Joe Burrow returns to form behind a revamped defense as Tampa Bay’s explosive passing attack prepares to exploit a vulnerable secondary in this high-stakes 2026 season opener.
Both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals took turns in the Super Bowl in 2020-21.
While the Bucs brought home their second championship, the Bengals came up short against the Los Angeles Rams by a field goal in their first Super Bowl in more than three decades.
With star quarterback Joe Burrow coming off his first full season, many thought the Bengals would be a constant contender for years to come. That prediction looked good the next season when the Bengals made another deep playoff run that ended with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game.
That game was almost three and a half years ago, and it's the last postseason contest Cincy has played in. Burrow's health has betrayed him. Injuries limited him to 10 games in 2023 and eight this past season. In 2024, a healthy Burrow put up the best numbers of his career, throwing for 4,918 yards and 43 touchdowns, both career highs, and just nine interceptions.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, as good as Burrow was, that's how poor Cincy's defense was. Only six teams have up more points than Cincinnati, and as a result, Burrow was a superstar on a mediocre team that finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs.
That defense didn't get better in 2025. In fact, it got worse. The Bengals gave up 492 points, and the only teams that allowed more were the New York Jets (503) and Dallas Cowboys (511). It didn't help that Cincy's best defensive player, Trey Hendrickson, only played in seven of the team's 17 games due to injury.
That's seven more games than Hendrickson will play for the Bengals this season.
The veteran edge rusher, whom some felt could become a Buccaneer, signed a four-year, $112 million deal with the Baltimore Ravens, so now, somebody else will have to step up as Cincy's defensive star.
That somebody could be Dexter Lawrence, a star nose tackle whom Cincy acquired in a bombshell trade with the New York Giants.
Lawrence makes Cincy's interior better, but a lot will depend on the secondary. Only six teams gave up more passing yards than the Bengals in 2025, and although one of them was Tampa, this could still be an area that Baker Mayfield and company exploit in Week 1.
How good the Bengals will be in 2026 will depend on factors outside of Burrow's control. But on Tampa's end, it's hard to argue that a win over one of the NFL's best quarterbacks on the road in Week 1 wouldn't make an early statement.
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