BEREA, Ohio — The Browns are a few days removed from hitting the field to open the 2025 season, taking on the Cincinnati Bengals at home to kick things off. An AFC North rivalry always comes with a buzz, but this time around, Cleveland's approach feels a bit different.
All of the natural excitement surrounding a regular-season game gets a little more amplified when it's a division matchup.
"It's a big challenge. I really take pride in it, knowing that me I personally talk to my friends about it all the time, they're Bucs fans, I'm like, we have the hardest division in the NFL, I feel like. Steelers are a great team. Ravens, their defense and the Bengals, of course. I take a lot of pride in going against these guys twice a year and I feel like it prepares us for those other teams," said running back Jerome Ford.
But each year, it feels like one group in particular gets revved up for the games against the Bengals—the Browns' cornerbacks.
Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome II seem to live for the challenge of guarding the high-powered wide receiver duo of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
“Yeah, I keep receipts on everything. Any way you can get an edge, any single game to just elevate your game, even that 1% more. Definitely always keep receipts," Newsome said back in 2023.
Over the years, there's been a healthy rivalry growing between the two groups.
"I mean, it has been a great rivalry. I think we got them a few times. They beat us as well. So it's just best team wins that day, best matchup, win your matchups, and that's it," Ward said.
This year, though, there's a different energy about the matchup. The heavy trash talk hasn't shown up on the Browns' side. While Ward said Newsome was the bigger trash talker of the two, Newsome was nothing but complimentary of the Bengals' receiving core when asked about the matchup.
"Tee Higgins is another elite player. I don't think he gets enough credit. I feel like he's really what makes that engine go as well. Obviously, Ja'Marr is one of the, if not the best, receiver in the National Football League, but without a guy like Tee Higgins, I don't think he would be able to do all that stuff. You can't just necessarily double him and think Tee Higgins won't go for 300 yards as well. So I think Tee Higgins is definitely a very, very elite player. Obviously, they got a guy in Jermaine Burton that I think is going to take the next step this season. So they have a lot of talent out there, but obviously, No. 1 is also a very, very elite player." Newsome said on Monday.
Perhaps it's because it's the first game of the season and there's no body of work from this year to base trash talk around. Perhaps it's because the Browns didn't have the season they wanted last year. Perhaps it's because there's an emphasis within the group on team over the individual.
"It's never about one person stopping one person. They're a great team. We have to focus obviously on them and have their respect and we also have to be about our business. We have to play with great fundamentals, play great team defense," said head coach Kevin Stefanski on Wednesday.
Even though this matchup hasn't come with the trash talk of other meetings between these two, there's still no love lost between the AFC North foes.
"I definitely want all the plays and throws that come my way. I like making plays on the ball and being a factor in a game. I'm looking forward to going into the game, and hopefully they target me a lot. I'm going to send Joe Burrow some texts, tell him throw at me and go from there. So I'm going to enjoy it," Ward said.
