CINCINNATI — The new Bengals defense promised to be different. It took only one game to provide some evidence.
Cincinnati forced four turnovers and Evan McPherson made four field goals as the Bengals defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-27 Sunday at Paycor Stadium.
Tampa Bay took the opening kickoff and marched down the field before settling for a field goal. Its defense then held Cincinnati to a three-and-out, helped by an apparent pass interference against Ja’Marr Chase that wasn’t called on third down.
That’s when the Bengals’ revamped defense began paying dividends.
Myles Murphy strip-sacked Baker Mayfield, and Demetrius Knight Jr. returned the fumble 27 yards for Cincinnati’s first touchdown of the season, giving the Bengals a 7-3 lead they would never relinquish.
Bryan Cook forced Bucky Irving to fumble on Tampa Bay’s next possession. This time, Boye Mafe recovered, setting up Joe Burrow’s two-yard touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki.
The defense recovered another Mayfield fumble near Cincinnati’s goal line early in the second quarter after the Buccaneers had put together a solid drive. Chase Brown later finished an 80-yard possession with a five-yard touchdown run, giving the Bengals a 21-3 lead.
Cincinnati led 24-10 at halftime before the game became considerably more stressful—and for Bengals fans who also root for Ohio State, dangerously familiar.
Less than 24 hours after watching the Buckeyes blow a 20-point lead in Texas, those fans saw Tampa Bay score 10 unanswered points in the third quarter. Josiah Trotter returned a Burrow interception 38 yards for a touchdown, pulling the Buccaneers within 27-20 and causing a collective feeling of “Oh no, not again” throughout Ohio.
McPherson answered with field goals from 58 and 32 yards, the latter coming after Mafe forced Mayfield’s third fumble of the afternoon. T.J. Slaton Jr. recovered to complete Cincinnati’s fourth takeaway.
Mayfield scored on a nine-yard run with 3:19 remaining, cutting the lead to six. Tampa Bay never got the ball back as Cincinnati collected the necessary first downs and ran out the clock. Rather than becoming passive, the Bengals continued attacking and played to win.
Which is to say, unlike the Buckeyes, the Bengals finished the job.
Burrow completed 25 of 35 passes for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Gesicki led Cincinnati with five receptions for 78 yards and a score, while Brown rushed for 56 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.
The offense wasn’t spectacular, converting only two of five red-zone opportunities. Fortunately, Cincinnati’s defense repeatedly provided short fields, and McPherson converted all four of his attempts—including kicks from 55 and 58 yards. He became the first kicker in franchise history to make multiple field goals of at least 55 yards in the same game.
That formula may not always be sustainable, but after watching Cincinnati’s defense get abused throughout the last several seasons, nobody should complain about a victory built on four takeaways.
What’s Next: Cincinnati will travel to Houston to face the Texans on Sunday, September 20, at 1 p.m. ET.
