The Bengals opened the season with a win, and they did it by making Baker Mayfield miserable.
Cincinnati beat Tampa Bay 33-27 on Sunday at Paycor Stadium, a game shaped by four Bengals takeaways, a defense that kept punching at the ball, and a late Joe Burrow drive that closed the door after the Buccaneers had clawed back within striking distance. The Bengals led for most of the afternoon, but when the pressure tightened late, Burrow leaned on his targets and finished the job.
That final march told the story of the day. Burrow first hit Dohnte Meyers on a short throw, and Meyers turned it into 18 yards after making a man miss.
Burrow then found Samaje Perine for another first down. Two plays later, Tee Higgins laid out for a diving catch over the middle that essentially ended it.
Burrow was 3-for-3 for 49 yards on that closing possession.
The Bengals are now 1-0 for a second straight year, and this one came with a defensive tone that showed up early and never really left. Cincinnati forced four turnovers overall, including three Mayfield fumbles.
That was a career-high for the former No. 1 overall pick, who had never lost three fumbles in a game before Sunday. The Bengals also got to him for four sacks and six quarterback hits.
Tampa Bay did open the scoring. On the first drive, the Buccaneers went 56 yards in 11 plays before stalling out and settling for a field goal. Along the way, they forced multiple missed tackles, and the Bengals’ defense looked a lot like it did last year in that sequence.
After that, though, Cincinnati took control with a burst that flipped the game fast. The Bengals forced three straight fumbles, and one of them turned into points when Demetrius Knight Jr. scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown. Cincinnati scored touchdowns on three consecutive possessions, counting Knight’s return, and suddenly it was 21-3.
Knight was one of the players facing the most questions coming in, and he answered in a big moment when Tampa Bay had some early momentum. Barrett Carter got to Mayfield for the sack, Myles Murphy came over with a heavy hit as Mayfield was going down, and the ball came loose. Knight recovered it and took it to the end zone.
Carter, Knight and Murphy all came into the season with uncertainty around their roles and production, and that sequence was a loud first statement from the group. The defensive line kept the heat on Mayfield throughout the day, and the Bengals looked nastier and more physical at the point of attack than they have in recent seasons. They bent at times, but the constant duress led to mistake after mistake, including those three lost fumbles.
Dexter Lawrence didn’t show up in the tackle column, and his only stat was one quarterback hit, but he still mattered. He absorbed double teams and helped free things up for the rest of the front.
Cincinnati also got a strong first half from the offense. The Bengals entered the game averaging just 15 points per game in season openers, but they topped that before halftime alone with 24 points. They went three-and-out on the opening drive, then answered with four straight scoring possessions - two touchdowns and two field goals - to build a 27-10 cushion.
Burrow was efficient in that stretch. He finished the first half 14-of-20 for 133 yards and one touchdown. Mike Gesicki was a key part of the early scoring, catching four passes for 54 yards and a touchdown before finishing with five catches for 78 yards.
Burrow’s final line was 25-of-35 for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception. The pick was ugly - a pick-six that let Tampa Bay pull within 27-20 - but the offense still stayed on schedule for much of the day. After that opening three-and-out, Cincinnati scored on six of its next seven drives.
Evan McPherson helped keep the scoreboard moving, too. He knocked through four field goals and three extra points, including bombs from 58 and 55 yards.
The Bengals scored 30 points on Sunday, their highest Week 1 total since a 34-23 win over the Colts in 2018, Marvin Lewis’ final season. Burrow had just transferred to LSU then.
Next up is a road trip to face C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 1 p.m.
In Other News...
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Amarius Mims Is Forcing A Bengals Decision They Usually Avoid
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For Cincinnati, the bigger issue is what this kind of development eventually forces them to consider. Mims is not even in extension territory until 2027, but the market for tackles with his profile already points to a hefty price range, and that number could keep climbing if franchise-tag costs rise the way they are projected to. The Bengals usually prefer to avoid getting boxed into a costly decision early, yet Mims keeps making it harder to ignore what comes next. [Read more 🡒]