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Bengals vs. Browns NFL Week 1: Everything to know about Cincinnati's history in the Battle of Ohio

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated Sep 1, 2025 11:28 AM ET

The Cincinnati Bengals will begin another regular season with a Week 1 matchup this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Kickoff is slated for 1:00 p.m. ET at Huntington Bank Field on the shores of Lake Eric in downtown Cleveland.

It's the second time in three years Cincinnati will play at the Browns for a season-opener, but this rivalry goes so much further back than when that game was played in 2023.

As both teams fully dive in to game day preparations, let's look back at the recent and total history of what's known as the "Battle of Ohio."

Last year's Bengals vs. Browns results

The Bengals swept the Browns during the 2024 season. Win No. 1 came in Week 7 as Cincinnati won 21-14 in Cleveland. Charlie Jones returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, and the next score for either team wasn't until right before halftime when Nick Chubb ran the ball in from one-yard out in his first game back from his gruesome 2023 knee injury. This was also the game in which Deshaun Watson suffered a torn Achilles and Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Jameis Winston each came in to finish the game for the Browns later in the day.

Win No. 2 for the Bengals occurred in Week 16, right in the middle of their five-game winning streak to end the season. DTR started for Cleveland and was intercepted twice, once by Geno Stone and once by Jordan Battle. Joe Burrow threw for three touchdowns, including a highlight-reel throw to Tee Higgins in which he fell over as he was getting the ball out of his hands. Cincinnati went on to win, 24-6.

AN INSANE JOEY B TEEE-DEE! @joeyb ➡️ @teehiggins5

: #CLEvsCIN on CBS pic.twitter.com/ph86dchjZ5
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 22, 2024

Last 10 Bengals vs. Browns results

The Browns have won six of the last 10 games against the Bengals, which goes back to the start of Burrow's career in 2020. Burrow's second-career start was the beginning of a five-game losing streak for Cincinnati against its in-state rival until he finally got his first win over Cleveland in Week 14 of 2022. Since then, the Bengals have only lost to the Browns once back in Week 1 of 2023.

Week 16, 2024: Bengals 24 - Browns 6
Week 7, 2024: Bengals 21 - Browns 14
Week 18, 2023: Bengals 31 - Browns 14
Week 1, 2023: Browns 24 - Bengals 3
Week 14, 2022: Bengals 23 - Browns 10
Week 8, 2022: Browns 32 - Bengals 13
Week 18, 2021: Browns 21 - Bengals 16
Week 9, 2021: Browns 41 - Bengals 16
Week 7, 2020: Browns 37 - Bengals 34
Week 2, 2020: Browns 35 - Bengals 30

Bengals vs. Browns all-time results

Cincinnati leads the all-time series, 55-48, over Cleveland going all the way back to the very first meeting between the clubs on October 11, 1970. The rivalry officially started two years after the Bengals' inaugural season in 1968, but beef between the two franchises began long before that.

Paul Brown was fired by Browns owner Art Modell in 1963 after leading the Browns to a combined seven championships in both the AAFC and NFL from 1946-1955. Brown then joined the ownership group of a new AFL team in Cincinnati in which he named the Bengals in 1967. The Bengals' inaugural season was in 1968, and their uniforms looked awfully similar to the ones Browns' old team wore.

Brown coached the Bengals through the 1975 season and while he only defeated his former franchise in five of 12 tries while on the sidelines, Cincinnati was 22-19 against Cleveland during his time as both coach and owner and president.

Will the Bengals expand their series lead over the Browns? We'll find out this Sunday afternoon when Cincinnati's 2025 season begins.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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