The Cincinnati Bengals officially kicked off the 2026 season this past weekend, hosting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Paycor Stadium.
There has been so much talk surrounding this Bengals’ revamped roster, and it was time to let the play show Sunday afternoon.
The Bengals defense was stellar, forcing four turnovers and sacking superstar QB Baker Mayfield four times as well.
This was the first opportunity for the new defense to show that this is a brand-new, hungry unit, and they took care of business in dramatic
fashion in Week 1.
The Bucs had a few players make ‘interesting’ comments about seeing the Bengals, including cornerback Zyon McCollum saying his defense would intercept Joe Burrow 3-to-4 times.
The Bengals’ social media team also circled back to those comments after the win, poking fun with a TikTok videothat started with the bulletin-board material comments and followed it up with the four turnovers forced by the Bengals’ own defense.
No matter your thoughts on the Week 1 win, it is fun to see the defense show significant life and feel good vibes going into Week 2.
The Bengals will now hit the road for a matchup with the Houston Texans.
