Cincinnati did not need Joe Burrow to be perfect in its season opener. The Bengals’ defense made sure of that.
Four Tampa Bay fumbles became four Cincinnati recoveries, three of them on consecutive Buccaneers possessions in the first half, and the Bengals built enough of a cushion to survive a late push for a 33-27 win Sunday at Paycor Stadium. Evan McPherson supplied four field goals, including makes from 55 and 58 yards, while Burrow finished 25 of 35 for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
The result put Cincinnati at 1-0, but Burrow’s postgame tone never drifted toward celebration. He kept returning to what the Bengals had left on the field.
“It’s one week. We gotta keep getting better. Come and learn tomorrow. Get back in the lab.”
The defense changed the game immediately
Tampa Bay opened with a 34-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal, then Cincinnati’s rebuilt defense took over. Myles Murphy strip-sacked Baker Mayfield on the Buccaneers’ next possession, and linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. scooped up the loose ball and returned it 27 yards for Cincinnati’s first touchdown of the season.
The Buccaneers fumbled again on their next drive. Bryan Cook knocked the ball loose from Bucky Irving, Boye Mafe recovered at the Tampa Bay 33, and Burrow turned the short field into a two-yard touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki. On Tampa Bay’s following possession, Barrett Carter forced another Mayfield fumble near the Cincinnati goal line and Cook recovered in the end zone.
Cincinnati then drove 80 yards and finished with Chase Brown’s five-yard touchdown run. The Bengals had taken a 3-0 deficit and turned it into a 21-3 lead by recovering fumbles on three straight Tampa Bay possessions.
Burrow’s biggest takeaway was obvious.
“Four turnovers. You’re going to win a lot of football games if you can get four turnovers. And we gotta be able to capitalize on them a little bit more.”
The official scoring sequence was even more productive than Burrow’s cautious assessment. Cincinnati generated 24 points following the four takeaways, including Knight’s defensive touchdown, and the defense gave the offense field position and margin for error all afternoon.
Burrow still resisted turning one good defensive performance into a larger declaration.
“It’s great, but, just like I said earlier, we got a lot of room to improve and we’re going to continue to work for it.”
McPherson kept extending the margin
Tampa Bay cut into the lead with Irving’s 10-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter, but McPherson closed the half with a 20-yard field goal for a 24-10 Cincinnati advantage. He opened the third quarter with a 55-yarder, then delivered from 58 early in the fourth after the Buccaneers had climbed back within seven.
His last kick came after Cincinnati’s fourth takeaway. Mafe strip-sacked Mayfield, defensive tackle T.J. Slaton Jr. recovered at the Tampa Bay 44, and McPherson converted from 32 yards to make it 33-20 with 5:23 remaining.
Burrow called McPherson one of the decisive pieces of the afternoon.
“He was unbelievable today. He keeps getting better and better and better. So happy for him to have the day that he did today. He’s such a weapon for us, as you said.”
McPherson finished 4-for-4 on field goals. The 55- and 58-yard makes gave him 31 career field goals from at least 50 yards, the most in Bengals history.
Burrow owned the one mistake that changed momentum
The Bengals were in control at 27-13 when rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter intercepted Burrow at the Cincinnati 38 and returned it for a touchdown. The pick-six made it 27-20 late in the third quarter and gave Tampa Bay life in a game Cincinnati had largely controlled.
Burrow did not minimize it afterward.
“If I didn’t have that interception, I’m feeling great walking out of here. You can’t make plays like that, so I gotta get that fixed. Offensive line was pretty lights out. I thought we ran the ball well in spots. I got the ball to my guys in space pretty quickly. Just got to keep getting better.”
Aside from that interception, Burrow worked efficiently behind a line that gave him time and helped Cincinnati finish with 351 total yards. Gesicki led the Bengals with five catches for 78 yards and the touchdown, while Tee Higgins added 59 yards on three receptions. Brown carried 16 times for 56 yards and a score.
Mayfield completed 23 of 28 passes for 216 yards, but ball security overwhelmed the efficiency. He lost three fumbles, and Irving lost the other. Mayfield’s nine-yard touchdown run with 3:25 left cut the Bengals’ lead to six, but Tampa Bay never got the ball back. Cincinnati kept possession for the final 3:19 to finish the game.
Burrow’s restraint sounded familiar after Lamar Jackson spoke following Baltimore’s opener earlier Sunday. For quarterbacks operating under a Super Bowl standard, a September win is useful only if it exposes what still has to improve. Burrow was pleased with the result, but not satisfied by it. That is a promising place for Cincinnati to begin.
