The Cincinnati Bengals’ oldest rival, the Cleveland Browns, parted ways with defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz after he did not land the head coaching job following a season in which they finished as one of the best defenses in the NFL.
Now that former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, has taken the reins in Cleveland, he gets his guy to help usher in a new era of Brown's defense.
Whether that is a good thing for the Bengals or not remains to be seen. Nevertheless, the Falcons' defense was better, in part because Mike Rutenberg was on the coaching staff in Atlanta.
Mike Rutenberg helped usher in significant improvement in Atlanta
Rutenberg goes to Cleveland after just one year as the Falcons' defensive passing game coordinator under new defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in Atlanta.
With Rutenberg's help, the Falcons went from 22nd in pass yards allowed in 2024 to 13th last season. Atlanta made a significant jump from 31st in passing touchdowns surrendered in 2024 to 20th in 2025.
However, Rutenberg's challenge will be to make sure the Browns' defense remains one of the best in the NFL.
Last season, Cleveland ranked third in passing yards allowed, whereas the Falcons ranked 13th. But if he can provide improvement from third best, that could make things more difficult for Cincinnati, which already has a history of difficulties against Cleveland’s secondary.
Rutenberg’s aggressive scheme could offset Bengals' strengths
We can’t be completely sure how Rutenberg will attempt to stop Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, and Ja’Marr Chase. That said, if he plans on playing aggressively with his new corners one-on-one versus Cincinnati wideouts, it could prove to be in Burrow’s favor.
"The scheme is always going to be different...the philosophy stays the same. There will be a lot of man coverage...things the Browns have been good at."
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) February 18, 2026
➡️ @LanceReisland details the #Browns defensive outlook with new DC Mike Rutenberg
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Playing man-to-man against Cincinnati's receivers is not the route that most defensive coordinators take. However, as Chase himself has alluded to in the past, Cleveland always presents a challenge for the Bengals' passing attack.
Despite their Week 1 victory over the “Elves,” Burrow and the Bengals struggled offensively. The team scored 17 points, and the star quarterback threw for 113 yards, completing 14 passes and recording one passing touchdown.
Cincinnati’s star wideouts, Chase and Higgins, combined for five catches for 59 yards and zero touchdowns. The second battle of Ohio came in the last week of the season, when the stats favored Cincinnati's stars.
In that game, Burrow threw for 236 yards and three touchdowns. Chase and Higgins combined for 14 catches, 163 yards, and two touchdowns.
Nevertheless, the Bengals could only muster 18 points in that final game, losing to the Browns 20–18. But at least that loss helped secure a Top10 draft pick, for whatever that ends up being worth.
Hopefully, with news of Rutenberg taking over Cleveland's defense, the stars in Cincinnati will have stats closer to the second game than the first, while the offense musters up a lot more points than they did in both outings in the 2025 NFL season.