CLEVELAND — Joe Burrow was held to 113 yards passing, but two key Joe Flacco interceptions helped the Cincinnati Bengals hold on for their first season-opening win in four years, 17-16, over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Burrow was just 14 of 23 for 113 yards and a touchdown while Flacco finished 31 of 45 for 290 yards with one touchdown and the pair of interceptions in an AFC North clash that the Browns had chances to win.
Evan McPherson had what would be the game-winning points with a 35-yard field goal with 2:48 to play in the third quarter. The kick was set up by a Jordan Battle interception that the safety returned to the Cleveland 29.
Neither team scored the rest of the way.
The Bengals had a disastrous series with eight minutes left when they were sacked on three straight snaps and faced 4th-and-28 from their 2. The Browns then drove to the Cincinnati 18 but Andre Szmyt, who earlier missed an extra point, was wide right from 36 yards with 2:22 remaining.
After the Bengals couldn’t convert a first down, the Browns had two more possessions. DJ Turner picked off a pass that deflected off the hands of Cedric Tillman with just over a minute remaining. Cleveland regained the ball on its own 1 with 19 seconds left, but only got as far as the 29 before time ran out.
The Bengals took the opening drive and marched 68 yards in 12 plays to take the lead. Chase Brown accounted for 36 of the 68 yards, rushing seven times for 29 yards and catching one pass for seven yards. Brown’s five-yard rush put the Bengals up 7-0 with 7:32 left in the first quarter.
The Browns then took advantage of four Cincinnati defensive penalties — including a pair of pass interference penalties — to drive 67 yards on 16 plays for a game-tying touchdown. Raheim Sanders ran it in from one yard out to tie the game with 12:42 left in the second quarter.
The Bengals lost starting right guard Lucas Patrick on their second offensive series with a right calf injury. Dalton Risner, who joined the team as a free agent two weeks before the opener, got his first game reps with his new team as Patrick’s replacement. On Cincinnati’s next drive, the Bengals responded with an eight-play, 54-yard drive, capped by a one-yard Joe Burrow toss to tight end Noah Fant on third-and-goal.
The Browns also lost a starting offensive lineman when starting right tackle Jack Conklin suffered an eye injury and was replaced by Cornelius Lucas.
Szmyt converted from 45 yards out to cut Cincinnati’s lead to 14-10 with 23 seconds left in the first half. The Browns then continued their ball-possession game plan to open the third quarter, chewing up the first 7:40. Flacco completed the 13-play drive by hitting Tillman over the middle for a 5-yard touchdown and Cleveland’s first lead, 16-14. Szmyt missed the extra point.
The Bengals received a big break on Cleveland’s first drive of the fourth quarter when the Browns had drops on consecutive snaps, including one by Jerry Jeudy on fourth-and-4 at the Cincinnati 39.
–Mike Petraglia, Field Level Media
