Week 1 Game Recap: Cincinnati Bengals 27, Cleveland Browns 13

What you need to know

Cincinnati Bengals

After slow starts the previous two seasons under coach Marvin Lewis, the Bengals showed great promise out of the gate providing a great deal of optimism for the city of Cincinnati. The Bengals looked solid in all facets of the game, and took over the game versus their division rival early in the second quarter. Entering his third NFL season, former #1 pick Carson Palmer showed poise in completing 26 of 34 passes for 280 yards and two touchdowns. Palmer appeared to be in sync with Chad Johnson, but also spread the ball around quite well to eight different receivers.

The Bengals interestingly opened the game with Chris Perry in the backfield, but this turned out to be a disciplinary issue, as Rudi Johnson received the bulk of the carries (26-5 over Perry). Johnson finished with 126 yards rushing, 12 yards receiving and one touchdown on the game, while Perry was utilized more so in the passing game, finishing with 11 yard rushing and 37 yards receiving on five receptions out of the backfield. Fullback Jeremi Johnson turned a screen into an 18 yard receiving touchdown.

Chad Johnson caught nine balls for 91 yards and added 11 yards rushing, but had a really big game limited by a pair of key penalties. Johnson missed out on a five yard receiving touchdown early in the second quarter when he was dragged down from behind on a slant across the middle. Johnson was later tagged with an offensive pass interference after hauling in a 43 yard catch. TJ Houshmandzadeh finished with a solid game of five catches for 75 yards and confirmed his role as the #2 receiving option in this offense. Kelley Washington did not catch a pass, but was active for this game, and was targeted three times. Ken Walter scored on a nice second effort dive to add to his solid performance of four catches for 47 yards. Matt Schobel was targeted just once, as the tight ends were generally ignored in this game.

Cleveland Browns

Romeo Crenel’s debut as head coach was spoiled at home as the Browns found themselves playing from behind most of the game, and found turnovers and interceptions to hurt them at key moments. Trent Dilfer put up decent stats, accumulated primarily while playing from behind, but three turnovers (including a fumble) kept the Browns out of this game. Dilfer finished with 278 yards on 26 completions in 43 attempts with one touchdown and two interceptions.

With Lee Suggs out, Reuben Droughns was the primary ball carrier in this game. Droughns broke into the secondary a couple of times throughout the game, and finished with a 6.5 yard average with 12 carries and 78 yards. Droughns contributed three catches late in the game, but was generally ignored in the passing game in the first half. Droughns also contributed in the return game, finishing with 119 yards on five kickoff returns. William Green played on a couple of series, and had four carries for 12 yards.

The biggest play of the game was a 68 yard touchdown reception by Frisman Jackson, who finished with eight catches and 128 yards, though much of this came in the second half as the Bengals were giving up the underneath pass. Antonio Bryant was the most targeted wide receiver, and finished with five catches and 65 yards. Dennis Northcutt (four catches for 16 yards) was utilized in a variety of roles, but had a 73 yard punt return for a touchdown called back due to an illegal block. Rookie Braylon Edwards spent a significant amount of time on the field, though he only caught two balls for 16 yards on five targets. Filling in for an injured Aaron Shea, Steve Heiden finished with three catches for 32 yards at tight end.

What you ought to know

QB Carson Palmer, Pass: 26 - 34 - 280 - 2 TD / 1 INT

Palmer finished with a 107.5 passer rating on the day, and looked sharp in spreading the ball around to a well-tuned offense all day long. Palmer had plenty of time to pass, and with the time to find the open receiver, put up one of the biggest QB performances of the week. On the drive which concluded with a Jeremi Johnson touchdown out of the backfield, Palmer went seven for seven, which helped his confidence to grow and for the Bengals to open the game up. He shook off a less than stellar pre season and looked excellent.

RB Rudi Johnson, Rush: 26 - 126 - 1, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (2 targets)

Johnson’s touchdown came on a one yard dive up the middle following a defensive pass interference call, and he was just as productive throughout the rest of the day. The Bengals were able to move the ball on the ground with ease all afternoon long, especially to the right side of the line (where RT Willie Anderson anchors the line), as Johnson finished with 75 yards on 14 carries to that side, with 11 of those 14 carries going for at least four yards. While attempting to run the clock out, the Bengals tried to run Johnson to the left over former first round draft pick Levi Jones, and were successful there as well, gaining at least four yards on seven of ten carries.

RB Chris Perry, Rush: 5 - 11 - 0, Rec: 5 - 37 - 0 (6 targets)

Perry was utilized primarily in the passing game, and his presence in the opening formation could serve as a prelude to a bigger role in this offense in the 2005 season.

RB Jeremi Johnson, Rec: 1 - 18 - 1 (1 targets)

The fullback made a couple of nice moves to find the end zone on an 18 yard screen to put the Bengals ahead for good in this game.

WR Chad Johnson, Rush: 1 - 11 - 0, Rec: 9 - 91 - 0 (11 targets)

The Palmer to Johnson connection was in very good form to open the 2005 season, but two key penalties prevented Johnson from having a huge Sunday. Johnson was pulled down from behind on what would have been a sure five yard touchdown catch on a slant over the middle, and had a 43 yard catch called back on an offensive pass interference penalty. Johnson was able to find good separation all day and should be able to build on this performance throughout the season. Johnson scared owners briefly as he left the game with what many thought was a leg injury. It was reported to be just cramps and he returned to the game.

WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 5 - 75 - 0 (8 targets)

Houshmandzadeh no longer has to look over his shoulder at Peter Warrick, and has established himself as the clear #2 wide receiver in this offense. Houshmandzadeh was not a part of the return game as he had been in the past, but will be able to focus on his starting role now.

WR Kevin Walter, Rec: 4 - 47 - 1 (4 targets)

Walter made a very nice second effort cutback and dive on his touchdown reception and showed great agility as an alternate option in this offense.

WR Kelley Washington (3 targets)

It was unclear whether Washington would be active in this game, but he did play, despite not catching any passes. One of his three targets was on a desperation pass at the end of the first half where he was judged to be the closest receiver, so Washington was not a significant part of the offense on this day.

TE Matt Schobel (1 targets)

Schobel received only one look on the day, as the Bengals did most of their work on the ground and didn’t have to look over the middle often to move the ball on third down, where Schobel made his mark during the 2004 season.

PK Shayne Graham 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points

Graham connected on field goals of 23 and 32, and made all three extra points attempted.

CIN Rush Defense

Though the Bengals gave up 5.3 yards per carry, playing with the lead, the Bengals could focus on the passing game and did not focus on Reuben Droughns or William Green moving the ball on their rush defense.

CIN Pass Defense

The Bengals gave up 278 yards through the air on 43 pass attempts, with the biggest error allowing Frisman Jackson to run down the sidelines for a 68 yard touchdown in the first half. The Bengals did a solid job of keeping passes underneath after that point in the game.

QB Trent Dilfer, Pass: 26 - 43 - 278 - 1 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0

Dilfer fumbled once and threw two interceptions, which kept the Browns from competing in this game. After throwing a 68 yard touchdown pass to Frisman Jackson in the second quarter, Dilfer keyed in on the connection with Jackson and put up solid yards through the 2nd half while trying to put the Browns back on the board. Dilfer through at least five passes each to Antonio Bryant, Dennis Northcutt, Frisman Jackson, Braylon Edwards and Steve Heiden. A “go-to-guy” was not necessarily established during week 1.

RB Reuben Droughns, Rush: 12 - 78 - 0, Rec: 3 - 22 - 0 (3 targets)

With Lee Suggs out, Droughns moved the ball when given the opportunity, gaining at least five yards on half of his twelve carries, getting into the secondary multiple times throughout the day. Droughns was generally disregarded in the passing attack until the very last drive of the game.

RB William Green, Rush: 4 - 12 - 0

After a very solid preseason, William Green had just four touches in this game, and the former first round draft pick did not have many opportunities to contribute.

WR Frisman Jackson, Rec: 8 - 128 - 1 (9 targets)

Jackson tip-toed down the right sideline for a 68 yard touchdown early in the second quarter to kick-off a very solid day for the wide receiver who has spent time on both the Browns active roster and practice squad in recent years. The touchdown by Jackson was his first target of the game, 13 passes into the game. That means nine of the final 30 passes were intended for Jackson. Besides the touchdown, Jackson caught four straight balls on a drive that ended in a field goal when Dilfer failed to connect with Dennis Northcutt on the next two pass attempts. You can chalk up some of this to “garbage time” as the Browns tried to comeback, but the reality is that Jackson looked pretty good. The other point is that it’s likely the Browns could find themselves in this comeback mode situation again.

WR Antonio Bryant, Rec: 5 - 65 - 0 (10 targets)

Bryant led the Browns in targets down the stretch of the 2004 season, and opened the 2005 season with a slight edge over Dennis Northcutt and Frisman Jackson in targets as well. No one guy established themselves in this offense, so this is a situation worth monitoring.

WR Dennis Northcutt, Rec: 4 - 16 - 0 (9 targets)

Northcutt caught four short passes, but his biggest play of the day was a 73 yard punt return for a touchdown that was negated by an illegal block following the first series of the game.

WR Braylon Edwards, Rec: 2 - 16 - 0 (5 targets)

The highly heralded rookie from Michigan saw a good deal of playing time, but finished with just two catches as Dilfer found a connection with Frisman Jackson. One of Dilfer’s two interceptions was on a pass intended for Edwards, though it is not clear whether Edwards was at fault for this.

TE Steve Heiden, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (5 targets)

Heiden filled in well for an injured Aaron Shea, and performed admirably as he had last year after injuries to Kellen Winslow Jr and Aaron Shea.

PK Phil Dawson 2 - 2 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 7 points

Dawson connected on field goals of 28 and 34, but was not tested from long range as the Browns fell behind early.

CLE Rush Defense

The Browns were unable to slow down Rudi Johnson at any point throughout the day, and were clearly outmuscled by the bigger Bengals offensive line, though they did not give up anything longer than 13 yards.

CLE Pass Defense

The Browns secondary was picked apart by Carson Palmer all day long, and had their only big play of the game (a 30 yard interception return for a touchdown) called back by a penalty.