The Cincinnati Bengals suffered a brutal loss in Week 1 against their division rivals Cleveland Browns. It was a 24-3 Browns win, where the Bengals offense could not get going.

This was a shocking performance from Cincinnati, who has had back-to-back deep playoff runs. However, this game was different. The rainy conditions threw the pass-heavy Bengals off, and Cleveland took advantage by controlling the match  with a strong run game and play-action attack.

The Bengals never looked comfortable out there, as they could not get anything going on offense. It was not typical Cincinnati football, as they have proven to be an elite team over the past few seasons. The Browns got the best of them in Week 1, and there is blame to go around.

With that said, let's move on to the two Bengals most to blame for their brutal loss to the Browns.

2. Bengals defensive line

In rainy conditions, the Browns leaned on their elite run game led by Nick Chubb. Chubb is one of the best backs in football, and he showed that by rushing for 106 yards and 18 carries. The Browns ran for 206 yards and a touchdown on 40 carries as a team. That's 5.2 yards per carry. Allowing that many yards in the rushing attack when you expect the other team to run the ball is unacceptable.

It's the defensive line's job to slow the run, and they were unable to do so. The Bengals need to improve in stopping those runs moving forward. In Week 2, they will take on the Baltimore Ravens, who have a great rushing attack. Baltimore's run game is unique as they have one of the best dual-threat players in Lamar Jackson at quarterback. Jackson's rushing ability will be a good test for the Bengals' defense after a tough performance against Cleveland.

Cincinnati's inability to slow down the run contributed to their loss in Week 1. The AFC is very competitive, and the Bengals can't afford to have a poor run defense.

1. Joe Burrow/playcalling

Star quarterback Joe Burrow struggled to lead the passing games against Cleveland in the rainy conditions. Burrow completed 14 of 31 passes for 82 yards and zero touchdowns. He was unable to get anything going with the passing game, which is why Cincinnati was never able to put up a fight.

While Burrow has a part of the blame, so does the playcalling. When there are raining conditions, teams should lean more on the run game rather than forcing the pass. In this game, the Bengals decided to run their typical offense despite having success when running the ball. Star running back Joe Mixon rushed for 56 yards on 13 carries, which is 4.3 yards per carry. They had some effective runs but got away from that and started to lean on the pass.

Leaning on the passing attack with the rainy conditions when the run game showed promise was a bad decision by the play-callers. The Bengals will need to learn from this as they move forward this season.

Although this Week 1 loss is tough to swallow, it can serve as a wake-up call for Cincinnati. They are one of the best teams in the league, but that doesn't mean they're going to win every game. The Bengals need to realize they can't rely on their elite passing attack alone and learn to trust the run game more.

They will look to bounce back against the Ravens in their home opener in Week 2.