The Bengals are 1-0.
That’s a pretty good place to start.
Cincinnati opened the 2026 season with a 33-27 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and while there were certainly some things that need cleaning up, there were also plenty of individual performances worth recognizing.
The new-look defense stole the show, Evan McPherson reminded everyone why they call him “Money Mac,” and a few guys who probably weren’t at the top of anyone’s bingo card made some big plays.
So, without further ado, let’s get into
this week’s award nominees.
Most Valuable Player (MVP)
Criteria: This award goes to the player whose performance had the greatest direct impact on securing the victory.
Nominee 1: Demetrius Knight Jr. — Linebacker
Stats / Moments: Knight Jr. opened Cincinnati’s scoring with a 27-yard fumble return touchdown after Myles Murphy forced a Baker Mayfield fumble.
Why MVP-worthy: Talk about making an entrance.
Knight’s defensive touchdown gave the Bengals their first points of the season and immediately gave the new-look defense some life. He wasn’t just in the right place at the right time, either. Knight was flying around all afternoon and looked very comfortable in his first regular-season game with a much larger role.
When you’re trying to change the identity of a defense, plays like this are exactly what you’re looking for.
Nominee 2: Evan McPherson — Kicker
Stats / Moments: McPherson connected on all four of his field-goal attempts, including kicks from 55 and 58 yards. He finished with 12 points.
Why MVP-worthy: When the offense couldn’t quite finish drives, McPherson did.
The 58-yarder in the fourth quarter was especially important. Tampa Bay had just cut Cincinnati’s lead to seven, and the Bengals needed something to stop the momentum.
Enter Money Mac.
That kick pushed the lead back to 10 and gave the defense a little more breathing room. Four-for-four with two 50-plus yarders is a pretty strong way to start the year.
Nominee 3: Bryan Cook — Safety
Stats / Moments: Cook forced a fumble and recovered a Tampa Bay fumble, which was Baker Mayfield’s goal-line gaffe in the first half.
Why MVP-worthy: Cook was simply around the football.
His fumble recovery came after Mayfield coughed the ball up near the goal line, preventing Tampa Bay from potentially coming away with points. He also forced another Buccaneers fumble, helping Cincinnati maintain control of a game that ultimately became much closer than it looked at halftime.
After spending the offseason talking about what Cook could bring to a revamped secondary, Bengals fans got a pretty good first taste.
Nominee 4: Mike Gesicki — Tight End
Stats / Moments: Gesicki caught five passes for 78 yards and a touchdown on seven targets, leading Cincinnati in receiving.
Why MVP-worthy: When Tampa Bay made it difficult to get Ja’Marr Chase involved, Burrow went elsewhere.
Gesicki was the primary beneficiary.
His two-yard touchdown reception gave Cincinnati its first offensive touchdown of the season, and he consistently found ways to move the chains.
You don’t necessarily need your biggest stars to dominate every week. Sometimes you need the guys underneath them to make the defense pay for all that attention.
Gesicki did exactly that.
Unsung Hero of the Week
Criteria: Awarded to a player whose efforts were significant yet flew under the radar, often stepping up in a rotational role, making an impact that doesn’t necessarily show up in the box score, or taking advantage of an opportunity created by injuries.
Nominee 1: Dexter Lawrence II — Defensive Tackle
Why Unsung-worthy: The stat sheet doesn’t really tell the story here.
Lawrence didn’t need a bunch of sacks or splash plays to make his presence felt. He consistently affected what Tampa Bay wanted to do up front and helped create opportunities for the players around him.
And that’s exactly why Cincinnati went and got him.
The Bengals invested heavily in their defensive front this offseason, and Lawrence’s Week 1 performance was one of those games where the tape was more impressive than the box score.
Not exactly a bad debut in stripes.
Nominee 2: Barrett Carter — Linebacker
Stats / Moments: Carter finished with a team-high eight tackles, recorded a half-sack, and forced a fumble at the goal line.
Why Unsung-worthy: Knight Jr. gets the highlight-reel touchdown, but Carter was everywhere.
The goal-line forced fumble was enormous. Tampa Bay was threatening to turn a Bengals defensive stop into points, and Carter simply took the football away.
Eight tackles, a half-sack and a forced fumble is a pretty busy afternoon. And unlike the defensive touchdown, this is the kind of production that can get lost when one side of the ball generates four turnovers.
