Bengals, Week 1 — What Repeats: Bengals Faced Five-Plus 17 of 37

Tampa Bay sent five or more rushers at Cincinnati's offense at a rate only one defense in the league beat this week. Five or more rushers on 17 of Cincinnati's 37 dropbacks — 46 percent, the second-highest rate in the league this week against a median of 27, with only Minnesota higher. Across all of last season this offense saw five or more on 20 percent of its dropbacks, one in five. Sunday the average rush was 4.7 defenders per dropback against 4.2 a year ago. The Recap had the pick-six and the four takeaways. The charting has what Cincinnati's offense was playing against: five or more rushers more often than it saw across all of last season, and a bigger rush on average.

The box was heavier than this offense is used to. Cincinnati ran 25 designed runs against a charted box and gained a hundred one yards on them. Tampa Bay showed six or fewer in the box on 11 of the 25, 44 percent, eighteenth in the league this week and right around the median of 47. Against Cincinnati's own last season that is a big change — this offense ran into a light box on 67 percent of its designed runs in 2025, with an average box of 6.4, and Sunday's was 6.8. For Tampa Bay's defense it was close to normal. It was Cincinnati's 2025 that was unusual.

Joe Burrow, against that: 35 charted throws. 26 catchable, 74 percent, eleventh in the league this week against a median of 71. One throw charted interception-worthy, 2.9 percent, tied for nineteenth-highest. He was intercepted once. His receivers dropped none of the 26 catchable balls. Five of his throws were contested, 14 percent. One throwaway, and one sack of 36 dropbacks charted as his fault. The comparison to last season is to 261 charted throws, so hold it loosely: on those he was catchable on 79 percent, put four interception-worthy balls up, one and a half percent, and was contested on a quarter of his throws. So Sunday he was a little less accurate than that sample, put one throw up for grabs against one and a half percent last season, and threw into far less traffic — 14 percent contested against 25. One throw charted interception-worthy and one interception — the pack cannot say whether they were the same ball, and the Recap already told you what the interception cost.

The play-action number is where this offense looked least like the rest of the league. Cincinnati used it on four of 37 dropbacks, 11 percent, the lowest rate of the 32 teams this week, with the median at 21. Last season it was 16 percent, so it went lower still. Burrow's four play-action throws produced two completions for 13 yards; his 31 other throws produced 23 completions for 241. Motion was down too, 31 of 80 charted plays, 39 percent, 20-sixth in the league this week against 42 percent last season. This is an offense that drops the quarterback back and throws, with less play-action than anyone this week and less motion than most, against a defense sending five or more nearly half the time.

Now the defense, and the charting is the opposite of the score. Cincinnati sent five or more rushers on five of Tampa Bay's 36 dropbacks. 14 percent, tied for 20-eighth in the league this week; only three defenses sent five or more less often. Last season this defense was at 18 percent, so it was already a four-man-rush defense and Sunday it rushed four. And out of that came four sacks charted as the quarterback's fault on Baker Mayfield's 32 dropbacks, 12 and a half percent. Baker Mayfield had 15 quarterback-fault sacks across all of last season on 584 dropbacks, 2.6 percent. The Recap counted four sacks and two of them ended with the ball on the ground; the charting charges all four to the quarterback rather than to the protection. That is the shape of this game in one line: a defense that rarely sent more than four, was handed four sacks the charting puts on the quarterback, and did not need him to throw it to them.

Because he did not. Mayfield's ball charting against this defense was clean: 24 of 28 throws catchable, 86 percent, the third-highest rate of any offense this week. Zero interception-worthy. Two contested throws of 28. One drop by his receivers. Last season the quarterbacks Cincinnati faced were catchable on 73 percent and put 13 interception-worthy balls up on 537 throws. Tampa Bay ran play-action on 13 of 36 dropbacks, 36 percent, third in the league this week. Against the run, Cincinnati showed a light box on seven of 15 designed runs, 47 percent, where last season it showed one on 63, and the 15 runs gained 59 yards.

The stat lines have settled, so here they are, scored half-PPR. Mike Gesicki and Chase Brown tied at 16.3. Gesicki caught five of seven for 78 and the touchdown; Brown ran 16 times for 56 and a score and caught five of six for 22. Joe Burrow, 14.2: 25 of 35 for 254, one touchdown, one interception, five carries for 20. Tee Higgins caught three of six for 59. Ja'Marr Chase caught two of four targets for 12 yards, 2.2, which is the line on this sheet that needs a second week before it means anything. For Tampa Bay, Bucky Irving led with 16.8 on eight carries for 45 and a touchdown and seven catches for 48 on seven targets; Baker Mayfield went 23 of 28 for 216, no touchdowns and no interceptions, with a rushing score; Emeka Egbuka caught five of six for 63.

One thing about all the comparisons above, and it applies until Week 3 is in. This show measures Sunday against last season, because there is no run of 2026 weeks to measure it against yet. Last season's Bengals had a different roster, and the ones who are still here are a year older and some are doing a different job. Set against that, a number tells you it is unusual. It cannot tell you it is real. Around Week 4 this show starts comparing Cincinnati to its own recent weeks, which is what the name promises, and until then we will say out loud each time that we are not doing that yet.

The thread starts here, so here is the whole of it. The Recap put the frame down: a defense that finished 20-ninth in expected points allowed per play last season and won a game the offense could not finish. The charting under it says the defense did that sending five or more on only five of 36 dropbacks, and without a single interception-worthy throw to work with, on four sacks charted as the quarterback's own. On the other side, this offense saw a box and a five-or-more rate that looked nothing like its own 2025, threw one ball up for grabs, and used play-action less than anyone. Two lines in the notebook: whether defenses keep loading up on Burrow now that one has, and whether a rush that rarely sends more than four produces sacks like that again.

That's your Bengals — every game, by the numbers. This is Muffed: we do the same deep dive for all 32 teams. Follow the Bengals show wherever you're listening, so next week's recap lands the moment it's out. No theater. Just the football.

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_Data via nflverse. Charting: FTN Data via nflverse._