Cleveland Browns vs Bengals Match Player Stats: Two Defensive Touchdowns Lift Cleveland to a 20-18 Win

Searching for Cleveland Browns vs Bengals match player stats usually leaves you with scattered box scores and no explanation of why the scoreboard looked the way it did. The numbers here say something odd: Cincinnati had the better offense and still lost. Below is the full player-by-player breakdown, plus the plays that decided it.

In front of 62,230 spectators on January 4, 2026, the Browns defeated the Bengals 20–18 at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati.It was a sunny, 37°F afternoon on artificial turf, and the game took 2 hours and 52 minutes.

Cleveland’s offense scored only six points. The other 14 came from a 97-yard interception return by Devin Bush Jr. and Sam Webb’s 47-yard fumble return. Andre Szmyt’s 49-yard field goal as time expired finished it, and two failed Bengals extra-point kicks (plus one failed two-point try) left Cincinnati short.

Match Overview Table

Core Match Statistics Overview

*Calculated as net passing plus rushing yards.

Net Passing Yards Gap

• Cincinnati out-gained Cleveland through the air by 140 net yards, 222 to 82.
• Six sacks cost the Browns 29 yards and wiped out most of what their passing game produced.

Sack Pressure Against Cleveland’s Quarterback

• Shedeur Sanders went down six times on 22 dropbacks that ended in an attempt, which is a heavy tax on any drive.
• Cincinnati’s pass rush won the volume battle but never turned it into points.

Rushing Efficiency

• The Browns averaged 4.9 yards per carry, close enough to Cincinnati’s 5.7 to keep the ground game even.
• Cleveland’s rushing total (118 yards) outproduced its net passing yardage, which tells you how the offense operated.

Scoring Source Split

• Fourteen of Cleveland’s 20 points came off turnovers returned for touchdowns.
• All 18 of Cincinnati’s points came from the offense.

Period-by-Period Analysis

First Quarter

• Joe Burrow found Chase Brown from four yards out, but the extra-point kick failed.
• Burrow’s pass on first-and-goal from the Cleveland 7 was intercepted by Devin Bush Jr., who took it 97 yards the other way.
• A possible Bengals lead became a Browns lead in a single play.

Second Quarter

• Sam Webb returned a fumble 47 yards for a touchdown early in the quarter, stretching Cleveland’s lead to 14-6.
• Burrow answered late with a 13-yard touchdown to Tee Higgins, and the kick failed again.
• Cleveland carried a 14-12 lead into halftime without its offense scoring.

Third Quarter

• Szmyt’s 27-yard field goal was the only score of the half’s second act.
• Cincinnati’s offense moved the ball but could not finish a drive.
• The lead moved to 17-12.

Fourth Quarter

• Burrow hit Ja’Marr Chase from four yards with 1:29 left, but the two-point attempt failed, so Cincinnati led 18-17.
• Cleveland needed a late field goal and got one: Szmyt connected from 49 yards as the clock hit zero.
• The Bengals had a lead for under 90 seconds of game time.

Cleveland Browns Player Statistics

Shedeur Sanders, QB

Sanders protected the ball but struggled to move it, completing exactly half his passes. His scrambles (8.7 yards per carry) gave the offense its only real quarterback-driven spark.

Dylan Sampson, RB

Sampson led the Browns in carries and kept drives alive in short yardage. He was efficient on the small plays even though he never broke a long run.

Raheim Sanders, RB

Sanders averaged 5.2 yards per carry in limited work. His 14-yard long run was the longest rush among Cleveland’s running backs.

Devin Bush Jr., LB

Bush’s pick-six turned a likely Cincinnati lead into a Cleveland one. It was the afternoon’s largest swing.

Sam Webb and Andre Szmyt

Webb’s score gave Cleveland a buffer, and Szmyt supplied the winning margin. Szmyt had missed an extra point and a 36-yard attempt in the September meeting, so this kick carried some redemption.

Cincinnati Bengals Player Statistics

Joe Burrow, QB

Burrow completed 74.4% of his passes and threw three touchdowns, yet the one interception cost more than any of them gained. His rating was strong, but the game turned on one throw from the 7-yard line.

