Dexter Lawrence’s debut with the Cincinnati Bengals didn’t jump off the stat sheet, but the defense around him sure did.
Lawrence, acquired from the New York Giants to help shore up a unit that had lived near the bottom of the league in recent years, finished Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with zero sacks, zero tackles and zero forced fumbles. On paper, that looks quiet. On the field, it was anything but.
Cincinnati still couldn’t get Tampa Bay to punt, but the Bengals forced four turnovers and rode that chaos to a Week 1 win. If they keep taking the ball away like that, losses will be hard to come by.
In fact, the last time a team lost four fumbles and still won was in 2010, when the Arizona Cardinals beat the St. Louis Rams.
Lawrence’s value showed up in all the ways that don’t always get captured by the box score. His presence inside helped the Bengals’ front create problems for the Buccaneers and opened lanes for teammates to finish plays. Cincinnati recorded four sacks, including two from other interior defensive linemen, and Jonathan Allen’s sack came on a stunt with Lawrence after Tampa Bay chose to double-team him.
He also created the pressure that led to one of the turnovers. Lawrence posted the highest pressure rate among Bengals defenders at 18.2%, forcing Baker Mayfield to scramble before the quarterback eventually fumbled.
The benefit went beyond the defensive line. Young linebackers Demetrius Knight Jr. and Barrett Carter both took noticeable steps forward.
The two, who combined to make up Pro Football Focus’s last-ranked linebacker group in 2025, each looked far better in Week 1. Knight Jr. had ranked 83rd out of 88 linebackers with a 40.2 average grade in 2025, while Carter sat 85th with a 39.5.
After one game this season, Knight Jr. is 38th and Carter is 13th out of 64 qualified linebackers.
That’s the ripple effect of a big interior force like Lawrence: he pulls attention, absorbs double-teams, and lets linebackers attack downhill instead of fighting through traffic.
He also delivered a veteran play that helped turn the game. Lawrence and Myles Murphy got quick pressure on Mayfield, forcing him to roll out and take a sack that jarred the ball loose.
As the football bounced free, Lawrence slid in and made sure Tampa Bay couldn’t recover it, allowing Knight Jr. to scoop it up and return it for a touchdown. That sequence gave Cincinnati major momentum in the first half.
Lawrence’s impact wasn’t limited to effort plays and chaos creation. He also won the highest percentage of true pass rush sets among all interior defensive players in the NFL at 36.2%. And after the game, he explained the mindset behind what the Bengals wanted to bring.
“We know the team goes as we go, so we put that responsibility on our back, and we knew we needed to play physical and strong and with a motor, and that's what we did,” said Lawrence.
That tone was obvious to fans watching. The Bengals defense looked more forceful, more connected and more in control than it has in past seasons, when it often spent too much time scrambling to keep up.
Now the test gets tougher. Cincinnati heads into Week 2 against the Houston Texans, who are viewed as one of the AFC favorites.
Houston gave up three sacks and lost two fumbles in its loss to the Buffalo Bills, but it also scored 31 points. That means the Bengals will have chances to create more pressure and more turnovers, but they won’t be lining up against a weak offense.
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Bengals Owner Just Put Cincinnati In A Different Spotlight
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The list also gives Cincinnati a little extra star power outside the sports world. Medpace CEO August Troendle checks in at No. 396 with a net worth of $4.4 billion, while filmmaker Steven Spielberg, who was born in Cincinnati, is ranked No. 216 with a net worth of nearly $8 billion. For Bengals fans, it is a curious kind of civic bragging right, one that stretches from the stadium to boardrooms and Hollywood credits. [Read more 🡒]