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.
The Bengals are unlikely to have defensive end Shemar Stewart for Sunday’s season opener against the Buccaneers, but the rest of their 53-man roster is healthy to play — including receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Cincinnati has listed Stewart (knee) as doubtful for the contest.
Stewart was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice, but was downgraded to limited on Thursday. He was downgraded once again on Friday as he did not participate in the day’s session.
In eight games as a rookie last season, Stewart recorded 11 total tackles with one sack, two tackles for loss, and four quarterback hits.
As has been the expectation all week, Chase (knee) and Higgins (foot) are set to play. Chase did not practice Friday, but it was considered a rest day.
Cornerback DJ Turner (hamstring) is also set to play despite being limited in practice over the last two days.
Kickoff for Sunday’s matchup between the Bengals and Bucs is set for 1 p.m. ET.
The Buccaneers will likely be down one wide receiver when they open the regular season against the Bengals on Sunday.
Jalen McMillan is listed as doubtful to play in Cincinnati this weekend. McMillan is dealing with a knee injury and was limited in practice all this week.
Emeka Egbuka also missed time during the preseason, but his toe injury was well enough for him to fully participate in practice the last three days. He has no injury designation for Sunday.
Running back Sean Tucker (hamstring) returned to practice after sitting out on Wednesday, but is likely to miss the game after being listed as doubtful along with McMillan and offensive tackle Justin Skule (oblique).
