**Related Video Above: Couple soon to get married in the Muni Lot
CLEVELAND (WJW/AP) — A new Cleveland Browns season is full of hope. This could be the time the team goes all the way to the Super Bowl … maybe.
First, as head coach Kevin Stefanski likes to say, the team has to take it one game at a time, starting with the series and home opener Sunday at 1 p.m. against the Cincinnati Bengals.
After going 3-14 last season and dropping its last five games by an average of 16 points, the Browns want to show fans they’ve got this. The Browns brought back quarterback Joe Flacco, who went 4-1 as a starter and led them to a playoff berth two seasons ago. Flacco was with Indianapolis last season, when Deshaun Watson played in seven games for the Browns before suffering the first of two Achilles tendon injuries.
The Bengals may be 5 1/2-point favorites ahead of Sunday, but that doesn’t mean anything. This is the NFL, where any team can win at any time. Last year, Cincinnati was a nine-point favorite at home against New England but lost 16-10.
“We have to be about our business. You’re in the game week and you get to see these guys in the roles that they’ve earned,” Stefanski said. “But for me, it never moves past very far the idea that these guys have worked so hard for this and the games, this is the fun part for them.”
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PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – AUGUST 16: Joe Flacco #15 of the Cleveland Browns looks on during warm ups before the NFL Preseason 2025 game between Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on August 16, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) -
Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders celebrates after a touchdown pass against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of a preseason NFL football game on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Rusty Jones) -
FILE – Cleveland Browns Stadium during an NFL football game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Cleveland Browns, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2023, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Who is the real Joe Cool?
The Browns’ social media team posted “Joe Cool leading the way” when Flacco was named the starter on Aug. 18. That upset some Bengals fans, who have given Burrow the same nickname.
Flacco becomes the eighth quarterback to start in Week 1 at age 40 or older. He has a 3-1 mark when facing the Bengals in an opener, all when he played for Baltimore.
Burrow lost five of his first six starts against Cleveland, but led the Bengals to a season sweep last year in the “Battle of Ohio” for the first time since 2017.
Garrett’s status
Cleveland All-Pro pass rusher Myles Garrett missed Thursday’s practice with a hip injury but Stefanski told reporters Friday that he was good to go for Sunday. Garrett has sacked Burrow nine times, his most against any quarterback.
Who isn’t playing
DT Mike Hall Jr. is out for Sunday, according to a Friday status report.
How to watch
The game is being shown right here on FOX 8. The Browns will be the ones in the orange pants.
Laura Morrison
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