When expectations weren’t swallowing Rueben Bain Jr. in his NFL debut Sunday in Cincinnati, Bengals right tackle Amarius Mims was.

CINCINNATI, Ohio — The Bengals defense had quite the makeover in the offseason, highlighted by the trade for Dexter Lawrence II. And the first test was a tough one against Baker Mayfield, who had lost just twice to the Bengals in his career and usually played great against Cincinnati,

Cincinnati capitalized on three first-half turnovers by Tampa Bay and withstood a late rally in a 33-27 victory.

Each week following every Bucs game, Pewter Report will take a close look at the snap count distribution for Tampa Bay on offense and defense. We’ll assess what we can learn from who played the most and least in the game.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles was critical of his defense after Sunday's 33-27 loss to the Bengals in the 2026 season opener.

After all of the offseason moves and excitement surrounding a fresh start for the Tampa Bay Bucs, their season-opening loss to the Bengals felt uncomfortably familiar.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Alex Anzalone struggled in his debut, but Todd Bowles defended the $17 million addition after the Week 1 loss

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a tough task ahead of them on Sunday when they face off against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1.