Cincinnati then used the ground game to grind out another
first down just past midfield. On the next third down, on 3rd-and-4, QB Joe Burrow found a tight window to convert with WR Tee Higgins and CB Myles Harden in coverage.
RB Chase Brown then took the next carry for what would have been a first down, but an illegal formation penalty on the Bengals brought it back. They were still able to grind it out through three plays to convert, and then Brown broke free again on the next play, not being touched until S Ronnie Hickman brought him down at the 5 yard line. On the next play, Brown bounced it off a block, and found an opening to his left for a touchdown, giving the Bengals a 7-0 lead on an opening-season drive that took up half the quarter.
WR DeAndre Carter took the Browns’ opening kickoff out to the 33 yard line, as QB Joe Flacco returned to the field for Cleveland. His first play was a handoff to RB Dylan Sampson for a gain of 5 yards. TE Harold Fannin caught Flacco’s first pass, a quick out, for 5 yards and a first down. WR Isaiah Bond then ended up being the first receiver to catch a pass, as he caught a quick screen and took it 5 yards before being pushed out of bounds. A handoff to RB Jerome Ford got the ball out to midfield, setting up a 3rd-and-3. From Shotgun, the handoff went to Ford again, setting up a long 4th-and-1. RB Rocket Sanders got the ball from the fullback position, and he got enough to move the chains.
A few plays later, Cleveland faced a 3rd-and-3 again, now in long field goal range. Flacco threw it to WR Jerry Jeudy who was locked up short on the outside, and the official threw the flag for pass interference on the defense to move the chains. The next play set them back, though, as Fannin was flagged for offensive pass interference on a quick screen that had gone to TE David Njoku. On 1st-and-20, a pass to Fannin got some of it back to make it 2nd-and-13. Another short pass to Fannin made it 3rd-and-9. On third down, another pass interference penalty was flagged on Cincinnati as Flacco tried to get the ball to Jeudy. To end the quarter, Fannin took the snap from Wildcat and ran it for 3 yards.
2nd Quarter – Bengals vs. Browns
On 2nd-and-7 from the 20 yard line, Flacco found Sampson late on a swing pass, and then a roughing the passer penalty was tacked on, to make it a 1st-and-goal at the 5 yard line. Ford got the first handoff for two yards, making it 2nd-and-goal at the 3 yard line. On the next play, Ford muscled forward for two more yards, setting up 3rd-and-goal from the 1 yard line. Sanders then came in and was stuffed for no gain, making it 4th-and-goal at the 1 yard line. Cleveland stuck with the ground game, and this time Sanders got in for the touchdown this time.
The Bengals’ first drive took 7:28 of clock, and the Browns’ first drive took 9:50 of clock. Both teams get touchdowns, and it’s a 7-7 game in the second quarter. Quite a start to the season.
The Bengals started their next drive with a 3rd-and-8, and Burrow found TE Mike Gesicki open beyond the sticks, as he survived the hit from CB Greg Newsome. Burrow attempted his first challenge of CB Denzel Ward on a deep pass, but the ball was out of bounds, setting up a 3rd-and-9. The snap came at the last second, and DE Myles Garrett got around the edge to force Burrow to step up in the pocket. Garrett chased him down after a gain of two yards, forcing a punt that landed for a touchback.
Then the Browns went three-and-out on their next series. Flacco had to throw a pass away to avoid a sack on second down, and then on third down, his screen pass to Njoku was batted away, which was a shake because it looked like he could’ve had a nice gain with blockers in front. P Corey Bojorquez had his first punt returned 23 yards out to the 46 yard line.
Chase then had a 20-yard gain after being left wide open on a quick curl pattern. A few plays later, CB Greg Newsome was flagged for pass interference against Chase, putting the ball at the 3 yard line. A few plays later, on 3rd-and-goal from the 1 yard line, a playaction fake by Burrow found Fant uncovered for a touchdown to make it a 14-7 game with 4:18 to go in the first half.
The Browns began their drive at the 22 yard line, hoping for an extended two-minute drill. Flacco whizzed a pass to Njoku over the middle, who broke a tackle and picked up 17 yards. Of note, RT Jack Conklin was taken out with an eye injury. A couple plays later, Flacco found Jeudy for his first catch, a gain of 19 yards. A pass to Sampson for 9 yards set up a 3rd-and-1 at the 34 yard line at the two-minute warning. Flacco did the quarterback sneak to move the chains, and drained clock. They really continued to drain clock, taking a timeout with 33 seconds left and facing a 3rd-and-5 at the 27 yard line. He couldn’t find anyone and threw the ball away, leading to K Andre Szymt coming on for his first NFL field goal attempt. From 45 yards out, he connected to make it a 14-10 game with 23 seconds to go. The game went into the half after a couple plays from Cincinnati.
3rd Quarter – Bengals vs. Browns
The Browns received the opening kickoff of the second half, with Carter’s return coming out to the 31 yard line. After a swing pass to Sampson for 7 yards, the ground game continued to struggle as he got the carry for no gain. On 3rd-and-3, Flacco found Fannin on a late crossing route for 18 yards.
The next pass went to Fannin again for 7 yards, but it was called back due to a holding penalty on LT Dawand Jones. That made it a 1st-and-20 at the Browns’ 46 yard line. A completion to Njoku got back 12 yards of it. Then on 3rd-and-8, Flacco ripped a bullet to Tillman over the middle for a first down.
