CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my notebook after the Browns lost 17-16 to Cincinnati on Sunday:
1. Would the Browns be “watchable?” Would they be prepared when they opened the season vs. Cincinnati? I asked those questions in a column earlier in the week. Notice, I didn’t ask, “Would the Browns be frustrating?” That’s part of life in the NFL.
2. The answer to the “watchable” and prepared questions was … yes. I write that knowing the Browns lost. They had a total of seven penalties. In their 33-17 opening day loss to Dallas last season, they had eight pre-snap penalties. Those are the worst kind, such as lining up wrong and jumping off-sides. They show a lack of discipline.
3. In this game, the Browns had four pre-snap penalties. Dawand Jones, Myles Garrett and Shelby Harris were flagged. The Browns also had a delay of game. That’s not a major problem, although improvement is needed.
4. The Browns also had the right game plan on offense. They wanted to control the ball, and they did that. After a slow start defending the run, the Browns defense made major adjustments at halftime – holding the Bengals to 7 yards of offense and zero first downs in the second half. Bengals QB Joe Burrow would have as many completions (3) as sacks (3) in the second half.
Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals, September 7, 2025
Joe Flacco threw for 290 yards vs. the Bengals. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com
5. But the Browns lost despite outgaining the Bengals 327-141 on offense and despite having what I’ll insist was a winning game plan.
6. What happened? Some people will look at the box score and see Joe Flacco credited with two interceptions. That’s true. It’s also true that both of those throws went off the hands of Cleveland receivers into the hands of Cincinnati defenders. Jerry Jeudy and Cedric Tillman tried to catch throws that were slightly low. Both put their hands on the ball. Both couldn’t hang on to the ball. The deflections went to the Bengals. They were not terrible throws.
7. “We did a lot of good things, but we also did a lot of things that get you beat,” Flacco said. “We just felt we kind of played like an inexperienced team a little bit today.”
8. Flacco was 31 for 45 passing for 290 yards. He threw a 5-yard TD pass to Tillman. He completed passes to eight different receivers. He was effective despite the Browns’ lack of running game.
Cleveland Browns vs. Cincinnati Bengals, September 7, 2025
Cleveland Browns place kicker Andre Szmyt reacts to missing a field goal in the second half. John Kuntz, cleveland.com
9. I know, the kicker! Rookie Andre Szmyt made his first NFL extra point. Then he made his first NFL field goal – perfect from 46 yards. All of that was in the first half. Then he missed an extra point (wide right). He missed a 36-yard field goal (wide right). In many ways, that was the ball game.
10. Coach Kevin Stefanski said: “We obviously missed a field goal, missed an extra point. Those are points, and in these types of games, you have to come away with (points). So, it hurts when you feel like you’re doing some good things.”
11. Stefanski indicated the Browns were not going to bring in another kicker this week to compete with Szmyt for the job. Of course, they could change their minds.
12. OK, let’s do some shopping. I looked at Overthecap.com for some available kickers. Guess what, lots of former Browns on the list: Dustin Hopkins, Greg Joseph, Austin Siebert, Cade York, Zane Gonzalez and Riley Patterson. I didn’t see old friend Cody Parkey, but I’m sure he’s open to a phone call wherever he is at the moment. Parkey kicked for the Browns in 2016 and 2020. He was last in the NFL in 2021.
13. I received a couple of emails about Nick Chubb. He started for Houston and rushed for 60 yards on 13 carries. As one reader mentioned, the entire Browns team had only 49 yards on 24 carries. Get this: They ran the ball 24 times and never gained more than 5 yards on any carry.
14. The Browns began throwing short passes to running back Dylan Sampson, creating situations for him to basically run the ball. He caught all eight passes tossed in his direction, and averaged 8.0 yards per catch. One of the reasons the Browns drafted Sampson in the fourth round was they believed he’d be an effective receiver coming out of the backfield. When he simply ran the ball, he had only 29 yards on 12 carries.
15. The Browns need to really look at the running game. Was the blocking that bad? Is it the backs? Rookie Quinshon Judkins finally signed on Saturday. Will he be ready to play Sunday in Baltimore with only a week of practice? If so, how will he perform?
16. Looking at the game, the Browns lost on physical mistakes – the missed field goals, the two interceptions off the hands of receivers. The Browns also had four dropped passes in the game, according to Pro Football Focus. Bottom line: They lost, but I was not alarmed by anything I saw in the game – other than the kicker. The running game also is a concern.
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