The gloomy weather in Cleveland perfectly matched how the Cincinnati Bengals performed in a depressing 24-3 loss to the Cleveland Browns. The defeat has the Bengals starting 0-1 in the AFC North for the second straight year. 

Obviously, a precedent exists for a turnaround to occur, but that doesn't happen again solely because it happened before. A repeat performance can't occur in order for expectations to be met this year. This has to be a blip in the radar instead of a sign of what's to come.



Fortunately, not everything was terrible on Sunday for Cincinnati, and there's a simple reason not to start panicking.  

3 Reasons For Optimism After Bengals’ 0-1 Start

Defense Playing As Advertised

Such an ugly game will get defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s unit lost in the discussion, but they shouldn’t be. Cincinnati’s defense held its own and kept the game within two scores until late in the fourth quarter, limiting the Browns’ offense to -0.15 expected points added per play. 

Turnovers played a big part in that as the Bengals took the ball away from the Browns twice on their own side of the field. Germaine Pratt's forced fumble was a highlight of one of his best games in recent memory, and Dax Hill caught a tipped pass for his first-career interception. 

There were no excuses for the Bengals to come out flat on defense, and they did nothing of the sort. They look poised to be a top-10 unit again. 

Cam Taylor-Britt’s Second-Year Jump Has Begun

Hill and Nick Scott have gotten plenty of attention taking over at safety. They were respectable in their respective debuts, but Taylor-Britt was the star of the secondary. The second-year cornerback came away with a PBU and allowed virtually nothing in coverage.

The Browns weren't hesitant to push the ball down the field, as evidenced by Deshaun Watson's Average Depth of Target of 10.9 yards. Taylor-Britt kept up with Amari Cooper and Co. all over the field and had himself a solid performance. 

Taylor-Britt's progress in training camp from taking reps against Ja'Marr Chase indicated he was on track to taking the next step as a do-it-all corner. So far, he's gliding down that path.

This Is the Bottom For the Offense

Not since Joe Burrow's rookie season have the Bengals finished a game without scoring a touchdown. That was also against an AFC North team on the road when they lost 27-3 to the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 of 2020. 

Needless to say, the Bengals' offense is constructed better than it was three years ago. This isn't to ignore the recurring issues that plagued them on top of the specific problems Sunday provided, but it's hard seeing them failing worse than this. It was the worst game of Joe Burrow's career, by far. Tee Higgins didn't catch any of his eight targets! Tee Higgins! 

Whatever reasoning you think is most to blame: Weather, scheme, rust, it all played a part. Burrow and the offense will not look this out of whack for the rest of the season. That it was this bad was surprising in it of itself, even after missing ample practice time. 

A punch in the mouth is best had in Week 1. What matters most is how you get back up. 

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Anyone who's followed this team over the past few years knows the defense has been more reliable than the offense, despite the attention and hype always leaning towards Burrow and his receivers.

While it's far from ideal that the current state of the offense couldn't produce a single touchdown drive, there are reasons that can explained for that. The defense struggling out the gate would be far more confusing, and concern there would have reasons much harder to explain. Offensive problems at least have an established history of being mitigated during the season. 

Burrow's calf will also continue to be monitored, and it will get better if the team manages it correctly. Will he have to adjust quicker next time the rain comes? Yes. The offense as a whole will need to prepare better for inclement weather. 

A perfect storm led to the opposite of perfection for the Bengals. Their issues when facing the Browns are not going away any time soon, but as for facing the 13 other teams on the schedule, don't expect what happened Sunday to reoccur. 

Bengals: Joe Burrow confirms suspicion after poor outing vs. Browns

Burrow had a rough game in Cleveland, and the reasoning tracks.

Featured image via © Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK