The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-27 on Sunday at Paycor Stadium after taking the lead for good on a first-quarter defensive touchdown. Tampa Bay scored four times while trailing but never got even again.
The Buccaneers completed 23 of 28 passes without an interception, but they lost 4 fumbles. One of those went the other way for a Cincinnati touchdown, while the Bengals did not lose a fumble.
How It Happened
Tampa Bay struck first on a 34-yard Chase McLaughlin field goal at 9:09 of the first quarter. The lead did not last. Demetrius Knight Jr. scooped up a fumble and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown, and Joe Burrow found Mike Gesicki from 2 yards out before the quarter ended to make it 14-3.
Chase Brown added a 5-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. Bucky Irving answered with a 10-yard score for Tampa Bay, but McPherson hit a 20-yard field goal with 6 seconds left to send Cincinnati into the half with a two-touchdown lead.
McPherson opened the third-quarter scoring with a 55-yard kick. Tampa Bay then made it a game. McLaughlin drilled a 51-yarder, and shortly after, Josiah Trotter returned an interception 38 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 27-20.
McPherson answered again in the fourth quarter. He hit from 58 yards early in the quarter and from 32 with 5:19 left, stretching the lead to 33-20. Baker Mayfield ran in from 9 yards at 3:19 to make it a one-score game, but the Buccaneers got no closer.
Key Performers
Evan McPherson, CIN: Field goals of 20, 55, 58 and 32 yards
Demetrius Knight Jr., CIN: 27-yard fumble return touchdown
Josiah Trotter, TB: 38-yard interception return touchdown
Cincinnati Passing: 25-35, 245 net YDS, 1 INT
Tampa Bay Passing: 23-28, 193 net YDS, 0 INT
Rushing: CIN 27 ATT, 106 YDS – TB 20 ATT, 89 YDS
McPherson supplied every Cincinnati point after halftime. Two of his kicks came from 55 yards or longer, and each one answered or extended the lead while Tampa Bay was trying to climb back.
What It Means
Cincinnati opens 1-0 with an offense that moved the ball but settled for kicks too often. The Bengals scored touchdowns on just 2 of 5 red zone trips, but they outgained Tampa Bay 351 to 282 and converted 8 of 14 third downs.
Tampa Bay starts 0-1. The Buccaneers averaged 5.4 yards per play, nearly matching Cincinnati, and their defense scored a touchdown of its own.
The positives were there. Tampa Bay's passing game was efficient and its run game averaged 4.5 yards a carry, a better clip than Cincinnati's. The fumbles are the obvious place to start cleaning things up.