Joe Burrow Identifies the Biggest Mistake From Sunday’s Victory Over Buccaneers

The Cincinnati Bengals started the 2026 season strong with a 33-27 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday afternoon, forcing four turnovers to catapult them to a 1-0 record. The defense was stout, Mike Gesicki stood out and Tee Higgins made an outstanding catch to ice the game in the closing minutes.

For the most part, the Bengals played clean, complementary football in Week 1, but Joe Burrow made sure to point out the biggest mistake he needs to clean up.

With 2:16 left in the third quarter, Burrow put the ball in harm's way, and linebacker Josiah Trotter made him pay, picking off Burrow and returning it 38 yards to the end zone. Cincinnati led 27-13 before that play and was firmly in control, but one snap changed the momentum and opened the door for Tampa Bay to mount a comeback.

The Bengals responded with two field goals and ultimately hung on for the win. Burrow still finished 25-of-35 for 254 yards and a touchdown and made crucial plays down the stretch, but he knows that's something he can't do if the team wants to get where it wants to go.

Burrow spoke to the media following the win, and he owned up to the mistake right away.

“If I didn't have that interception, I'm feeling great walking out of here,” Burrow said. “You can't make plays like that, so I've got to get that fixed.”

He then made sure to praise the offensive line, which allowed pressure on just seven of Burrow's dropbacks, or 19%. He was the least-pressured quarterback in Week 1, according to PFF, and that's been almost unfathomable for the Bengals over the last few years. Burrow was also blitzed on 48.6% of his dropbacks, which was the third-highest rate among quarterbacks.

While the offensive line played well, another huge factor in the pressure rate being so low was how quickly Burrow got the ball out of his hands.

“Offensive line was pretty lights out,” Burrow said. “I thought we ran the ball well in spots, and I got the ball out to my guys in space pretty quickly.”

The message is simple: Burrow can't make that type of throw down the road if he wants to lead the Bengals to the playoffs. But the throw didn't hurt them this time, and that's a positive to take away from Sunday's win. In years past, a costly interception could have snowballed into more mistakes, and we could be having a much different conversation right now.

Cincinnati is 1-0, the defense looks like it has drastically improved and the offensive line kept Burrow clean. If Burrow and the Bengals can limit the costly mistakes and respond how they did on Sunday when they do make one, they'll play winning football all season.