The Bengals opened the season with a win, but the first week did more than just put Cincinnati at 1-0. It offered a snapshot of how this team might look when the pieces start clicking. At Paycor Stadium on Sept. 13, the Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-27 in front of 66,625 fans and began the year 1-0 for a second straight season.
The biggest difference from last season showed up on defense. After one of the most disappointing defensive seasons in franchise history in 2025, Cincinnati came out forcing turnovers and changing the tone of the game.
The Bengals forced three fumbles in the first half alone and added another turnover after halftime. Barrett Carter, Demetrius Knight, Myles Murphy, Boye Mafe and Bryan Cook were all involved in creating those takeaways.
That early surge mattered because the offense didn’t exactly sprint out of the gate. Cincinnati’s defense and the turnovers it generated helped swing momentum back the Bengals’ way.
Last season, the Bengals finished at -3 in turnover differential. After one game, they already have as many defensive touchdowns as they had all of last year, when they had just one.
Four of Tampa Bay’s turnovers were recovered by Cincinnati, which is already half of the Bengals’ total fumble recoveries from the entire 2025 season. Two of those takeaways turned directly into points for the offense.
The new faces on defense made themselves felt, too. Jonathan Allen picked up his first sack with the Bengals on a key third-down play late in the third quarter, and that pressure forced a field goal.
Dexter Lawrence kept collapsing the pocket and creating problems for Baker Mayfield. Mafe and Cook each came away with fumble recoveries, and Mafe’s first sack also forced a fumble that T.J.
Slaton recovered as Cincinnati shut down Tampa’s momentum at a critical moment in the fourth quarter.
If the defense set the tone, Mike Gesicki gave the offense a jolt. After a relatively quiet offseason and preseason, the tight end delivered in a big way in the first half, catching five of seven targets for 54 yards and a touchdown. His production helped energize Cincinnati’s passing game and forced defenses to account for another weapon alongside Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase.
Higgins and Chase, though, had a quieter afternoon than usual. The two combined for five catches, 71 yards and no touchdowns.
Joe Burrow’s day had both sharp moments and rough edges. He finished 25 of 35 for 254 yards with one touchdown pass, but he also gave Tampa Bay a lifeline with a costly interception late in the third quarter. Josiah Trotter picked off Burrow and returned it for a touchdown, cutting Cincinnati’s lead to seven heading into the fourth quarter.
Evan McPherson helped keep the Bengals steady through the back-and-forth stretches. He hit all four of his field-goal attempts, including two from beyond 50 yards, and finished with 12 points by himself. In a game that kept swinging, McPherson was as reliable as Cincinnati needed him to be.
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The season opener in Cincinnati did not just leave the Buccaneers with a loss, it left them with a familiar problem they cannot afford to carry much longer. Tampa Bay fell 33-27 to the Bengals at Paycor Stadium after three first-half takeaways tilted the game early, and the turnover issues were impossible to ignore as Baker Mayfield and the offense kept putting the ball on the ground while trying to settle in.
What made the night sting even more was the way Cincinnatis revamped defense kept coming. The Bengals mixed consistent pressure with a defensive touchdown from linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr., turning Tampa Bays mistakes into quick momentum swings and forcing the Bucs to spend the rest of the game chasing points. For a team that wants to contend, the bigger concern after Week 1 is not simply the result, but whether this kind of sloppiness is a one-night mess or a warning sign. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Opener Exposed A Turnover Problem Tampa Bay Still Has
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For a team that entered the year hoping to build on its strengths, the sloppiness was hard to ignore. Cincinnati did its part, too, with Evan McPherson drilling long field goals that kept pressure on Tampa Bay, but the bigger issue for the Bucs was self-inflicted. They had enough good moments to show the pieces are there, yet the opener also made clear that protecting the ball is going to decide whether those pieces add up to something more. [Read more 🡒]