Much of the blame for the Bengals falling short of the playoffs last season was placed on the shoulders of a defense that couldn’t make their high-scoring offensive performances lead to wins, but the team followed a different script against the Browns on Sunday.

Joe Burrow and the offense punted on five of their six second half possessions while picking up 141 yards for the entire game, but the defense forced a pair of turnovers and sacked Joe Flacco twice in the final 30 minutes to allow the Bengals to avoid another Week 1 loss. They got some help from the Browns missing a pair of kicks, but wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase wanted the focus to be on the defense after the 17-16 win.

“Worship my defense right now. I’ve been congratulating them since a minute and twenty seconds left on the

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