Winning by only one over the Cleveland Browns isn't exactly a feather in your cap, but considering how the Cincinnati Bengals are used to starting recent seasons, we'll take it. Now, the one-point victory left fans with plenty to talk about. But, there's an underlying positive that not many are noticing.
One of the overwhelming narratives, at least from a social media standpoint, was that Joe Burrow might just get killed behind this offensive line in 2025. That might have been the case on one specific drive. However, not all was bad up front. In fact, the guy Cincinnati just signed stepped in and played extremely well.
Dalton Risner did not take long to make his presence known, even though the Bengals signed him late in August. He was flat-out phenomenal against the Myles Garrett-led defensive front.
Be mad at the Bengals' offensive line, but not Dalton Risner, after Week 1
Burrow might have faced pressure at times, but it was far from Risner's fault. In fact, per Pro Football Focus, he allowed only one pressure on 24 pass-blocking snaps. And, as a whole, the Bengals' offensive line actually played pretty well.
Again, you have to take out that one drive in the fourth quarter. If you do that, then there is not a whole lot to complain about. Cincinnati protected its quarterback much better than some might have thought they would against that front.
Risner might be more of a journeyman at this point, in his career, but he's been good enough in pass protection to warrant having a starting job in the NFL. The Bengals learned that firsthand on Sunday afternoon.
For an offensive line that has had plenty of questions over the last few years, signing Risner on a last-minute deal looks like a huge win that really helped the group become what fans had hoped it would. This isn't a perfect starting five, by any means, but Risner's performance against the Browns was a roaring success.
The fact Burrow ran for his life on just one series has been completely overblown. Risner and company played a strong game.