Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) drops back to pass during an NFL football game against the Cleveland Browns, Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, in Cleveland.
CLEVELAND — If you told Patrick Mahomes that the Browns are 4-0 against Joe Burrow, he’d never believe it.
That’s because Burrow is 3-0 against the Chiefs and has their number as much as the Browns have his.
Furthermore, the Browns have picked off Burrow on his opening drive of each of their last three meetings, including the 32-13 victory here on Halloween night.
“I didn’t even know that, honestly,” said safety John Johnson III, who picked off Kyle Allen on his first play of the game in Sunday’s 27-14 victory over the Texans. “(But) anytime you get a takeaway on the first drive, it does kind of set the tone and a spark for that defense. Because everyone else wants one. Once the first guy gets one, I gotta get one. So I think it’s a good spark if it happens on the first drive.”
Former Browns linebacker B.J. Goodson kicked off the trio of first-drive picks off Burrow when he swiped a pass defended by Denzel Ward during the Browns 37-34 victory in Cincinnati in 2020. The second one was Ward’s 99-yard pick-six in last year’s 41-16 victory in Cincinnati, and the third was A.J. Green pick at the Browns’ 16 on a pass intended for Tee Higgins in the Halloween game.
In addition to the INTs coming on his opening drive, three of Burrow’s five career red zone interceptions have come against the Browns.
“It’s just me not doing my job,” Burrow told reporters in Cincinnati on Wednesday.
But only against the Browns?
“It seems that way,” he said.
Burrow, who’s fifth in the NFL with a 103.7 rating this season, was asked what makes the Browns so unique.
“They have Myles Garrett,” he said. “That’s different from everybody else.”
“He just presents so many problems to you because he can win at the line of scrimmage, he can win late, he’s fast off the ball,” Burrow said. “He’s just so disruptive in everything he does. He’s a great player.”
Burrow also had high praise for Ward, with whom he played at Ohio State before transferring to LSU.
“We were in the same class at Ohio State coming out of high school,” Burrow said. “I love Denzel. Been around him a long time. He’s a great player. Always fun talking with him during and after the game, so I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
Likewise, Ward, who sat out Wednesday with ankle injury and illness, knew even as a freshman that Burrow “was going to be that guy.”
“He’s a special quarterback,” he said. “He has the arm strength, obviously, the accuracy. He gets his guys the ball. He can make every throw on the field and he knows how to run the offense and analyze defenses as well. He’s a great quarterback. Great quarterback.”
Have the Browns gotten into Burrow’s head?
“I don’t think so,” said Johnson. “I think he’s been a winner from what I know like his whole life, so I don’t think so. I think he’s a poised guy, but when it comes on Sunday we gotta go out there and get the best of him.”
Stefanski doesn’t think the Browns are in his head either.
“No,” he said. “Again, he’s a really, really good football player. I have a ton of respect for him, for Coach (Zac) Taylor and for that team. They’re coming off of the Super Bowl. They I know will be ready to go Sunday, and we have to be ready go Sunday.”
Chase didn’t play in the Halloween game because of a hip injury, but returned Sunday for the victory over the Chiefs after a four-game absence.
“They like throwing the ball,” Johnson said. “They don’t hide it. They don’t do a lot of motions. They just line up and say ‘we’re gonna beat you.’ So I think that’s when we’re at our best when we can just line up one on one, win your match up and like we said in the past, we’ve done a good job, so we gotta keep it up.”
Can the Bengals — who have won four in a row and six of their last seven to improve to 8-4 — change things up enough offensively to catch the Browns off guard?
“They may add some stuff in there, but they’re good at what they do,” Ward said. “They’ve got guys that could go up and make plays and Burrow, he does a great job of getting those guys the ball and letting those guys do the rest. So we gotta come ready to play up against a great offense.”
