Bengals Fall to Buccaneers 17-14 in Preseason Opener

Cincinnati Bengals football is back! The 2024 NFL season is officially here as the Bengals first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers comes to a close. The team falls to the Bucs 17-14 at Paycor Stadium.

Here are the main takeaways from the first preseason contest

Burrow Shines in Return

It was the first time fans got a look at a healthy Joe Burrow since the Bengals Quarterback injured his wrist in Week 11 of the 2023 NFL season. He was ruled out for the remainder of the season for wrist surgery after the injury.

Burrow played just the opening drive with the rest of the starters and looked like he never missed a snap.

Burrow made two great passes to begin the opening drive and move the chains right off the bat for the Bengals. He made a brilliant deep pass in double coverage to Tee Higgins that would have gone for a 50 yard touchdown, but was broken up by a Buccaneers defender. It didn't phase him, however, as he went right back in the air to wide receiver Andrei Iosivas for 23 yards.

Burrow got the Bengals in the Buccaneers Red Zone after a pass interference getting the team to the nine yard line. He finished the drive for the Bengals with a touchdown to Tee Higgins for a touchdown. He went 5-7 for 51 yards and a touchdown. It was a 12 play drive that went 73 yards for a score.

Defense Showed Signs of Success

The Bengals starting defense, and its depth looked solid in the preseason opener on Saturday. The team recorded three sacks on the night and picked up an interception.

The pass rush could use improvement however as they allowed 136 yards on the day and over four yards per carry.

Penalties, which are somewhat expected as players are knocking the rust off in the first preseason game of the season were impactful against the Bengals as a defensive pass interference on fourth down set up the Bucs for the game winning touchdown.

What's Next

The Bengals (0-1) will play the second of three preseason games next Saturday on the road against The Chicago Bears. The kickoff at Solider Field is scheduled for 1 PM EST.

This is the first preseason game for the Cincinnati Bengals against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Saturday. The team will play two more before they must cut the roster to 53 players in preparation for Week 1 of the NFL Regular season. The Bengals will open the year at home at Paycor Stadium against the New England Patriots on September 8th at 1 PM EST.

The Bengals will look to improve from last season as they missed the NFL playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season. They finished last in the AFC North with a 9-8 record.
Be sure to stay up to date with All Bengals to catch more highlights and analysis from Saturday’s Preseason opener and more.