Browns 1st and Goal Report: Browns vs. Bengals Pregame Notes

Photo via Imagn Images

Game day for the Cleveland Browns has arrived. The Browns will take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, down along the shores of Lake Erie at Cleveland Browns Stadium. This will be the first opportunity for the Browns to get back in the win column after a dismal 2024 campaign. They will be led by their veteran quarterback, Joe Flacco, who returns to Cleveland hoping to bring more magic back to the team and another run to the playoffs. It starts with getting a win in Week 1. 

1st and Goal: Offense needs to get off to a fast start 

If you have watched the Cleveland Browns in recent times, you know that they have struggled with their offense. The team only averaged 15 points a year ago. In this game against the Bengals, Cleveland needs to get off to a fast start. They need to get the lead early.

If they struggle at the beginning with their offense, then the game might get out of hand quickly. The team’s offense needs to rely on a solid offensive line effort and a run game that, unfortunately, still has a lot of question marks attached to it. 

Their second-round draft pick, Quinshon Judkins, finally signed a four-year $11 million contract with the team on Saturday. He had been out because of off-field issues.

The team will start Jerome Ford and rookie Dylan Sampson, so we’ll see how it all turns out.

This Browns offense will not be able to play catch-up to the Bengals. Last year, the offense was so poor that the team’s defensive efforts were affected, too. 

If the Browns want to be good this year, they have to get more from their offense while relying on their superior defense. 

2nd and Goal: Myles Garrett needs to be the best in this matchup 

The Browns’ best defensive player defensive effort Myles Garrett, needs to step up and have a great first game against the team that he has traditionally done pretty well against. Joe Burrow, the quarterback of the Cincinnati Bengals, will be watching his blind side in this game. Hopefully, that will be enough to give Cleveland an edge.

Garrett has sacked Burrow 10 times in his career, the most he’s had against one single NFL quarterback and his career. I look for Garrett to try to be spectacular in this one and get to Burrow quickly. I’ll give Garrett at least two sacks in this game.

The other big-name players on the defense, including cornerback Denzel Ward and safety Grant Delpit, also need to come to play. You add in the two rookies, including defensive lineman, Mason Graham, and linebacker Carson Schwesinger and and the defense could have one hell of a game. 

3rd and Goal: We will miss you, Nick Chubb

The heart and soul of past Cleveland Browns teams was Nick Chubb. Unfortunately, Chubb ended up going to the Houston Texans as a free agent this offseason. The Browns weren’t in a rush to re-sign him, and Chubb saw the writing on the wall and left.

There are a lot of Browns fans who are disappointed with what transpired over this offseason for the former fan favorite. 

So now Nick Chubb is the starting running back for the Texans, leading into Week 1. I hope he has a stellar season and proves to all of those who don’t believe in him anymore, including the Browns, that he was a 1 in a 1 million running back. 

4th and Goal: Browns get rid of the Elf at midfield 

The Browns organization is disappointing some fans by getting rid of their mascot elf at midfield this season. The team has three different mascots, including the elf, the dawg, and the helmet. 

The Browns are returning to using the helmet at midfield this season. They will also have the words “Cleveland” in one end zone and “Browns” in the other end zone.

Cleveland has always had an interesting issue with all of these different mascots. It might be good long-term if they could settle on one of them I personally like the elf and would’ve hoped that maybe they just went exclusively with that

Maybe as we build toward a new domed stadium in 2029, the Browns organization will become more objective with how they want to sell the team’s image. I think I’m hoping for too much, though! 

In the meantime…Go Browns! Let’s get a win tomorrow down at the stadium! 

Woof Woof!