Bengals got exactly what they asked for from their major offseason moves in Week 1’s 33-27 win over Buccaneers
This game felt like it was six months in the making for the Cincinnati Bengals. A 33-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was fueled by the newest members of the roster.
This game felt like it was six months in the making for the Cincinnati Bengals.
An offseason spent retooling the defensive side of the ball with pricey free agents and a blockbuster trade culminated in a Week 1 performance in which the defense carried the load.
Bryan Cook, Boye Mafe, and Jonathan Allen all joined as free agents. Dexter Lawrence via a unprecedented trade. All made a significant impact in the Bengals’ 33-27 Week 1 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The win is huge, especially with upcoming road games against the Houston Texans and Pittsburgh Steelers. Perhaps more important than anything, Cincinnati has real, tangible confidence in its defense. Every single notable addition the front office made this offseason contributed to this win.
Boye Mafe headlines newcomers shining in their debuts
The play of the day was arguably Mafe’s strip sack on Baker Mayfield in the middle of the fourth quarter. Tampa Bay had definite momentum on its side after scoring 10 unanswered points in the third quarter and was only down 10 with the ball at midfield. Mafe rushed around the edge against All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and capitalized on a coverage sack. The fumble was Mayfield’s third of the day, and the fourth of the afternoon for the Buccaneers.
Mafe also helped create the first turnover of the game, another strip sack caused by linebacker Barrett Carter and Myles Murphy. Linebacker Demetrius Knight picked up the fumble and ran it in for the game’s first touchdown.
Can you even believe that sentence? The first touchdown of the Bengals’ season came from the defense. That would have been unheard of the last two years.
Turnovers were the theme of the game
Carter forced Mayfield’s second fumble of the day. Mayfield scrambled just a few yards from the end zone, and Carter popped it loose for Cook to recover. Cook didn’t have a lot of opportunities to make plays in coverage down the field, but he came downhill plenty of times to make tackles and was in the right place at the right time, including forcing the second fumble of the afternoon.
It’s not so hard to win at home when you win the turnover battle by three, but the Bengals made it close. The margin would have been wider had Joe Burrow not thrown one of the worst passes of his career for a pick-six that gave the Bucs some life in the second half.
Some of that life was snuffed out by new defensive tackle Jonathan Allen, who recorded his first sack as a Bengal in part thanks to a tackle-tackle stunt with Dexter Lawrence. Lawrence didn’t have a signature moment in this game, but he provided pressure up the middle, which is exactly what the Bengals traded the No. 10 overall pick for.
A promising foundation of belief for the rest of the season
Without the turnovers, this game would have been much tighter on the scoreboard, and it was already too close for comfort for Bengals fans. Tampa Bay was fine offensively for most of the day. It could’ve went in the other direction had it not been for what used to be uncharacteristic plays from Cincinnati’s defense.
The Bengals hyped their defense all throughout training camp, and they showed the NFL it truly does mean business. That the turnovers were forced by the newest playmakers on this team was incredibly assuring after an eventful offseason for Cincinnati. The bold decisions paid off immediately.
“You felt their presence, all of them today,” head coach Zac Taylor said postgame.
There’s still plenty of work to do on both sides of the ball, but the Bengals have seen their faith in new arrivals realized within the first four quarters of the season.
