While the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves locked into a thrilling back-and-forth season opener against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, two of the three teams in the AFC North found themselves in action during the 1 p.m. window.
The Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns battled Sunday in Cleveland, and it was the Bengals under head coach Zac Taylor that came away with a last-second win themselves, holding on for a 17-16 win over the Browns thanks to a last-second missed field goal.
The Bengals opened the game quickly with a nice 12-play, 68-yard drive that was capped off by a 5-yard Chase Brown rushing touchdowns. On the drive, Joe Burrow hit tight end Noah Fant for 12 yards and wide receiver Tee Higgins for 13 yards before Brown capped off the opening-drive TD.
Cleveland answered right back as rookie running back Raheim Sanders cashed in from a yard out, capping a 16-play, 67-yard drive. After that, the two teams traded punts before Cincinnati got back on track.
Thanks to a 20-yard pass from Burrow to Ja’Marr Chase and a 15-yard pass interference penalty on Cleveland’s Greg Newsome II, the Bengals took a 14-7 lead as Burrow found Fant from 1-yard out with 4:18 left in the second quarter.
The Browns answered back late in the half with an 11-play, 51-yard drive, leading to a 45-yard field goal from Andre Szmyt after a 19-yard completion from Joe Flacco to David Njoku and a 17-yard strike to Jerry Jeudy.
Coming out in the second half, the Browns marched right down the field for the go-ahead touchdown. On the drive, Flacco hit rookie Harold Fannin Jr. for an 18-yard completion, and then hit Njoku for an 11-yard pass, before then hitting Cedric Tillman for a gain of 13 yards.
The Browns capped off the drive with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Flacco to Tillman, but Szmyt missed an extra point, leaving it at a 16-14 game.
That would be a sign of things to come for the Browns.
After a quick punt from the Bengals, Flacco was picked off by Bengals safety Jordan Battle, leading to a 35-yard field goal from Evan McPherson and a 17-16 Cincinnati lead.
That score held up as the final as the Browns had a turnover on downs, and then traded punts with the Bengals before Szmyt missed a 36-yard field goal wide right with 2:45 left in the fourth quarter. After that, the Bengals punted and then Flacco threw his second interception of the game, this time to DJ Turner II, ending any game-winning attempt.
In the win, Burrow threw for 113 yards and a touchdown on 14-of-23 completions, while Brown rushed for 43 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Fant led the Bengals with four catches for 26 yards and a touchdown.
For the Browns, Flacco threw for 290 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions on 31-of-45 completions. Rookie Dylan Sampson led the Browns with 12 carries for 29 yards, and added eight receptions for 64 yards. Fannin led the Browns with seven receptions for 63 yards. Myles Garrett had two sacks for the Browns.
The Bengals will host the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2, while the Browns will travel to the Ravens.
The Baltimore Ravens had to wait until Sunday Night Football to get into action against the Buffalo Bills, and for much of the night it looked like it was going to be a great night for the purple and black. Until it wasn’t.
After leading much of the game, a late fumble and a miraculous comeback gave the Bills a thrilling 41-40 win over the Ravens in what might be the game of the year in Week 1 alone.
That said, Derrick Henry is inevitable. He opened his 2025 season in dominant fashion, rolling to an impressive performance on the ground, which included 101 yards in the second quarter alone. That marked the sixth time in his career he’s done that in just one quarter.
Things didn’t start all that well for the Ravens though, as Buffalo took an early 7-0 lead, marching right down the field as Josh Allen hit Dalton Kincaid for a 15-yard touchdown. The Ravens responded with a field goal from rookie Tyler Loop, and after that it was largely all Baltimore.
Henry took over, scoring on a 30-yard run for a 10-7 lead. One series later he ripped off a 49-yard run, setting up an 11-yard Lamar Jackson rushing touchdown and a 17-7 lead.
The two teams then traded field goals late in the first half as Baltimore took a 20-13 lead into the half. Coming out of the half, the Ravens extended it to a 27-13 lead as Jackson found Zay Flowers for 39 yards on third down, and then hit Flowers for a 23-yard catch-and-run for the score.
Buffalo tried to make a game of it with a 2-yard rushing touchdown from James Cook, but the Ravens couldn’t be stopped.
For good measure, DeAndre Hopkins added to the lead with an absurd one-handed catch for a 29-yard score on his first ever target as a Raven. Prior to the TD, Jackson hit Flowers for a 36-yard catch-and-run, setting up the deep shot to Hopkins.
The Bills did add a 2-yard rushing touchdown from Josh Allen, but they simply couldn’t stop the Ravens, specifically Henry.
After an absurd 19-yard scramble on 3rd and 10 by Jackson moved the chains, Henry raced 46 yards untouched for his second touchdown of the game.
A wild deflection for a touchdown to Keon Coleman made it a game, and then the Bills got a stop, forcing a Henry fumble in shocking fashion. Things became a bit wild after that.
The Bills then scored on a Josh Allen QB sneak, and then Buffalo got a defensive stop, giving Allen a chance to lead the game-winning drive.
He did just that, getting the Bills into FG range on a big-time 32-yard throw to Josh Palmer, following it up with a 25-yard strike to Keon Coleman, setting the stage for Matt Prater’s — filling in for the injured Tyler Bass — game winning kick from
Henry finished with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries, but the fumble loomed large. Jackson threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Allen was even better on the other side, throwing for 394 yards and two touchdowns, adding two rushing touchdowns on the evening.
The Ravens will host the Bills in Week 2, while the Bills will travel to MetLife Stadium to take on the New York Jets.
