The Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers open the 2026 season against each other on Sunday at Paycor Stadium, a meeting that starts with more uncertainty than either team would like. For Joe Burrow, it is the first chance to put a new season in motion and show whether the Bengals can begin to answer the questions that have hung over them for a year.
That is why the search interest is landing now. Bucky Brooks put the Bengals and Buccaneers in the same lane for a reason: both are hard to read, both can look dangerous on paper, and both can fall apart fast. Burrow is still the center of the story. He is a three-time Pro Bowler with a 43-33-1 record as a starter, has reached two AFC Championship Game starts and one Super Bowl appearance, and has beaten Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen on the road in postseason play. When he is on the field, Cincinnati can beat almost anyone.
The problem is that Burrow can only carry so much. Brooks said he can picture Cincinnati chasing the Lombardi Trophy or missing the playoffs for a fourth straight year, and that split is rooted in the defense. Trey Hendrickson was injured for most of 2025 and then left for the Ravens in free agency. The Bengals tried to rebuild around him by adding Boye Mafe and Jonathan Allen in free agency, trading for Dexter Lawrence and drafting Cashius Howell in the second round. That is a lot of movement, but movement is not the same as certainty.
Al Golden now has a second-year defense to shape, and the math is simple enough: if the front gets pressure, the rest of the unit can play cleaner; if it does not, even Burrow’s best work can be wasted. Zac Taylor keeps giving him the freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage and push the tempo, which only raises the stakes for a defense that still looks like the swing piece in the whole season.
Tampa Bay brings its own warning label. The Buccaneers started last season 6-2, then came apart after the bye and finished with a losing record, missing the postseason altogether. Brooks called them the NFC team with the widest range of potential outcomes, and Sunday offers the first proof either way. If the Bengals’ defense is ready, they can start the year looking like a contender. If it is not, the same opener could make another missed postseason feel like the most likely path.
