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The Bengals beat the Bucs and stayed clean on the injury front entering Texans game

The Cincinnati Bengals kicked off their 2026 campaign on a high note, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-27 at Paycor Stadium before a crowd of 66,625. Tampa Bay grabbed an early 3-0 advantage, but Cincinnati seized momentum with takeaways on three consecutive first-half possessions.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield surrendered three of the Buccaneers' four lost fumbles on the day, with Cincinnati's opening score coming when Demetrius Knight Jr. scooped up a loose ball resulting from a Barrett Carter and Myles Murphy sack and ran it back 27 yards to the end zone.

The defensive touchdown helped push Cincinnati to a 14-3 lead.

Knight, a 2025 second-round selection out of South Carolina, sustained an injury during the contest, though the roster avoided further health setbacks heading toward an upcoming matchup with the Houston Texans. The strong Week 1 showing represents a welcome start for Cincinnati, who missed the postseason in 2023 and 2024 and previously saw their 2025 early-season hopes derailed when quarterback suffered turf toe in the second week.