Bucs win preseason opener, beat Bengals 17-14

The Buccaneers defeat the Bengals with a last-minute scoring drive.

The Buccaneers returned to football on the right foot, defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 17-14 in their preseason debut. Most of Tampa Bay’s starters did not play, but the Bucs were able to squeak by the Bengals with a handful of big plays on offense.

The game kicked off with Bengals starting quarterback Joe Burrow under center as he led Cincinnati’s offense to a touchdown on their opening drive. The Bucs nearly had the Bengals stalled just outside the redzone, but a pass interference call on cornerback Josh Hayes, though it appeared rookie safety Tykee Smith committed the penalty, pushed Cincinnati within striking distance. Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins juked Hayes on the following play on the 10-yard scoring reception.

Tampa Bay responded at the end of the first quarter with their own scoring drive. Backup QB Kyle Trask distributed the ball the Bucs’ young receivers Ryan Miller, Trey Palmer and Jalen McMillan to drive the offense down the field. Rookie running back Bucky Irving capped the drive with a five-yard run into the endzone.

The second quarter was a symphony of dysfunction for both teams. Trask badly missed Ryan Miller for an interception by Bengals CB Josh Newton, while Bengals QB Jake Browning threw his own pick to Bucs CB Keenan Isaac. Both Chase McLaughlin and Evan McPherson missed field goals to ensure a scoreless quarter to end the half.

Tampa Bay opened the second half with a 53-yard scoring drive in which McLaughlin successfully kicked a 35-yard chip shot. After that, neither team made much traction for the majority of the half, trading punts and a Bucs turnover on downs.

As the game drew to a close, both teams started to heat up on offense. The Bengals struck first with 37-yard touchdown reception by WR Jermaine Burton. The Bucs responded with a 60-yard drive that was kept alive by pass interference call on CB Lance Robinson, allowing RB Ramon Jefferson to punch in the go-ahead touchdown score.

The Bengals threatened in the closing minute with a 37-yard Chris Evans kickoff return and a 38-yard Jermaine Burton reception. The drive stalled on the Bucs’ 24-yard line and the Bucs ended the game after the Bengals turned the ball over on downs.

Tampa Bay finished with 390 total yards, including 136 rush yards. RB Sean Tucker led the Bucs with 68 rush yards on 10 carries. Kyle Trask led the team with 144 pass yards with 12 completions on 20 pass attempts. The Bucs’ quarterbacks were uninspiring overall, throwing no touchdowns while taking three sacks and throwing two interceptions between Trask and Wolford.

The Bucs defense was solid, holding the Bengals to 36 rush yards and 12 total first downs. While they failed to bring down the Bengals quarterbacks for any sacks, outside linebacker Jose Ramirez lived in Cincinnati’s backfield, forcing a few offensive holding penalties to stymie the Bengals offense.

While the Bucs offense showed some dysfunction particularly at quarterback, the run game looked much improved from last season, and the young wide receiver corps flashed potential. Tampa Bay now faces a week of joint practices with the Jacksonville Jaguars ahead of their preseason matchup next Saturday.