Joe Burrow’s first game of the 2026 season was just about what you’d expect from Joe Burrow in Week 1.
There were some really good throws. There were some frustrating ones. There was a little bit of rust. There was a whole lot of “How the hell did he see that?”
And then there was the pick-six. Let’s just get that one out of the way.
With the Bengals sitting on a comfortable lead in the third quarter, Burrow tried to fit a ball into a tight window, and Tampa Bay rookie Josiah Trotter made him pay, taking the interception 38 yards to the end zone.
Suddenly, a game that had been feeling pretty comfortable was a one-score affair. It was the kind of mistake that can completely change the tone of a game.
Burrow knows it. And judging by the way he talked about it afterward, he’s not exactly looking for anyone to let him off the hook.
“Terrible (throw) from me. I had an out route to the field. The flat defender got underneath it, so I’m trying to throw the replacement, and the guy made a good play, but I can’t make that turnover,” said Burrow.
Burrow finished the afternoon completing 25/35 passes for 254 yards and a touchdown, and Cincinnati ultimately walked out of Paycor Stadium with a 33-27 win. The interception was the glaring mistake, but it was also basically the one play that everyone is going to remember from what was otherwise a pretty solid afternoon from the quarterback.
True to his offseason messages, Burrow was critical of himself on that pick-six, saying he would “have felt great walking out of here” without it. But, as big of a perfectionist as he is, No. 9 took the onus on himself.
And that’s where the offensive line deserves some credit.
For all the talk about Burrow’s interception and Cincinnati’s offense leaving points on the field, the offensive line gave him a pretty clean afternoon against a Tampa Bay defense that came into this matchup with plenty of reasons to believe it could make life miserable for him. “Lights out” was how Burrow coined the offensive line’s Sunday performance, per Mike Petraglia on Twitter and other members of the Cincinnati media.
Burrow was sacked just once. That’s it.
A marquee matchup of Tampa Bay’s first-round pass-rusher Rueben Bain Jr. against Amarius Mims was on full display Sunday afternoon. And the Bengals’ former first-round tackle stepped up in a huge way.
Burrow had enough time to work through progressions, finding Mike Gesicki repeatedly, hitting Tee Higgins in some big spots, and, when things broke down late, made plays with his legs.
That last part mattered, too. Cincinnati needed to close this game out, and the offense was able to put together the final possession and drain the last 3:19 off the clock. That’s not something the Bengals have always been able to say when a game gets uncomfortable in the fourth quarter.
The line wasn’t perfect. Nobody is going to confuse Week 1 with a finished product. But it looked like a group that can actually give Burrow a solid chance to operate.
And maybe that’s the biggest takeaway here.
We’ve spent so much time talking about Burrow getting hit over the years that it can be easy to miss when he’s actually standing in a clean pocket. On Sunday, he had one sack. One.
Against a Tampa Bay defense that was supposed to be one of the tougher tests Cincinnati would face early in the season. That’s a pretty good place to start.
The pick-six is going to get the headlines because, well, that’s what happens when the franchise quarterback throws one directly into the end zone at the other end of the field. But Burrow doesn’t need to be perfect for this team to win.
That’s the interesting thing about this Bengals team.
The defense forced four turnovers. Evan McPherson drilled two field goals from 55 and 58 yards. The offensive line protected its quarterback. Chase Brown found the end zone. Mike Gesicki became a much bigger part of the offense than anyone probably expected.
And when Tampa Bay made the game uncomfortable, Cincinnati didn’t completely fall apart. Burrow’s interception helped make it uncomfortable in the first place. He’ll be the first person to tell you that.
But the response matters, too.
The Bengals didn’t need Burrow to throw for 400 yards and four touchdowns to win this one. They needed him to make enough plays, avoid turning one mistake into three, and help close the game when the Bucs inevitably made their push.
He did that.
The pick-six was ugly. The rest of the afternoon was a lot more encouraging.
And if the offensive line really can keep giving Burrow this kind of protection, Cincinnati’s offense has a pretty good chance to look a whole lot better once the Week 1 rust finally disappears.
