Every NFL opening day brings on-field adjustments, from the game 23 years ago at Paycor Stadium, when Bill Belichick lost his second Patriots opening game to Bengals debut quarterback Jon Kitna, to Sunday’s game (1 p.m. – Cincinnati’s Local 12) at Paycor Stadium, New England’s first game since the introduction of the hoodie series.

“That’s the mystery of Week 1 in the NFL,” center Ted Karras said. “It’s a game of adjustments and we have to make them on the sideline as the game goes on.”

Well, maybe not so mysterious after all.

Certainly not for Karras and Trent Brown, who has played right tackle for the Bengals for the past decade. They are products of the Belichick program that produced six Super Bowl titles and are facing one of their old assistants in Jerod Mayo’s first game as head coach.

“It was probably smart to hire someone like Mayo,” Karras said. “You don’t throw away 24 years of culture and strategy. But there are going to be some nuances. Some finer points. There are always those in the first week.”

It’s no secret that this is the Bengals’ most versatile offense in quarterback Joe Burrow’s five seasons, and also his best offensive line. Burrow himself is full of optimism that these two factors will produce the best running game of his tenure.

“I would say we’re maybe a little bit more balanced with what we’re doing overall in our offense, which allows us to take advantage of other things in the run game that we haven’t done in the past,” said Frank Pollack, the offensive line coach who also serves as run game coordinator. “We have more options. More scheme options and we have more personnel options.”

“I think we complement our offense as a whole really well with Joe Burrow, but we’re also building out our offense and doing a few more things at center as well, which allows us to open up more opportunities in the running game.”

If it’s vague, so be it. It’s an opener. But Pollack is as clear as an opening bell when it comes to Trent Brown, Burrow’s fifth right tackle on Opening Day, and his offensive line.

He says it’s his best group in his five years with the Bengals. Pollack reassured him a month ago when Brown was struggling at tight back while first-round pick Amarius Mims, who has looked impressive in all of Brown’s first-team appearances, was out with a pectoral injury.

Brown may not be ready in mid-August, Pollack said, but he will be ready by Sept. 8. On Thursday, Brown said he could play a full game as he entered his 101^st in the NFL and his first since 2020 not as a Patriot.

The big man, 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, has a charisma that’s every bit as reassuring as Pollack’s prediction. Just ask two guys who played with him in New England.

“He was a total dud in 2018,” Karras said. “In that Super Bowl win, you didn’t have to worry about the left side. He’s one of the most dynamic and talented players I’ve ever played with.”

Tight end Mike Gesicki, one of the new options Pollack covets, played with Brown in Foxborough last season.

“Trent is exactly what you’d expect him to be. A massive individual, really athletic, uses his size to his advantage. Really smart,” Gesicki said. “He’s played a lot of football. He knows what’s going to happen before it happens.”

Brown knows what will happen on Sunday.

“I’m sure they’re not going to change everything they’ve done for the last 20 years,” Brown said. “I think you can expect some nuances, but that’s the way it is in the NFL week in and week out. They plan games for us and their scouting is based on last year’s film. Just like we try to do with them.”

“It doesn’t matter who’s out there. We just have to rely on our technique, which we work on every day, but keep our guys in shape.”

Pollack said Brown and Karras carefully explained to the group the structure and tactics of the Patriots, against whom they had trained for so long.