Cincy Jungle
The Cincinnati Bengals opened the 2025 season with a 17–16 road win over the Cleveland Browns. It wasn’t pretty, but it was gritty—and it broke the team’s three-year Week 1 losing streak. Here’s a look at The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from this AFC North slugfest.
The Bengals’ defense was the star of the day, creating three takeaways, including two crucial interceptions in the second half. Safety Jordan Battle’s diving pick turned the tide, and second-year CB DJ Turner closed the door with a late INT that eventually iced the game.
Hendrickson posted an absurd 41.7% pass-rush win rate—nearly doubling the league average. He was a constant force off of the edge and a nightmare for Joe Flacco. This was one of the most dominant pass-rushing performances of his career. It was an especially impressive performance, given that he sat out most of the spring and summer.
An honorable mention should also go to B.J. Hill, Shemar Stewart, and others for creating headaches up front, as well.
Rookie EDGE Shemar Stewart flashed big-time potential. He generated pressure, held his edge against the run, and earned high marks from early film analysts. Stewart was a downright irritant to the Browns’ offense this week.
Demetrius Knight, Jr. was active, while other young defensive backs came up huge. Even though there were a couple of initial missed tackles and the Browns extended drives, the tenacity and speed on defense was apparent.
While the offense largely sputtered, the offensive line showed early signs of dominance and Dalton Risner stepped in admirably at right guard when Lucas Patrick went down. Recent signing Noah Fant also had a nice debut with a touchdown reception.
Punter Ryan Rehkow flipped the field consistently, averaging over 48 yards per punt, although two landed in the end zone at inopportune times. Still, he had the tide-turner at the end of the game, pinning the Browns at their own 1-yard line when they needed a score.
Kicker Evan McPherson was perfect on the day on limited opportunities, including a late go-ahead field goal under pressure. A disciplined, largely mistake-free day on special teams, especially in the place-kicking aspect, was vital in a close game.
The Bengals hadn’t won a season opener since 2021. Ending that streak in a hostile Cleveland environment—with an unpolished performance—could be a tone-setter for the season.
Much has been said about Zac Taylor’s record as the Bengals’ head coach in the first two weeks of the season in his tenure. While it was a white-knuckler, Cincinnati got a much-needed season-opening win.
Joe Burrow threw for just 113 yards on 23 attempts. The offense was flat after the first quarter, with poor third-down efficiency and zero explosive...
