Baker Mayfield’s Sunday afternoon did not go well, with three lost fumbles directly contributing to Tampa Bay’s 33-27 loss to Cincinnati.
After agreeing to a contract extension earlier in the week, Mayfield finished 23-of-28 for 216 yards with no touchdowns, no picks, and the three giveaways.
“This one falls on me,” Mayfield said in his postgame press conference. “I mean, they had, I think, 17 points alone off of my turnovers. Turns out to be a one-score game — six points.”
But the Bengals were just one of two AFC North opponents that the Buccaneers have to begin their 2026 slate.
The next, of course, is the Browns.
“I mean, obviously, there’s history there — there’s no way to go around that,” Mayfield said.
You think?
The Browns infamously decided to move on from Mayfield after the 2021 season and traded for Deshaun Watson as his replacement. While Mayfield has found a home with the Bucs after stints with the Panthers and Rams in 2022, the Browns are still reeling from the aftereffects of that disastrous trade.
While Mayfield is 0-1 against Cleveland, having lost to the team with Carolina in 2022, he now has a unique chance to rub the Browns’ nose in it.
But, at least publicly, he’s not making more of it than what it is.
“It’s the next opponent,” Mayfield said. “Cleveland happens to be the next opponent — our home opener. So, yeah. Have a bad taste in our mouth, looking forward to getting it out.
“It’s still the next one, and that’s the most important one,” Mayfield added. “I’ve said that to you guys over the years — it doesn’t matter who it is, the most important one is the next one. And we’ve got — I’ve got to get some stuff fixed. And we’ve got to move forward.”
Bucs Clips
If you look at Deshaun Watson’s final numbers from Cleveland’s 34-10 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday, you might be able to talk yourself into some positives.
After all, Watson was 16-of-22 for 205 yards with a touchdown and an interception — good for 9.3 yards per attempt and a 97.7 passer rating.
But if you watched the game, you’d know 46 of those yards came on a garbage-time touchdown to Denzel Boston against the Jaguars’ backups. You would’ve seen Watson fire an interception to end Cleveland’s first drive, almost throw another to end the second, and then get strip-sacked on the third. You would understand that most — if not all — of Jacksonville’s five sacks on Watson happened because he was dropping so far back that the offensive line couldn’t form a cohesive pocket. You might’ve been baffled by how often he was trying to change a call at the line of scrimmage too late in the play clock.
Cleveland’s first drive had gotten off to a solid start, with the team moving the ball before Watson’s interception. After that, the unit was off the rails with no sense of rhythm.
But Watson said postgame that the pick didn’t rattle him.
“No, I mean, bad plays are going to happen all the time,” he said in his press conference. “You look all around the league. Everyone throws interceptions, everyone makes bad plays. You’ve got to give the defense credit. He made a good play on that. Even though I got knocked off my platform a little bit, I thought I got it over him. He reached up and grabbed it. So you’ve got to move on to the next play and try to move forward and try to put something positive on the next drive. And we weren’t able to do that.
“So it didn’t really bundle up my confidence. It’s just — we didn’t get back on track like we wanted to.”
Will the Browns’ dalliance with Watson continue? It seems likely, for at least another week. And so, Watson will lean on his experience in dealing with adversity as the Browns ready to play the Buccaneers.
“Yeah, I mean just keep moving forward, keep stepping forward, keep smiling, regardless of who’s against me or who’s with me,” Watson said. “I think that’s more beneficial for the team in that locker room. I’ve had a lot of support in that locker room after the game telling me to keep my head up, keep pushing forward, keep working. They’re behind me, so that’s always positive to see and hear. Yeah, we just got to keep going.
“The adversity is going to be there. You’ve got to embrace it. That’s the only way — I thought it was going to be gone two years ago, but I guess not. So you just embrace it and keep pushing through until you break that wall through.”
The Browns will be on the road to face Baker Mayfield and the Bucs next Sunday.
A lot went wrong for Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield on Sunday in Cincinnati, including not being able to hear the plays in his helmet.
“We had some headset issues for quite a while, in and out,” Mayfield said. “It’s not an excuse, but when they’re testing them on the sidelines, and they work perfectly fine, then you get out in between the hashes and it’s not working, it’s unfortunate. But it wasn’t the whole time, just first drive for sure, and then sporadically throughout the rest of the game. But yeah, we need to get in and out of the huddle quicker.”
Asked how often he has experienced headset issues like that, Mayfield answered, “That’s the first time it was that bad.”
Still, Mayfield acknowledged that a much bigger problem was his three fumbles, all of which the Bengals recovered.
