Much of the blame for the Bengals falling short of the playoffs last season was placed on the shoulders of a defense that couldn’t make their high-scoring offensive performances lead to wins, but the team followed a different script against the Browns on Sunday.
Joe Burrow and the offense punted on five of their six second half possessions while picking up 141 yards for the entire game, but the defense forced a pair of turnovers and sacked Joe Flacco twice in the final 30 minutes to allow the Bengals to avoid another Week 1 loss. They got some help from the Browns missing a pair of kicks, but wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase wanted the focus to be on the defense after the 17-16 win.
“Worship [my defense](https://www.bengals.com/news/how-the-bengals-made-it-all-good-in-the-opener-worship-my-defense-right-now) right now. I’ve been congratulating them since a minute and twenty seconds left on the clock,” Chase said, via the team’s website. “Nothing but praise to those guys. Can’t say anything more than just a hell of a job today. From being in the NFL for so long now, the games that are ugly and we win, we’ve got to take it. Every game is not going to be pretty. Every game is not going to be the best. For me, for Tee \[Higgins\], for Joe. It’s not going to be best for us. We’ve got to take everything we can, and get the W.”
Burrow echoed Chase’s praise for the defense by saying the unit “made big-time plays today in big spots.” If that can continue while the offense finds its footing, the Bengals should stand a better chance of making the playoffs this time around.