CLEVELAND -- While the Browns' 2025 season opener might have exposed a potential kicker issue, receivers dropping passes and an offense that didn't score a bunch of points, there were encouraging rookie performances and veteran leadership for Cleveland to hang its hat on as it prepares for a Week 2 matchup at the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS).
Mistakes were the story of the Browns' 17-16 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
In addition to kicker Andre Szmyt's missed extra point in the third quarter and missed go-ahead 36-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter, consecutive dropped passes led to a turnover on downs early in the fourth quarter, and a pair of dropped passes resulted in interceptions, including on the penultimate drive.
However, the Browns' performance on offense featured promising debuts from two rookies, and quarterback Joe Flacco struck an optimistic tone after the defeat, especially as the return of rookie running back Quinshon Judkins looms.
"There's definitely things that we're going to be able to look at and build off of for sure and say, 'Man, like, look how well we did that,'" Flacco said after the game. "We just can't let the things that were negative affect you."
Cleveland scored only 16 points in the opener after posting the lowest scoring offense in the NFL last season (15.2 points per game) but was more effective in sustaining drives -- just not finishing them. The Browns' 75% down set conversion rate -- the percentage of drives that are converted into a first down or touchdown -- would have been their highest in a single game last season.
A pair of Browns rookies were also standouts in their debuts. Running back Dylan Sampson accounted for 20 touches and recorded 64 receiving yards on eight catches. It was the third-most receptions by a running back in his first career game since the AFL/NFL merger, according to ESPN Research. Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. caught seven passes for 63 yards, the most receptions by a rookie tight end in Week 1 since the merger.
Fannin's emergence allowed the Browns to utilize 12 personnel featuring two tight ends, which was a staple of Kevin Stefanski's offense in his first couple of seasons as head coach. Cleveland used 12 personnel on 50.7% of plays against the Bengals, its most in a single game since Week 16 of the 2020 season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
"They aren't young, they are playmakers, if you know what I mean," tight end David Njoku said of Fannin and Sampson. "So we rely on them and rely on the whole team as a unit."
The Browns, though, weren't able to establish a run game after prioritizing it throughout the offseason and training camp. Cleveland totaled 49 yards on the ground and averaged 2 yards per rush.
Stefanski on Monday called the issues in the running attack "multifaceted."
"You have to give credit to [the Bengals]," Stefanski said. "We can do a better job as coaches in giving the guys a plan. There are one-on-one matchups that we have to win, and that's the run game. If you're not winning in one spot, that person can fall off and make a play. If you do win your one-on-one matchup, those are where big yards can be had. So, we will get back to work there."
The Browns could get a boost against the Ravens on the road in Week 2, as the team last Saturday signed Judkins to a four-year rookie contract. The No. 36 overall pick in this year's draft, Judkins wasn't with the team in training camp while unsigned as the team waited for a resolution to his domestic violence arrest in July; prosecutors in August declined to formally pursue charges.
Stefanski on Monday was noncommittal on whether to play Judkins, who hasn't practiced with the team since mid-June, saying that he had to go through practice first before making a decision.
"We got to see him a little bit in the spring, and he looked like a hell of a ball carrier," Flacco said. "So, I think all the pieces, we're going to need all the pieces at some point, and different guys are going to need to step up at different points in the season. I think he's a big part of what this football team could be, so it's good to have him back. And I'm excited for him to kind of get in there and feel like he can be part of the team again."