Joe Burrow Assigns Blame for Bengals’ Struggles Despite Win vs Browns

It came down to the wire. It wasn’t pretty at all. But Joe Burrow and the Bengals walked away with a tight 17-16 win over the Browns in their Sunday’s season opener, avoiding a fourth consecutive Week 1 loss. Still, you could tell Burrow wasn’t exactly thrilled with how the offense looked. After the game, when asked about his thoughts on the one-point win, the quarterback kept it real.

“Yeah, obviously got to get better in some areas, but we got the win,” he said. “So, this is how these early-season games look sometimes. Happy with the win. Just like any week, we’re gonna watch the tape and improve.” But when pressed on what needs tightening up as the season rolls on, Burrow didn’t hesitate—he pointed straight at the offense and his own struggles in that Week 1 clash.

“We’ll watch the tape and we’ll see,” he added. “You know, obviously, we didn’t move the ball enough in the second half. I thought the first half was really good, but second half we kind of didn’t make enough plays on the outside. We didn’t protect well enough. I missed some throws, so, we got to get that cleaned up.” The Bengals started the 2025 season with a promising opening drive on Sunday.

But with a two-time Pro Bowl QB, All-Pro receiver Ja’Marr Chase, the league’s best WR2, Tee Higgins, and RB Chase Brown, the Bengals were supposed to keep that momentum. However, Cincy and its offense had their struggles throughout the game. They still pulled out the win, no debate. But Burrow finished with just 14 of 23 for 113 yards, tossing one touchdown (late in the first half on a one-yard pass to Noah Fant) and no picks, with 4.9 yards per carry. And yes, he also took a couple of sacks from Myles Garrett.

On top of that, the Bengals only managed 141 total yards of offense compared to the Browns’ 327. And in the second half? Burrow and his guys racked up just seven yards (Browns-210). Meanwhile, RB Brown averaged 2 yards per carry for a total of 43 yards, and Chase caught only a couple of passes for 26 yards. And yes, all of this came against the Browns, known as one of the league’s worst.

That said, the Bengals surely got a 1-0 lead. But Joe Burrow is still concerned about the offensive struggles. And the Browns? Well, throughout the offseason, the Browns’ quarterback room grabbed the limelight. But as week 1 rolled in… let’s just say, another position raised some eyebrows.

The quarterback was never a big story for the Browns

The quarterback room in Cleveland made many headlines throughout the offseason. Joe Flacco, Kenny Pickett, Shedeur Sanders, and Dillon Gabriel—everyone was in the mix to grab that QB1 job. The season opener rolled in with Flacco as the QB1, no doubt. But the kicker turned out to be the bigger story against the Bengals. Just to put it in context, the Browns moved the ball and outgained the Bengals 210-7 in passing yards in the second half of the game.

Still, they had to endure a 16-17 loss against their divisional rivals. The crystal? Browns kicker Andre Szmyt. Szmyt had beaten veteran Dustin Hopkins ahead of week 1. However, the kicker missed a crucial extra point in the third quarter and a go-ahead 36-yard field goal late in the fourth with just 2:25 remaining in the game. As it turned out, those misses made the difference in their narrow one-point loss to Joe Burrow and Co.

The silver line? Even after the missed kicks, Cleveland got another possession. But there was a wrinkle. On that drive, Flacco threw a pass to Cedric Tillman that bounced off Tillman’s hands and was intercepted by a Bengals cornerback. Cincinnati then ran the clock down and forced the Browns to start their next drive at their own 1-yard line with just 30 seconds left. The Bengals’ defense held strong, sealing the win. Long story short: both teams struggled. But only one won.