Can the Browns move the ball through the ground and air?
Against a Bengals team that held the Browns to 20 points last season, whether the Browns can get the pass and run game going will be crucial to their chances on Sunday.
The Browns open the 2025 season with QB Joe Flacco and RB Jerome Ford both players who are well-versed. Flacco started five games for the Browns in 2023, helping guide them to the playoffs. Ford has stepped in as a starter at running back at various points in his career, including starting the beginning of last season while former Browns RB Nick Chubb was out.
The last game Flacco played in Cleveland, he threw for 309 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-20 win against the Jets on Dec. 28. In the same game, Ford ran for 64 yards but caught two passes for two touchdowns, including a 50-yard catch and run to the end zone.
The Browns demonstrated an ability to run the ball during the 2025 preseason, running for 342 yards in their three games, scoring two touchdowns on the ground. The Browns also threw for more than 200 yards in their final two preseason games.
The players that the Browns will run out on offense first against the Bengals had limited run in the preseason, though, mostly only playing against the Rams. In the preseason finale, Flacco completed 90 percent of his passes for 71 yards and a touchdown against the Rams. Ford ran the ball twice for 14 yards and caught the ball twice for five yards. TE David Njoku, another offensive weapon for Flacco, had 20 yards on two receptions.
"I think for us on the offensive side of the ball, it's just mastering our game plan and mastering the things that we can do to kind of play our role and do the best we can on our side of the ball," Flacco said.