The Cincinnati Bengals narrowly pulled out a victory against the Cleveland Browns in Week 1. They ended the game with a score of just 17-16, and the Browns had numerous opportunities to walk away victorious. Grinding out wins is important in the NFL, but certainly, this was a slow start for the Bengals because projections shows the Browns as one of the worst teams in the NFL. The Bengals are no strangers to starting the season off slow, and it has cost them in the past.
The Bengals have missed the playoffs in each of the past two seasons largely in part because they started out those campaigns 0-3 and 1-3, respectively. The team even started 0-2 back in 2022 before making a run to the Divisional Round.
Clearly, the team's insistence on digging themselves into a hole before trying to climb out is not ideal, and there is reason to be worried that losses could be just around the corner after their underwhelming Week 1 performance. The Bengals have the talent to get back into the Super Bowl, but their early-season struggles are not helping their case.
Bengals have started out slow yet again
At the end of the day, a win is a win, but the Bengals' one-point victory over the Browns did no favors when it comes to proving that they can come out of the gate fast. The team has been called out for a lack of offseason/training camp preparation before, and Joe Burrow oftentimes doesn't quite look like the MVP-caliber player that he is early on during the regular seasons.
The Bengals have even had numerous contract holdouts that they didn't resolve until just before the start of the regular season, and these have led to players not being at game speed right away.
Last year, it was Ja'Marr Chase. This year it was Trey Hendrickson and Shemar Stewart. Hendrickson and the Bengals were engaged in a long stalemate when it came to a contract extension. And it seemed like the team's best defender and the 2024 NFL sacks leader was on the trade block.
They didn't reach an agreement until Aug. 25, and Hendrickson had been either holding out or holding in until then. Stewart was the team's first-round pick, and he had contract drama leading up to the season as well. The Texas A&M product was the last first-rounder to sign a rookie deal, and there were even rumors that he'd try and return to college.
Hendrickson recorded a sack in his first game back, and Stewart had moments of brilliance in his regular-season debut, but there isn't much talent elsewhere on the defense. The team's overall defensive shortcomings won't make wins easy to come by over the coming month. The Bengals play an improving Jacksonville Jaguars next week, and Super Bowl-contending teams such as the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers are on the schedule after that.
The offense struggled in Week 1, too. Burrow only had 113 passing yards. Chase only caught two passes for 26 yards, and Chase Brown had just 43 yards despite carrying the ball 21 carries. Cincinnati's track record shows nothing to make fans believe that they should be better in the coming weeks, and slow starts have resulted in playoff absences before for the team. There is reason to be concerned when it comes to the Bengals despite the fact that they did end up victorious in Week 1.
