CLEVELAND — The Bengals lost to the Browns 24-3 on Sunday in Cleveland. They fall to 0-1 on the season. Here are our winners and losers from the 100th Battle of Ohio:
Winners
Dax Hill
Hill recorded his first career interception in the third quarter and put the offense in position to score.
The Bengals are banking on him to step up in his first season as a starter after playing behind Jessie Bates and Vonn Bell as a rookie. Hill finished with six tackles (two for loss) and one pass defensed.
Germaine Pratt
Pratt forced a fumble in the red zone and was flying all over the field. He led the team with 11 tackles (two for loss) and also had one sack.
Losers
Joe Burrow
The Bengals quarterback struggled all game long. He finished 14-of-31 for 82 yards and no touchdowns. He didn't have a turnover, but was out of sync with his wide receivers and never got into a rhythm.
The Entire Bengals' Offense
Burrow gets singled out since he's the star quarterback, but the entire offense struggled. From head coach Zac Taylor to wide receiver Tee Higgins.
The Bengals' star wide-out didn't have a catch on eight targets. It wasn't all his fault, of course. Burrow is usually more accurate than he was on Sunday, but Higgins wasn't on the same page with his quarterback on multiple plays.
Taylor is 1-4 in regular season openers. His lone win came against the Vikings in 2021. He's also 0-5 in Cleveland.
The Bengals' offense has to be much better next week against Baltimore if they're going to get their first win of the season.
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