Bengals Week 1 Snap Counts vs. Buccaneers: Mike Gesicki’s big day was even more impressive than you think

Vibes are high in the Queen City as the Cincinnati Bengals are 1-0 after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 33-27, in the season-opener. Here are the first snap counts of the Bengals’ 2026 season.

John Sheeran — Cincinnati Bengals News Writer

Sep 14, 2026 10:40 AM EDT

Vibes are high in the Queen City as the Cincinnati Bengals are 1-0 after defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 33-27, in the season-opener.

On top of the victory is Cincinnati’s overall health. There were no injuries to report following the six-point win for the Bengals. Without any unexpected changes in personnel, Cincy was able to execute their ideal rotations at key position groups.

Here are the first snap counts of the Bengals’ 2026 season.

Bengals’ Week 1 snap counts vs. Bucs

Mike Gesicki’s very efficient afternoon

Tight end Mike Gesicki (21) played just under a third of the offense’s snaps, but led the unit in all three major receiving categories with five receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown. His seven targets were also a team-high.

Gesicki is almost exclusively a receiving option when he’s on the field and that was no different Sunday. 17 of his 21 snaps featured him running routes in the pass game. That means he averaged 4.59 yards per route run, which was second among 31 TEs in Week 1 prior to “Monday Night Football.”

Cincinnati’s TE group maintains a fascinating dynamic. Drew Sample (42) led the room in snaps and was able to haul in three receptions for 19 yards while making his main impact blocking in the run game. Erick All Jr. (20) can say the same as 13 of his snaps were moving defenders for the rushing attack. Tanner Hudson (6), a practice squad elevation, caught a four-yard pass in the third quarter.

First true test of new defensive line rotation

The Bengals want to attack in waves of pass rush this year. So far, so good.

Cincinnati generated 14 pressures and four sacks against the Bucs. Eight players had at least 10 pass rushing snaps. Five of them contributed with at least one pressure.

Defensive end Boye Mafe (37) was the featured rusher for a reason. He generated a team-high four pressures and had arguably the play of the day strip-sacking Baker Mayfield in the fourth quarter. His 16.7% pass rush win rate ranks 23rd out of 94 EDGEs who had at least 10 pass rushing snaps. Myles Murphy (34) was right behind Mafe in terms of usage, and they were spelled by rookie Cashius Howell (25), and Cedric Johnson (19). Howell helped create a Kris Jenkins Jr. (8) sack in his regular season debut.

If you expected to see more of defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence (35), you may need to temper your expectations in the early portion of the season. The Bengals were active in rotating Lawrence and fellow starting DT Jonathan Allen (32) in and out with B.J. Hill (24) and T.J. Slaton (21). Lawrence played just over 60% of the game, but came away with three pressures on 25 pass rushing snaps.