The major Bengals storyline that could change everything in Week 1

When the Cincinnati Bengals hit the field in Cleveland for Week 1's duel against the Browns on Sunday, they'll have a chance to avenge their myriad early-season follies of yesteryear. More than a chance, really. The Bengals are heavy road favorites for this AFC tilt, which feels like a trap of Admiral Ackbar-galactic proportions. A Week 1 home loss to the Patriots last year ultimately cost Cincinnati a shot at the playoffs. Quite traumatizing. Still probably too soon to bring up. Oh the pain. Anyway, beyond some of the more individual-centric matchups that will define the game within the game in this Battle of Ohio, there's one macro narrative I'll be eyeing most closely. Hat tip to Joe Goodberry for this stat: The Browns and Bengals led the NFL last season in pass rate, with Cleveland at 65.03% and Cincinnati at 64.81%. That only helped support an initial data point I dug up for this article that, quite frankly, blew me away. When Joe Flacco had his renaissance of sorts in leading the Browns to the playoffs