Bucs, Mayfield fumble away season opener, lose 33-27 at Cincinnati

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers moved the ball. They scored 27 points. They never punted. And they still lost their season opener because they kept giving the ball away,

Four Tampa Bay fumbles – three by quarterback Baker Mayfield – were too much to overcome in a 33-27 defeat against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.

Cincinnati scored 24 points off the Tampa Bay turnovers.

Mayfield, who signed a $165 million, three-year extension earlier in the week, fumbled twice on sacks and on a scramble as he was trying to reach the goal line and score.

"This one falls on me," Mayfield said. "I think they had 17 points alone off my turnovers and it turns out to be a one-score game, six points. Offensively, it's frustrating when you do something like that, when you're moving the ball down the field. If we get that fixed, I get that fixed, make some corrections, we'll be alright."

The Bengals’ new-look defense was led by linebacker Boye Mafe and safety Bryan Cook, both signed in free agency. Both forced fumbles and recoveries while Mafe also had one of Cincinnati's four sacks.

"Obviously, you can't turn the ball over," Bucs coach Todd Bowles said. "We had four turnovers and we lose by one touchdown."

Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow completed 25 of 35 passes for 254 yards, one touchdown and one interception. After a three-and-out on the opening series, the seventh-year franchise quarterback directed the Bengals to points on six of their next seven drives.

His only mistake was a pick-6 by Tampa Bay rookie linebacker Jeremiah Trotter, who jumped the route on a pass intended for Andrei Iosivas and ran it back 38 yards to get the Bucs within 27-20 with 2:16 remaining in the third quarter.

"There's obviously some things he's still got to learn and get better at, but you can tell he's a gamer," Mayfield said of the second-round pick from Missouri. "He made that play to help us get back in the game. It energized us for sure and made it a one-score game."

Mayfield completed 23 of 28 passing for 216 yards in losing his first season-opener since coming to Tampa Bay four years ago.

Cincinnati’s Evan McPherson had four field goals, including kicks from 55 yards and 58 yards, as the Bengals opened the season with a win for the second straight year.

Tampa Bay scored on its first drive when Chase McLaughlin made a 34-yard field goal but turned it over on the next three possessions. Cincinnati converted all three fumbles into touchdowns.

The first was a scoop and score by Demetrius Knight, the Bengals’ first since 2022.

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Mayfield rolled right under pressure when he was sacked by Myles Murphy and Barrett Carter at the Tampa Bay 26. Knight picked up the loose ball at the 27 and went up the sideline for his first NFL touchdown.

“We always teach keep it high and tight,” Bowles said. “You've got to keep it high and tight.”

Burrow's 2-yard TD pass to tight end Mike Gesicki came seven plays after Mafe recovered Bucky Irving's fumble at the Bucs 33.

The Bengals got the ball on their 20 when Cook recovered Mayfield's second fumble. On first down from the Bengals’ 17, Mayfield had eluded pressure in the pocket and was darting toward the goal line when Carter stripped the ball out of his hands at the 4.

Cincinnati then extended its lead to 21-3 midway through the second quarter on Chase Brown's 5-yard run.

"Obviously a killer," Mayfield said of the fumble. "Takes away points and they go down and score a touchdown, but was trying to get two hands on it at that point in transition, but did not get the ball high enough for ball security."

Irving, who led the Bucs with 45 yards rushing on eight carries, finished the next drive with a 10-yard run to the left pylon. McPherson’s 20-yard field goal made it 24-10 at halftime.

Down 10 in the fourth quarter, Mayfield was hit and fumbled again. Mafe got away from Pro Bowl tackle Tristan Wirfs while Mayfield searched for a receiver from the pocket. Mafe swiped the ball loose from behind, and it was recovered by T.J. Slaton Jr.

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The turnover set up McPherson’s final field goal, from 32 yards with 5:19 to play.

Bowles said he thought Mayfield "held it a little bit."

"It's just the internal time clock," said Mayfield, who was sacked four times. "If that clock's going off in your head, keeping two hands on the ball in the pocket needs to be the emphasis. I thought I checked the ball down a decent amount, but at a certain point in the game ball security is the most important thing."

Mayfield's 9-yard scramble TD pulled the Bucs within six with 3:19 remaining, but Cincinnati ran out the clock on the ensuing possession. Burrow's 18-yard completion to Tee Higgins to the Bucs’ 26 on second-and-10 put it out of reach.

"The sad part is that we didn't punt," Bowles said. "It was either turnover or points. We can't turn it over. Against a team like that and they have very good players and they are coached well. We didn't help ourselves."

Bowles said the turnovers were only the most glaring problem.

"Defensively, I'd be interested to know how many tackles we missed. We missed some chip-shot tackles to get the ball back at the end and give our offense a chance," he said.

The Bucs' defense had issues covering Gesicki, the ninth-year tight end out of Penn State, who finished with a team-high five catches for 78 yards and the touchdown.

"He's got great awareness to break off routes," Bengals coach Zac Taylor said of Gesicki. "He and Joe (Burrow) have a good feel for each other. He ad libs a little bit, and we give him that green light because he and Joe have such good chemistry together."

Among the Tampa Bay highlights was the play of Trotter, who became the first NFL player with a sack and pick-6 in his first game since sacks became an official statistic in 1982.
The 9-yard wrapup of Burrow about 4 minutes into the third quarter was Tampa Bay's only sack in the game.

The announced attendance of 66,625 was the fourth largest for a home game in Bengals history.

The Bucs open their home schedule this Sunday against the Cleveland Browns. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Raymond James Stadium.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.