CLEVELAND, Ohio — For the Cincinnati Bengals , the question coming into this season was whether the defense was going to be good enough to support their offense.

But with Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense not as crisp on Sunday vs. the Browns as they are capable of being, the defense in Al Golden’s debut as coordinator made enough plays including two second-half interceptions to give Cincinnati the win, 17-16.

The Browns made their own mistakes, struggling to run the football throughout the afternoon, while rookie Andre Szmyt missed two kicks in the second half, including a 36-yard field goal.

Just as importantly, the Browns gave it away twice, both on passes through the hands of their two top wide receivers. Jordan Battle’s third-quarter interception on a pass off the hands of Jerry

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