Mayfield lost 3 fumbles, a career high, and Tampa Bay lost 4 as a team, 3 of them in the first half alone, which turned into 21 Cincinnati points. Myles Murphy stripped him on 3rd down in the first quarter and Demetrius Knight Jr. returned it 27 yards for the Bengals' first fumble-return touchdown since Sam Hubbard's 99-yard score in the 2022 playoffs, and two drives later a scramble toward the goal line squirted through the end zone for a touchback that Cincinnati turned into an 80-yard touchdown drive of its own. "This one falls on me," Mayfield said afterward, and a number already leaning toward Cincinnati only got shorter as the fumbles piled up.
None of it was hopeless. Trotter, playing his first NFL game, added the pick-six in the third quarter that cut Cincinnati's lead to 7 points, part of a day that made him the first player since at least 1982 to record a sack and an interception return for a touchdown in his debut. Emeka Egbuka and Bucky Irving kept Tampa Bay's offense functional around the turnovers, and for a stretch it looked like the Bucs' talent might make the giveaways survivable.
It wasn't enough. Mayfield's own scramble for a touchdown trimmed the margin again in the fourth quarter, but Boye Mafe forced a fourth Tampa Bay fumble off a delay-of-game penalty, setting up one of Evan McPherson's closing field goals — he finished 4-for-4 on the day — to put the game away. Cincinnati's defense, the unit the preview flagged as retooled up front, didn't just contain Tampa Bay's offense; it built nearly three-quarters of the winning margin by itself.
The form both sides carry into next week lines up with how Sunday played out: Cincinnati has won 4 straight, preseason included, while Tampa Bay has dropped back-to-back games after opening 2-1 in the preseason. It was also Mayfield's first opening-week loss in 4 seasons in Tampa Bay, which says less about his level and more about how unusual 3 lost fumbles from one quarterback in one game actually is.
Justin Skule's absence at tackle and a receiver room missing Jalen McMillan didn't stop Tampa Bay's passing game from working — Egbuka caught 5 of 6 targets for 63 yards and Chris Godwin all 4 of his looks — which makes the turnovers look even more like the actual story of the loss. Cincinnati got the health news it wanted with Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins both active, though it was tight end Mike Gesicki who did the most damage, 5 catches for 78 yards and Burrow's lone touchdown pass. Next week tells Tampa Bay whether Sunday's problem was as fixable as coach Todd Bowles suggested afterward, or something built into how this offense protects the football.