The Cincinnati Bengals open their regular season at Paycor Stadium against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that brings more than a few problems to the table. Baker Mayfield has enjoyed plenty of success against the Bengals and Joe Burrow in his career, and Cincinnati will be looking for answers against the No. 1 overall pick.
The Bengals are slight favorites, but this matchup still comes with some obvious danger zones. Tampa Bay has a number of potential mismatches, which makes the early-season test a real one for a Cincinnati team trying to get rolling before it usually does in the Zac Taylor era. The big question is simple: can the Bengals start fast and build momentum right away?
As the game approaches, the conversation is centered on the key matchups, the X-factors, and how Cincinnati handles a scrappy Buccaneers group in Week 1 of the 2026 season.
On the roster front, the Bengals elevated linebacker Joe Giles-Harris and tight end Tanner Hudson from the practice squad to the active roster for tomorrow’s game against Tampa Bay.
There’s also more to sort through on the injury side. Cincinnati’s final injury report for Week 1 was longer than the first, and it pointed to two different plans for the team’s top two rookies. One key starter may have suffered a notable injury, and that could carry real weight for Sunday’s game.
Around the team, there’s also plenty of attention on the broader picture. The Enquirer’s Shelby Dermer laid out what to know before betting on the Bengals this season, including playoff odds and recommendations. And with one of the easier schedules on paper in the NFL, Cincinnati’s path back to the playoffs looks clear enough to talk about.
Week 1 also arrives with no rookie quarterbacks slated to start under center.
They say good things come to those who wait.
In Other News...
Joe Burrow Incident Keeps Bengals Opener Under The NFL Spotlight
Joe Burrow and the Bengals got the kind of start they wanted in 2026, opening the season at home with a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Cincinnati held its lead through the game and came away with the victory, but one sequence involving Burrow drew extra attention well beyond the final score.
Tampa Bay safety Tykee Smith was flagged for a late hit on Burrow, and the NFL is now reviewing the play for possible fines. It is the sort of postgame wrinkle that can linger after an opener, especially when the league is still sorting out how it wants to handle contact on a quarterback who matters as much to his team as Burrow does to the Bengals. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Rookie Gave Week 1 A Feel-Good Moment Fans Loved
Landon Robinson brought a different kind of presence to his first NFL game Sunday, showing up at the stadium in his Navy Service Dress Blue uniform before the Bengals faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The rookie defensive lineman, a seventh-round pick out of Navy, made Cincinnatis 53-man roster as interior depth and was inactive for Week 1, but his arrival still stood out to fans who got a glimpse of the former service academy player beginning his pro career.
Robinsons path already has a local angle, too, since he is from Copley, Ohio, and he arrived in Cincinnati with a decorated college rsum that included being named the 2025 AAC Defensive Player of the Year. Even without taking the field on opening weekend, he gave the Bengals a feel-good moment that fit the kind of story fans tend to remember early in a season, especially with a rookie whose journey has already been anything but ordinary. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfield Just Handed Bengals Fans A Brutal Reminder
Baker Mayfield gave Cincinnati plenty to enjoy in Week 1, but not in the way a Buccaneers quarterback normally would. Tampa Bays opener turned on a series of costly mistakes, with Mayfield coughing up the ball three times and helping set the tone for a Bengals win that never really felt out of reach once the turnovers started piling up.
For Bengals fans, it was a familiar kind of relief after a summer of watching another teams big contract and big expectations attached to Mayfield in Tampa. His new three-year deal keeps him in place for the long haul, but Sunday was a reminder that even with that kind of security, the margin for error is still razor thin when the ball keeps coming loose. [Read more 🡒]