As woeful as the Cincinnati Bengals' typically high-powered offense was in Week 1, the other side of the ball picked up the slack in a 17-16 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Just as some fans might've been feeling sellers' remorse over Lou Anarumo's masterclass in his debut Colts defensive coordinator, his successor, Al Golden, brought some "second-half Lou" energy of his own to Cleveland. And it was beautiful to see, particularly because the Bengals struggled so much in 2024 on defense, which carried over into a discouraging preseason display.
When certain Cincinnati studs were asked about the defense afterwards, there was universal acclaim for how the unit banded together to keep the Browns in check.