A 17-16 defeat at the hands of the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 saw the Cleveland Browns‘ hope for a win vanish along with a series of uncharacteristic performances from rookie kicker Andre Szmyt. Szmyt had a forgettable debut at Huntington Bank Field, where he smudged perhaps two of the most crucial kicks of the day: missing an extra point in the third quarter and a 36-yard field goal opportunity near the end of the fourth. Both kicks sailed woefully to the right, especially depriving the Browns of an opportunity to secure what could have been a game-winning drive with a simple field goal kick.

This poor performance comes after the Browns made the decision to start Szmyt for the 2025 season over veteran Dustin Hopkins. Szmyt had a strong preseason, going 3-for-3 on field goals and 4-for-6 on extra points. This was a welcome sign after Hopkins’s significant drop in production during the 2024 season, where his field goal percentage fell from 91.7% to 66.7%. The Browns were counting on Szmyt to be a more reliable option.

Instead, luck turned against Szmyt. But rather than blaming the kicker, the head coach, Kevin Stefanski, stuck up for Szmyt when the media were outraged over all the kicks he had missed. And when asked if they needed to consider getting another kicker, Stefanski said, “I am not there, Daniel, on those types of things. Points are at premium, obviously. So, it’s frustrating.”

He also expressed confidence in the rookie: “Andre has had a really good camp, and he has done a nice job for us.” Hence, it appears that, regardless of the unfortunate beginning, the team is putting its weight behind its rookie kicker. 

For Szmyt, he walked into Sunday with the weight of opportunity and left with the kind of night every kicker dreads. The Browns trusted their rookie leg in crunch time, but instead of sealing a statement win, Szmyt’s foot betrayed him… Not once. But twice. And it paved the door for the Bengals to take a sigh of relief for they have broken the deadlock.

Andre Szmyt’s missed FGs help the Bengals break their curse

For years, Cincinnati had lived under the shadow of a brutal curse in week 1, stumbling at the worst moments and letting chances slip away. To be precise, since 2021! This slender victory for their first-ever week 1 dub in 4 years. The last came against the Vikings, 27-24, at the Paycor Stadium. And Szmyt’s on the wrong side of the history on his debut.

Expressing how the team takes the loss, color analyst Johnson said, “It’s like any player that feels that he let his team down,” he added, “It is the sickest feeling you can imagine because your mistake hurts so many other people. And it is hard to shake it off. And for Andre Szmyt as a kicker? You’ve got to be able to get rid of it quick.”

Because even in the loss, the Browns’ defensive unit was amazing. Led by Myles Garrett, they made it incredibly hard for the Bengals to do anything. Garrett was a beast, sacking Joe Burrow twice. The Bengals’ offense barely did anything all game, and yet to no good. That goes to show, how important (and costly) each point conversion could be. 

But still week 1, and there’s a long way to go. And there were goods for Cleveland and Kevin Stefanski to note down. Not all’s lost. Despite the losing effort, Joe Flacco completed 31 of his 45 pass attempts for 290 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Alas, the team needs to pounce upon those moments. Missed kicks, turnovers, picks…only leads to a losing season if not addressed. And Stefanski can’t afford another one.