Nominee 3: Boye Mafe — EDGE
Stats / Moments: Mafe recovered a fumble after Bucky Irving lost the ball and was part of a defensive front that helped force four Tampa Bay turnovers.
Why Unsung-worthy: Mafe wasn’t necessarily the guy getting all the headlines, but he was involved in the chaos up front.
The Bengals wanted a more aggressive, deeper defensive line rotation in 2026, and Mafe’s ability to contribute in that rotation is going to matter.
Recovering a fumble isn’t glamorous. It is, however, extremely useful.
Nominee 4: Chase Brown — Running Back
Stats / Moments: Brown carried the ball 16 times for 56 yards and a touchdown while adding five receptions for 23 yards.
Why Unsung-worthy: Brown wasn’t spectacular statistically, but he was steady.
His five-yard touchdown run extended Cincinnati’s lead to 21-3 in the second quarter, and he was involved throughout an offense that ran 27 times compared with 35 pass attempts.
More importantly, the Bengals didn’t abandon the running game when things weren’t perfect.
Brown is going to be a major part of that balance if Cincinnati sticks with this approach.
Play of the Game
Criteria: The single most impactful or memorable moment that significantly shifted the game in Cincinnati’s favor.
Nominee 1: Demetrius Knight Jr.’s Scoop-and-Score
Myles Murphy knocked the ball loose from Baker Mayfield, and Knight Jr. picked it up and raced 27 yards for the touchdown.
It’s hard to beat a defensive touchdown for this award.
It was Cincinnati’s first score of the season and the first big statement from a defense that has spent the offseason trying to change its reputation.
Nominee 2: Bryan Cook’s Goal-Line Fumble Recovery
Mayfield lost the football near the Cincinnati goal line, and Cook recovered it in the end zone.
Tampa Bay was knocking on the door. Instead of seven points—or at minimum a field goal—the Bengals walked away with the football.
That’s the kind of play that can completely change a game.
Nominee 3: Evan McPherson’s 58-Yard Field Goal
With Tampa Bay having cut Cincinnati’s lead to 27-20, McPherson drilled a 58-yarder to restore a two-score advantage.
There are field goals, and then there are field goals. This one mattered.
The Buccaneers had momentum, and the Bengals needed an answer. McPherson gave them one from 58 yards away.
Money Mac, indeed.
Nominee 4: The Final Defensive Stop
After Tampa Bay scored with 3:19 remaining to make it 33-27, Cincinnati’s defense got the ball back and the Bengals were able to run out the clock rather than giving Mayfield another possession.
Maybe it doesn’t have the same visual appeal as a scoop-and-score.
But closing out a six-point game after Tampa Bay had spent the second half hanging around matters. The Bengals finally got the kind of finish they’ve been looking for.
Offensive Player of the Week
Nominees: Mike Gesicki, Chase Brown, Joe Burrow and Tee Higgins
Burrow finished 25-of-35 for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Higgins added a few important grabs, including an 18-yard touchdown connection with Burrow? No—that touchdown actually went to Gesicki, so let’s not give Tee a touchdown he didn’t score.
Instead, Higgins’ biggest contribution came on a 29-yard reception early in the second half.
Brown provided the rushing touchdown, Gesicki led the team in receiving, and Burrow generally distributed the ball effectively despite throwing the pick-six.
There’s no shortage of candidates here.
Defensive Player of the Week
Nominees: Demetrius Knight Jr., Barrett Carter, Bryan Cook and Myles Murphy
This one is particularly crowded.
Knight Jr. had the touchdown. Carter led the team in tackles and forced a fumble. Cook recovered two fumbles. Murphy’s strip-sack helped create the game’s opening score.
That’s four very legitimate cases. And perhaps that’s the most encouraging part of all.
The Bengals didn’t need one defender to carry the entire unit. They had guys making plays all over the place.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Nominee: Evan McPherson
Come on.
Four field goals. Four makes. Two from beyond 55 yards.
That’s the nomination.
The Bottom Line
The Bengals didn’t play a perfect game.They didn’t need to.
They forced four turnovers, turned those takeaways into 24 points, got contributions from all three phases and made enough plays late to finish off a 33-27 victory. That’s a pretty good way to open the 2026 season.
Now it’s up to Bengals Nation to decide who deserves the hardware.
Who gets your vote for MVP?
And who’s your Unsung Hero of the Week?