“This one falls on me. They had, I think, 17 points alone off my turnovers, and it turns out to be a one-score game, six points,” Mayfield said. “If I get that fixed, make those corrections, I think we’ll be alright.”
The Bengals actually scored 21 points off Mayfield’s turnovers, in a 33-27 game. That was a much bigger problem for the Buccaneers than the headset.
Deshaun Watson’s return to the Browns lineup was a thudding disappointment.
The quarterback threw an interception on the first possession of the game and the Browns were shut out for the first half of a 34-10 loss to the Jaguars. Watson finished the day 16-of-22 for 205 yards and also ran six times for 38 yards while being sacked five times over the course of the afternoon. They gained 140 of their 272 yards in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach.
Head coach Todd Monken was asked after the game if Watson will remain the starter in Tampa next weekend.
“I’d rather just talk about today, because I haven’t had time to even look at the tape. . . . It wasn’t all him,” Monken said. “It really wasn’t all him. That’s unfair. Certainly could have called it better, certainly could have played better around him.”
Week 3 brings the home opener for the Browns and they’ll need to get a lot more from Watson next week for there to be any chance of him being greeted kindly by the team’s fans.
The Bengals had a makeover of their defense in the offseason after ranking 31st in yards and 30th in points last season. They showed off their new look on Sunday.
The Bengals allowed only 282 yards, forced four fumbles they recovered and had four sacks in a 33-27 win over the Buccaneers.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield lost three fumbles — one that Bengals linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. returned 27 yards for a touchdown and another into the end zone that safety Bryan Cook recovered. Running back Bucky Irving also lost a fumble.
Still, Mayfield gave the Bucs a chance with a 9-yard touchdown run with 3:19 left. Joe Burrow, though, drove the Bengals 54 yards in eight plays, allowing the clock to expire on Tampa Bay’s comeback.
Burrow went 25-of-35 for 254 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Bucs rookie Josiah Trotter intercepted Burrow on a third-and-5 pass intended for Andrei Iosivas and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown.
Burrow’s touchdown was a 2-yard throw to tight end Mike Gesicki, who had five catches for 78 yards. Ja’Marr Chase had only two catches for 12 yards.
Evan McPherson kicked field goals of 20, 55, 58 and 32 yards.
The first half was all Bengals. The third quarter has been all Bucs.
Tampa Bay has climbed back to within one score with 10 consecutive points to start the second half.
The Bucs got a 51-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin to end a 10-play, 38-yard drive to close to 27-13. Only 1:25 later, Tampa Bay was within seven.
Rookie Josiah Trotter intercepted Joe Burrow on a third-and-5 pass intended for Andrei Iosivas and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown.
Burrow is now 18-of-25 for 163 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
The Bucs opened the season with a 56-yard field-goal drive. They then had three consecutive possessions ended on lost fumbles.
Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield fumbled twice — one that Bengals linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. returned 27 yards for a touchdown and another into the end zone that safety Bryan Cook recovered — and Bucky Irving had the ball punched out by Cook and recovered by defensive lineman Boye Mafe.
The Bucs finally scored a touchdown on a 10-yard Irving run with 1:49 remaining until halftime but trail 24-10 after all their miscues.
Besides Knight’s touchdown, the Bengals’ other scores came on Mike Gesicki’s 2-yard reception from Joe Burrow and Chase Brown’s 5-yard run. They ended the half with a 10-play, 56-yard drive that ended on the 2-yard line and with an Evan McPherson chip-shot field goal.
Burrow is 14-of-20 for 133 yards and a touchdown and has added 20 yards on three carries. Brown has seven carries for 27 yards and a touchdown. Gesicki has four catches for 54 yards and a touchdown.
The Bengals have outgained the Bucs 183 to 167, with Cincinnati scoring on its final three possessions of the half after a three-and-out to start.
The Bengals, who revamped their defense in the offseason after ranking last in 2025, have two sacks and three takeaways as Cook and Barrett Carter have led the way.
Mayfield is 14-of-17 for 132 yards, with Emeka Egbuka catching five for 63. Irving, who scored his 10th career rushing touchdown, has five carries for 31 yards.
The Bengals have only 4 yards. They have a 7-3 lead.
Cincinnati, which had the worst defense in the NFL last season, has a defensive score with its overhauled unit to take the lead.
Barrett Carter and Myles Murphy split a sack of Baker Mayfield for an 8-yard loss. Murphy forced a fumble, and Bengals linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. raced 27 yards to the end zone with the fumble recovery.
Mayfield has taken two sacks thus far and is 4-of-7 for 33 yards.
He led the Bucs on a 11-play, 56-yard field-goal drive to start as Chase McLaughlin made a 34-yarder.
