1 winner, 6 losers from Bengals Week 1 loss vs. Browns
- Defense played well for the most part
- What happened to Joey B?
- Where was Tee Higgins?
- Why did the Bengals punt on the Browns' 38-yard line?
The Cincinnati Bengals were hoping to begin a win streak of their own against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1 but that didn't happen. The Browns demolished the Stripes 24-3 in Cleveland to drop the Stripes to 0-1 for the second straight year.
The good news? This is only the first game of the season. It's a marathon, not a sprint. The Bengals started last year 0-2 and made it to the AFC Championship Game so there's certainly no reason to panic if you're a fan of the Stripes.
That being said, a game was played and it didn't go well for the Bengals, which is the bad news from this game. Let's take a look at the winners and losers from the 24-3 loss.
Winner
Bengals Defense (excluding run defense)
There was only one winner this week and I'm just going to be vague and give it to the defense. Yes, they ended up surrendering 24 points but they held the Browns to three points in the first half and the flood gates only opened when they did because the defense was being asked to do too much while the offense sputtered out of control.
The Bengals defense forced two turnovers, neither of which the offense could do anything with. They held the Browns to field goals in key situations, continuing to serve as a bend but don't break unit. In most circumstances, if the defense played this well, the Bengals would be able to cruise to victory. Alas, football is a team sport.