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Jordan Battle, Demetrius Knight Highlight Bengals Defensive Showing Against Browns

Cincinnati forced two turnovers and held a team under 20 points on Sunday.
Russell Heltman|
Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) intercepts a pass in the third quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. The Bengals begin the season with a 17-16 win over the Browns.
Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) intercepts a pass in the third quarter of the NFL Week 1 game between the Cleveland Browns and the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland on Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. The Bengals begin the season with a 17-16 win over the Browns. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Cincinnati Bengals

CINCINNATI — The Bengals' defense became the story of the day for Cincinnati as young playmakers like Jordan Battle and Demetrius Knight Jr. helped the unit eke out a 17-16 win on the road Sunday afternoon against Cleveland.

Cincinnati had just 141 yards of total offense, the lowest ever in a Zac Taylor-led win, as the defense weathered that storm with two turnovers.

"Hey, it feels excellent, especially being 1-0 in the division that can put us on top based on how the other games go. But yeah, that was the main thing coming into Week 1. Like you said, my first time with the Bengals being 1-0," Jordan Battle noted to the media.

Battle finished with an interception and a team-leading 12 tackles.

He was flanked by Knight, who had the second-most Bengals tackles with 10 and a pass breakup.

"I say we're nasty and we're hungry. It doesn't matter where the momentum goes; we're always going to grab it back," Knight said to FOX19's Joe Danneman about the Bengals' defensive identity.

Knight knows they have to flush the win quickly and move on to the home opener next week against Jacksonville.

"We want to hold up to realistically less than that," Knight said about wanting to hold teams to even fewer points. "But obviously we're just going to continue to grow. We know outside noise is always going to be there. We don't pay attention to it. We know what we're doing on the inside. And again, just gotta watch and see what we do."

Cincinnati takes on Jacksonville next Sunday at 1 p.m. ET with a chance to really build momentum to start this season.

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Russ Heltman
RUSSELL HELTMAN

Russ Heltman is a contributor for AllBearcats and AllBengals. He is the morning host and producer for 89.3 WMKV in Cincinnati, OH.  Russ can be found on Twitter: @RussHeltman11 or you can reach him by email at Heltmandm@yahoo.com.

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