A report on Sunday morning indicated cornerback Joey Porter Jr. was unlikely to be in the Steelers’ lineup for their season-opening game against the Falcons and official word on his status came 90 minutes before kickoff in Pittsburgh.
Porter is officially inactive for the game. Porter was listed as questionable with a back injury after spending all of training camp on the physically unable to perform list.
Porter’s inactivity this summer was also thought to be connected to his desire for a contract extension that never came together. That has reportedly opened the door to a trade as the Steelers have a team policy against negotiating contracts during the regular season.
Updates on where things stand with Porter for Week 2’s game against the Patriots and beyond will likely come this week. For Sunday, though, he’ll just be a spectator.
Falcons at Steelers
Falcons: QB Tua Tagovailoa, QB Michael Penix, DB Billy Bowman, DB Malcom DeWalt, LB Christian Harris, OL Ethan Onianwa
Steelers: CB Joey Porter Jr., QB Drew Allar, G Gennings Dunker, DL Kevin Jobity, DL Gabe Rubio, QB Will Howard
Bears at Panthers
Bears: QB Tyson Bagent, S Xavier Woods, OT Ozzy Trapilo, OL Jordan McFadden, DL Jayden Loving, DL Jamree Kromah, QB Miller Moss.
Panthers: TE Ja’Tavion Sanders, WR John Metchie, QB Haynes King, S Zakee Wheatley, OT Albert Reese, LB Patrick Jones, DT Cam Jackson
Buccaneers at Bengals
Buccaneers: DL DeMonte Capehart, CB Ayden Garnes, WR Jalen McMillan, G Billy Schrauth, DL Elijah Simmons, OT Justin Skule, RB Sean Tucker
Bengals: WR Ke’Shawn Williams, CB Josh Newton, OT Myles Hinton, C Connor Lew, TE Jack Endries, DT Landon Robinson, DE Shemar Stewart
Saints at Lions
Saints: TE Oscar Delp, RB Alvin Kamara, OT Mason Murphy, DE Cam Jordan, DT John Ridgeway, DT Khristian Boyd, QB Zach Wilson
Lions: CB Christian Izien, LB Jimmy Rolder, DE Ahmed Hassanein, CB Ennis Rakestraw, DL Mekhi Wingo
Bills at Texans
Bills: RB Ty Johnson, WR Skyler Bell, OT Jude Bowry, G Ar’maj Reed-Adams, DL T.J. Sanders, LB Mike Danna, S Jalon Kilgore
Texans: OL Febechi Nwaiwu, CB Collin Wright, LB Aiden Fisher, OL Nate Thomas, DL Jaden Crumedy, TE Brevin Jordan
Ravens at Colts
Ravens: QB Joe Fagnano, WR Devontez Walker, WR Elijah Sarratt, G Emery Jones, CB Chandler Rivers, DT Nnamdi Madubuike, LB Teddye Buchanan
Colts: LB Austin Ajiake, CB Jonathan Edwards, RB DJ Giddens, DE George Gumbs, QB Riley Leonard, G Dalton Tucker
Browns at Jaguars
Browns: QB Taylen Green, LB Justin Jefferson, CB Noah Igbinoghene, S Daniel Thomas, CB Toriano Pride, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins
Jaguars: QB Quinn Ewers, S Jalen Huskey, DE Bryan Thomas, OL Daniel Faalele, TE Tanner Koziol, DE Wesley Williams
Jets at Titans
Jets: CB D’Angelo Ponds, RB Kene Nwangwu, K Blake Grupe, LB Trevin Wallace, LB Joseph Ossai
Titans: CB Jaylon Jones, OL Atonio Mafi, RB Nick Singleton, LB Cedric Gray, DT Jackie Marshall, OT Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, LB Owen Pappoe
Sunday’s game between the Buccaneers and Bengals has an intriguing subplot.
Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield has never lost to Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow.
Mayfield is 3-0 against Burrow as a starter. All three matchups happened in 2020 and 2021, when Mayfield played for the Browns.
And, yes, Mayfield faced Burrow in 2022, when Mayfield played for the Panthers. In that game, however, P.J. Walker got the start; Mayfield entered the game after halftime, with the Panthers trailing 35-0.
The Mayfield-Burrow matchup is also one of two Week 1 games featuring a pair of Heisman Trophy winners. The other one happens in Charlotte, between Bears quarterback Caleb Williams and Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.
The Bucs-Bengals game carries greater weight than Mayfield’s 3-0 record as a starter against Burrow. Both teams need to get off to a good start if they hope to get back to the playoffs.
