The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cincinnati Bengals will square off in their shared 2026 regular season opener on Sunday, September 13, at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Buccaneers finished 8-9 in 2025 and in a three-way tie atop the NFC South standings but lost a tiebreaker to the Carolina Panthers and thus barely missed extending their streak to five straight division titles. The Bengals got off to an uncharacteristically hot start at 2-0 last season but Joe Burrow's toe injury tanked their season and they finished 6-11 and out of the playoffs for the third year in a row. The Buccaneers and Bengals last met in 2022 in Tampa, which resulted in Cincinnati earning a 34-23 victory, their third win in a row in the head-to-head series.
In terms of yards, neither team finished in the top half of the NFL rankings last year on either offense or defense, though the Bengals did have the 12th-highest points total. On defense, Cincinnati ranked in the bottom three in points allowed, yards allowed, yards allowed per play and rushing yards allowed. Based on their final 2025 numbers, here's how the Buccaneers and Bengals stack up against each other for Sunday's season opener:
When Tampa Bay Has the Ball:
| Buccaneers Offense | Category | Bengals Defense |
|---|---|---|
| 21st (320.4) | Net Yards Per Game | 31st (380.9) |
| 25th (5.10) | Yards Per Play | 32nd (6.18) |
| 17th (22.4) | Points Per Game | 30th (28.9) |
| 21st (114.5) | Rushing Yards Per Game | 32nd (147.1) |
| 20th (205.9) | Passing Yards Per Game | 26th (233.8) |
| 10st (41.2%) | Third Down Percentage | 28th (43.4%) |
| 15th (6.81%) | Sacks Per Pass Play | 23rd (6.55%) |
| 15th (1.97%) | Interception Percentage | 11th (2.43%) |
| 23rd (54.0%) | Red Zone Touchdown Pct. | 24th (62.9%) |
When Cincinnati Has the Ball:
| Bengals Offense | Category | Buccaneers Defense |
|---|---|---|
| 17th (329.2) | Net Yards Per Game | 19th (337.2) |
| 16th (5.29) | Yards Per Play | 25th (5.73) |
| 12th (24.4) | Points Per Game | 21st (24.2) |
| 29th (93.6) | Rushing Yards Per Game | 5th (99.1) |
| 6th (235.6) | Passing Yards Per Game | 27th (238.2) |
| 5th (43.4%) | Third Down Percentage | 15th (39.5%) |
| 10th (5.63%) | Sacks Per Pass Play | 24th (6.51%) |
| 26th (2.66%) | Interception Percentage | 13th (2.29%) |
| 2nd (66.7%) | Red Zone Touchdown Pct. | 32nd (69.8%) |
Advantage Buccaneers: Run Defense
Cincinnati has one of the most impressive collections of offensive talent in the NFL when the whole crew is healthy, and that includes underrated running back Chase Brown, who has averaged almost exactly 1,000 rushing yards per season over the past two years. However, the Bengals' rushing attack as a whole ranked 29th in the NFL last year, gaining just 93.6 yards per game. If Burrow can guide his squad to more early-game leads in 2026, there may be more opportunities to get that ground game going, but for now this looks like an advantage on paper for the Buccaneers, whose run defense ranked fifth in the league last year with 99.1 yards allowed per outing. Obviously, last season's numbers don't guarantee the Bucs will be stout against the run in 2026, but it's also worth noting that this was not a one-year spike. Since Todd Bowles took over as the team's defensive play-caller in 2019, the Buccaneers have allowed the fewest rushing yards in the entire NFL over a seven-year span. In addition, Tampa Bay made an effort to get bigger and stronger up front in the offseason with such additions as A'Shawn Robinson and Rakeem Nuñez-Roches.
Advantage Bengals: Red Zone Offense
The Buccaneers will be hoping to drastically improve their red zone results on defense in 2026, but if there is anything like a repeat of last year's numbers this is probably the biggest statistical mismatch in Sunday's game. Even without a full season from Burrow, Cincinnati ranked second in the NFL in red zone touchdown efficiency, finding the end zone on 66.7% of their incursions inside the 20. The Buccaneers' defense, meanwhile, took the 32nd spot on defense by allowing a touchdown on 69.8% of their opponents' red zone drives. When their opponents got into goal-to-go situations, the Bucs were only able to keep three out of 24 opportunities out of the end zone.
X-Factor: Bucs' Pass Rush
The players facing the most significant Week One challenge on Tampa Bay's defense are probably starting outside corners Zyon McCollum and Jacob Parrish. The Bucs are very confident in both cover men but even the stickiest corners in the league have to work very hard to slow down the Bengals' wide receiver duo of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, particularly since their quarterback displays pinpoint accuracy and can complete passes even against tight coverage. The solution for the Buccaneers could be a more robust pass rush in 2026, the creation of which was the team's top priority during the spring. The Bucs are very excited about a revamped edge rush group that now includes Yaya Diaby, Rueben Bain Jr., Al-Quadin Muhammad and David Walker, and are hopeful that a full season from Calijah Kancey will ramp up the inside pressure as well. If the Buccaneers can speed up the process for Burrow, it could make things at least somewhat easier for the cover men on the back end.
