National media outlet makes early Week 1 score prediction for Bengals vs Browns
The Cincinnati Bengals will kick off the 2023 season against the Cleveland Browns on September 10. Cincinnati is the favorite to win the AFC North after winning the division the past two seasons. The Browns, however, could throw a major wrench in the Bengals' plans to three-peat in the AFC North. As good as Joe […]
The Cincinnati Bengals will kick off the 2023 season against the Cleveland Browns on September 10.
Cincinnati is the favorite to win the AFC North after winning the division the past two seasons.
The Browns, however, could throw a major wrench in the Bengals' plans to three-peat in the AFC North.
As good as Joe Burrow has been since arriving in the NFL in 2020, he's surprisingly struggled against the Browns.
Burrow is just 1-4 in his career against the Browns (he didn't start in the season-finale against Cleveland in 2021, a game the Bengals lost). He didn't get his first win against the Browns until Week 14 this past season.
While the Browns aren't expected to give the Bengals a serious challenge for the division title this season, Cleveland is still an improved team from last season. And they'll be a tough matchup for teams on a weekly basis. If they get a win against the Bengals in Week 1, it could give the Browns some momentum and anything can happen when a team has positive momentum.
CBS Sports doesn't think the Bengals will have any issues against the Browns. They seemingly see Burrow's 1-4 record against Cleveland as a fluke. As a result, they have the Bengals beating the Browns 27-23 in Week 1.
From CBS Sports: This line (Bengals -2.5) confuses me a bit. I'm expecting the Browns to be better with Deshaun Watson in 2023, but they still have a lot to prove as contenders. The Bengals don't. They are legitimate contenders.
Maybe this line has to do with the fact that Joe Burrow is 1-4 vs. the Browns, and has never won in Cleveland. However, he has a new left tackle in Orlando Brown Jr., and his young wide receivers are just getting better. I'm not expecting the Bengals to get off to a slow start like last year. With this number under a field goal, I'll take Cincy.
Games aren't played on paper so the Bengals will have to take care of business on the field in Week 1. But if the game goes as expected, Cincy should get off to a 1-0 start with a win against a division rival.
