The Cleveland Browns started off the 2023 season with a big-time Week 1 win, as they defeated Joe Burrow and the rival Cincinnati Bengals, 24-3. Burrow is now 1-5 against the Browns, and 0-3 against Cleveland on the road.
This was the Browns' first Week 1 home victory since 2004, when Jeff Garcia was quarterbacking. This matchup was sloppy with the amount of rain that fell in the city of Cleveland on Sunday, and while both teams had to battle the elements, it was the Browns who did a better job at managing the wet conditions.
Deshaun Watson completed 16 of 29 passes for 154 yards, one touchdown and one interception, and also rushed for 45 yards and a touchdown. Nick Chubb was effective on the ground as well, with 106 yards on 18 carries. The real story for Cleveland, however, was the defense. Jim Schwartz's front seven made Burrow miserable for all of 60 minutes, fueling a key divisional win for the Browns.
Burrow completed 14 of 31 passes for just 82 yards. He was pulled from the game with under six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Burrow's No. 1 wideout, Ja'Marr Chase, caught five passes for 39 yards, and Joe Mixon rushed for 56 yards on 13 carries.
Let's take a look at what went down in Cleveland on Sunday.
Why the Browns won
The Browns offense was very solid given the weather, but this win comes thanks to the Browns defense. Burrow was hit on his first dropback of the afternoon, which was just a sign of things to come. Cleveland held Cincinnati to 2.6 yards per play and just six first downs while the Bengals went 2 of 15 on third downs. It was destruction from beginning to end.
The pass rush was unrelenting, the secondary consistently made plays on Cincy's wideouts and the third-down defense was elite. If this is the kind of defense the Browns are going to play all year, then we are going to see the kind of dramatic improvement fans are hoping for.
We would be remiss if we completely ignored new Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins, who was perfect in his first game with new team despite the rain. He hit all three of his field goal attempts with a long of 43, and nailed his one extra point attempt.
Why the Bengals lost
The Bengals offense was nowhere to be found on Sunday. It recorded just 142 yards of total offense, while Burrow even tried wearing a glove at one point because of the wet conditions.
In Week 1 last year, Burrow accounted for five turnovers. Still, you could argue this was the worst game of his career. He recorded career worsts in completion percentage (45.2%), passing yards (82), yards per attempt (2.6) and tied his career worst in team points (3). Burrow is now 1-5 vs. the Browns, and has been sacked 20 times in those matchups. There's no reason to panic in Cincinnati, but this one was ugly.
Turning point
Down 13 points with 10 minutes remaining in the game, the Bengals had to get something going. A 13-point deficit in this weather felt like much more, so Cincinnati elected to go for it on fourth-and-4 from its own 31-yard line. That's when Myles Garrett stepped up.
Play of the game
The rain limited our explosive moments a bit, but this play was a fun. The Browns traded for former New York Jets wideout Elijah Moore this offseason, and he actually lined up at running back a couple times on Sunday. On this handoff, he ran all the way over to the right, and then reversed field to pick up a first down.
In all, it was a 19-yard rush that sparked Cleveland's first touchdown drive of the game.
What's next
Next week, the Bengals return to Cincinnati to host another division rival in the Baltimore Ravens, who defeated the Houston Texans on Sunday. As for the Browns, they hit the road to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on "Monday Night Football." Kenny Pickett and Co. were blown out by the San Francisco 49ers, 30-7.