The running game continued to struggle — no gain, and then a delay of game, to set them right back to 2nd-and-15. Sampson did a great job hauling in a low pass from Flacco and still being able to slip forward for 14 yards, setting up a 3rd-and-1. It was another quick swing pass to Sampson, who got 5 yards and moved the chains. A couple plays later, a quick screen to Sampson picked up 8 yards, setting up a 3rd-and-3. It was a toss play to Sampson, who got around the right edge for 5 yards and another first down, setting up 1st-and-goal at the 5 yard line. Flacco then threw a beautiful pass at to Tillman in the back middle of the end zone for a touchdown! That made it 16-14, but unfortunately, now Szymt missed the extra point to prevent it from being a field goal lead. It was another lengthy drive for Cleveland, taking up nearly eight minutes of game clock.
Szymt at least followed that up with a nice kickoff that bounced in play and then went to the end zone, starting Cincinnati’s drive at the 20 yard line. On a 3rd-and-3 attempt, Burrow lofted it up the left sideline to Chase, but Newsome, with his back to the ball, just got his hand in the way to force a punt. Carter returned the punt to the 25 yard line. On Cleveland’s first play, Flacco was sacked for a loss of six yards. On the next play, Flacco let a pass rip to Jeudy, but it bounced off his hands, stayed in the air, and then was picked off by S Jordan Battle at the 34 yard line.
On 3rd-and-9, Burrow hung in the pocket and found Higgins on the late comeback route to move the chains, into field goal range. A few plays later, it was a 3rd-and-4 situation. LB Carson Schwesinger had nice coverage on Brown to force an incompletion. The Bengals brought K Evan McPherson on for a 35 yard field goal, which gave the Bengals a 17-16 lead with 2:48 remaining in the third quarter.
The Browns began their drive at the 25 yard line. After a few more plays to Sampson, Flacco faced a 3rd-and-4. He found Tillman on another laser over the middle, and the catch-and-run went for 25 yards past midfield. The quarter ended with a 1-yard run by Ford.
4th Quarter – Bengals vs. Browns
The fourth quarter began with a 2nd-and-9 at the Bengals’ 43 yard line. Flacco kept the ball himself, running to the left edge for 4 yards. On 3rd-and-5, Flacco found Hannin to the left, but he dropped it. They went for it on fourth down, and Flacco fired it to a wide open Jeudy over the middle, and he dropped it again, leading to a turnover on downs at the Bengals’ 39 yard line.
On 3rd-and-9, Burrow got pressure from Garrett, and then Chase couldn’t haul in the pass at the boundary, leading to a punt. The punt went to the end zone for a touchback, giving the Browns the ball at the 20 yard line with 13:10 to go. Sampson’s big day as a receiver continued, as he began the drive with an 8-yard catch on a swing pass. He then broke a tackle at the line on a carry to move the chains. On the next play, Flacco kept the play alive by rolling to the right and waiting, waiting, waiting, and then he fired it to Hannin for 22 yards and a first down!
A few plays later, the Browns were again on the verge of scoring range, facing a 3rd-and-7 at the 43 yard line. Flacco hit Jeudy on a shallow crosser, but he was tackled immediately for no gain. The Browns opted to punt this time, as Bojorquez’ ball bounced into the end zone as the gunner couldn’t get it in time.
The Browns’ defense started the next drive great, as Garrett got to Burrow for the team’s first sack of the game — a loss of 6 yards — to set up 2nd-and-16. The Bengals had to call another timeout to prevent a delay of game after that. On second down, Garrett sacked Burrow again! That set up a 3rd-and-22. Cleveland completed the hat trick as DE Isaiah McGuire sacked Burrow, as he just got out of the end zone to prevent the safety.
Punting from the back of their end zone, Carter returned the punt to the Bengals’ 42 yard line. A handoff to Sampson began the drive and gained three yards. Flacco’s second down pass to Fannin over the middle didn’t connect, leading to another 3rd-and-7. This time, Jeudy held on to the pass over the middle from Flacco to move the chains. Cleveland then went quick on a playaction pass that fell incomplete. A handoff to Sampson powered down to the 22 yard line, facing a 3rd-and-6. Flacco continued his faith in Jeudy, lofting it out to him on the left side for a first down to the 13 yard line.
A handoff to Sampson was stuffed for no gain this time. On second down, Flacco hit Fannin on a quick screen that only gained a yard, setting up a 3rd-and-9 with about three minutes to go. Flacco couldn’t find anyone and tucked it in to take the sack and set up a field goal try for Szymt. The rookie kicker came on for the 36-yard field goal attempt, and MISSED it wide to the right, keeping the Bengals on top with 2:22 to go.
The Bengals handed the ball off for a loss of 1 yard, and the Browns took their first timeout with 2:17 left. Burrow then found Higgins on a 10-yard completion to the sideline, making it 3rd-and-1. The Bengals ran it with Brown, and he was stuffed for no gain, leaving the Bengals with a big decision at the two-minute warning. Facing a 4th-and-1 and a chance to seal it, with the risk of giving the ball to Cleveland the ball in scoring range, they tried to draw the Browns offsides. Cleveland didn’t budge, and Cincinnati punted.
Flacco got the ball back with 1:50 to go at the 33 yard line. It started with a 9-yard pass to Njoku. Then, on second down, another drop, this time by Tillman, was bobbled into the air again and intercepted by the Bengals. Ugh.
With two timeouts left, the defense still technically had a chance, needing a stop. They burned their final two timeouts, and then with 1:17 to go, the Bengals ran it on 3rd-and-12 to drain more clock. With 0:30 left, the Bengals punted and downed it at the 1 yard line with 19 seconds left. There was nothing Flacco could magically do from there aside from a couple completions to end the game.
Quick Hitters
- QB Joe Flacco: 31-of-45 for 290 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT.
- RB Dylan Sampson: 12 carries, 29 yards (2.4 YPC). 8 catches, 64 yards (8 targets).
Next up, the Browns travel to Baltimore to take on the Ravens.