Chase Brown, RB

Brown’s catch opened the scoring. [ADD rushing and receiving yards from full box score]

Tee Higgins, WR

Higgins’ score cut the deficit to two just before halftime. [ADD catches and yards]

Ja’Marr Chase, WR

Chase’s late touchdown gave Cincinnati its only lead of the game. [ADD catches and yards]

Statistical Leaders Summary Table

Why the Browns Won

Defensive Touchdowns Changed the Scoring Math

Cleveland scored more than twice as many points off defensive plays (14) as it did from offense (6).

Winning the Turnover Margin Where It Counted

Bush’s interception ended a goal-line opportunity and flipped the field instantly. Webb’s fumble return came on a drive that could have extended Cincinnati’s early lead. Those two plays gave the Browns a 14-6 cushion that their offense never had to build.

A Kicker Who Delivered Under Pressure

The kicking contrast is where the margin sits. Cincinnati lost two points on missed extra points, and the final margin was exactly two.

Rushing Offense That Chewed Clock

Cleveland ran 24 times for 118 yards. That workload kept a struggling passing game from being exposed even further and gave the defense time to rest.

Why the Bengals Lost

Turnovers Returned for Touchdowns

A normal turnover costs a team field position. These cost Cincinnati 14 points directly, and the first came with the Bengals inside the 10-yard line.

Special Teams and Conversion Failures

Two extra-point kicks missed and one two-point attempt failed. Six points of touchdowns produced fewer points than they should have, and the Bengals finished two short.

Offensive Production That Did Not Translate

Cincinnati gained roughly 364 net yards to Cleveland’s 200 and completed nearly 75% of its throws. Moving the ball was never the issue. Finishing drives and protecting it near the goal line was.

Season Series Breakdown

The two games finished split 1-1, and both were decided by two points or fewer. In Week 1, Joe Flacco threw for 290 yards for the Browns but also two interceptions, while Burrow managed only 113 yards and Chase Brown carried 21 times for 43 yards and a score. The Bengals won that opener after Szmyt missed an extra point and a field goal.

Advanced Statistical Insights

Points per offensive yard. Cincinnati scored 18 points on about 364 net yards (roughly 0.049 points per yard). Cleveland scored just 6 offensive points on about 200 yards, but added 14 defensive points. Counting all scoring sources, the Browns turned 200 yards into 20 points.

Sacks versus scoreboard. Six sacks on Sanders should have crushed Cleveland’s offense, and it did, but sacks don’t score. Cincinnati’s pass rush produced pressure without producing a single takeaway-based score.

Kick conversion as a hidden stat. Four conversion tries (two XPs and one two-pointer, plus one successful two-point miss counted separately) did not go Cincinnati’s way. A team that converts those at normal rates wins this game.

Game Implications and Key Lessons

What This Means for the Browns

• Cleveland closed 2025 with a win in a rivalry game, finishing 5-12.
• The Browns are 3-1 through four games of 2026 and host Cincinnati on Dec 6, with a return meeting at Cincinnati scheduled for Jan 10, 2027.
• Pass protection is the open question after six sacks.

What This Means for the Bengals

• Cincinnati finished 6-11 and now owes the Browns a rematch in Cleveland.
• Ball security near the goal line and kicking consistency have to be fixed.
• Offensive production is there. The conversion of that production into points is not.

Key Lessons

• Defensive touchdowns can outweigh a full game of offensive yardage.
• A 74% completion rate means little after a red-zone interception.
• Missed extra points are real points lost in a two-point game.
• Six sacks do not guarantee a win if you can’t turn pressure into takeaways.
• A reliable kicker wins close games.
• Both of these teams’ 2025 games were decided by two points or fewer.

Conclusion

This game showed how little yardage can matter. Cincinnati moved the ball better, completed more passes and held the better quarterback line, yet Cleveland’s defense and kicker produced the points that counted. Efficiency and execution in the key moments outweighed raw production.