The Cincinnati Bengals secured a 33-27 Week 1 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, and the storyline from the game was their defense.
Cincinnati managed to force four fumbles in the game, all of which led to turnovers, with one resulting in a scoop-and-score for the team’s first touchdown.
Three of those four came with the ball in Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield’s hands, all at crucial moments in the game.
Mayfield Assigns Blame After Loss
Following the game, while speaking to the media, Mayfield broke down each fumble and made it clear that the loss is on him, taking full responsibility for the turnovers.
“The internal time clock on the last one, just got to check it down… the first strip sack getting out of the pocket just got to know there’s somebody behind you… but keeping two hands on it as long as possible,” Mayfield said. “That goes for that last one as well. And the one in the red zone, obviously a killer, takes away points and they go down and score a touchdown.
“This one falls on me,” he added. “I think they had 17 points alone off just my turnovers. Turns out to be a one score game at six points. So offensively it’s frustrating… but if we get that fixed, if I get that fixed, we’ll be alright.”
Baker Mayfield says the Bengals scored 17 points off his turnovers and he must get that fixed because it was still a one score game. pic.twitter.com/jF3Ui4dqJs
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) September 13, 2026
Bengals Defensive Turnaround
While it’s just one week, the difference between the Cincinnati defense we saw last year and what we saw in Week 1 was night and day.
Last season, they ranked near the bottom of the league in pretty much every major statistical category on that side of the ball. On Sunday, they allowed 20 points, as one of those Buccaneers touchdowns was a pick-six thrown by Joe Burrow, but they were the catalyst behind the Bengals’ victory.
Outside of the four forced turnovers, they sacked Mayfield four times, held Tampa Bay to 89 rushing yards as a team, and held Mayfield to 216 passing yards while allowing no passing TDs.
Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield Assigns Blame for Week 1 Loss to Bengals