CLEVELAND (AP) — The Cleveland Browns accomplished most of what they wanted against the Cincinnati Bengals.

And yet, it still didn’t add up to a win.

The offense was methodical and controlled the clock while the defense limited Joe Burrow to the third-fewest yards of his career. However, a pair of missed kicks and untimely turnovers resulted in a 17-16 loss.

That puts the Browns in a familiar spot after Week 1. They are 3-24 in openers since their 1999 return with three of the defeats coming by one point.

“It got us really mad. That’s the mindset we need to have coming into this next week," tight end David Njoku said after the game.

Cornerback Greg Newsome II said Njoku had every right to be angry, as did the rest of the locker room.

“We had them where we wanted them, and then we didn’t finish,” he said. "Taking that motivation is easy. Just learn from the bad things and continue to do the good things. And just find a way to win next week.”

Joe Flacco completed 31 of 45 passes for 290 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. He directed an offense that put together four drives of 10 plays or more with points coming on three of the possessions. The only one that didn't was Andre Szmyt's 36-yard field-goal attempt that was wide right in the fourth quarter that would have given Cleveland the lead.

Szmyt also missed an extra point, which was the difference in the final score.

Flacco's first interception ended up leading to the go-ahead field goal by Cincinnati's Evan McPherson.

With five of Cleveland's first six games against teams that made the playoffs, the close loss is a painful reminder of there being no room for error for a team that won only three times last season.

“Well, there’s a lot of messages after a game like that," coach Kevin Stefanski said. “You want to come away with those from those games with a win, and the disappointment is real. The other thing that’s real is we got a game this week and you got to turn the page and that’s what we’ll do as a football team. We’ll learn from this one.”

What’s working

Ball control. Cleveland had the third-most time of possession in the Week 1 games through Sunday night at 35 minutes, 49 seconds. The Browns converted nine of their 16 plays on third down and two of three fourth down attempts.

What needs help

The run game. The Browns averaged only 2.0 yards per carry (49 yards on 24 attempts). That included six carries for no gain or negative yards and the longest gain of the game being 5 yards. Second-round pick Quinshon Judkins signed last Saturday, but whether he will be ready for next week's game at Baltimore remains to be seen.

Stock up

TE Harold Fannin Jr. The third-round pick had seven receptions for 63 yards along with one carry for 3 yards when he lined up as the quarterback in a wildcat formation.

Stock down

Szmyt after his missed kicks. Stefanski though seems willing to give the rookie another chance.

“Andre knows we trust him, knows that he’s got to come through for us in those moments,” Stefanski said on Monday. "I thought he had a really good warm up. Banged a couple early in the game and, you know, missed those two at the end and those are kicks that we expect him to make. But I’m really just focused on that game and we expect him to come through for us.”

Injuries

Stefanski said starting right offensive tackle Jack Conklin is doing better after he was poked in the eye in the second quarter and did not return to the game.

Key numbers

8: Receptions by running back Dylan Sampson, the most catches by a Browns rookie in an opener going back to the 1970 merger. JaJuan Dawson had the previous mark with six in 2000.

11: Times Myles Garrett has sacked Joe Burrow, including two on Sunday. That is tied for the most where the pass rusher and quarterback are both on an active roster. Leonard Floyd has 11 against Aaron Rodgers.

29: Consecutive games where the Browns have not allowed a 300-yard passer, the longest active streak in the league. The Eagles are second with 14.

Next steps

The Browns are at the Baltimore Ravens (0-1) on Sunday. It will be the first time Flacco has played at Baltimore since being traded to Denver in 2019.

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