TAMPA — Rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter became the first player in NFL history to record both a pick-six and a sack in his NFL debut, but three Baker Mayfield fumbles buried the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a 33-27 loss at Cincinnati in their 2026 season opener.
Trotter’s 38-yard interception return of a Joe Burrow pass pulled Tampa Bay within seven points of an 18-point deficit late in the third quarter. He also led the Buccaneers with 10 tackles — the most by a Bucs rookie in his debut since the statistic began being officially tracked in 1995. The only other player in the past 10 years to post a sack, an interception and at least five tackles in his first NFL game is eight-time Pro Bowler T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Trotter’s touchdown extended a remarkable streak: the Buccaneers have now had a rookie score in the season opener for a fourth straight season. Wide receiver Trey Palmer caught a 7-yard touchdown against Minnesota in 2023, Jalen McMillan hauled in a 32-yard score against Washington in 2024, and Emeka Egbuka posted 30- and 25-yard touchdown receptions against Atlanta in 2025. Prior to that run, Buccaneer players making their NFL debuts had scored only 13 times in franchise history, excluding 1987 replacement games.
The loss snapped a streak of five straight seasons in which Tampa Bay had won its opener, leaving the Buccaneers facing a potential 0-2 start for the first time since 2014. Only Dallas and Green Bay had gone longer without an 0-2 start — the Cowboys last did so in 2010 and the Packers in 2006 — and both also lost in Week One.
Fumbles on three straight drives in the first half handed Cincinnati 21 points and a commanding lead. Mayfield completed 23 of 28 passes for 216 yards and ran five times for 30 yards and a touchdown, finishing with a 98.8 passer rating, but his three lost fumbles proved decisive in the six-point defeat. He passed Trent Dilfer and Vinny Testaverde on the franchise’s all-time completions chart and now has 1,137 career completions as a Buccaneer, closing in on Josh Freeman’s 1,144 for third place behind Jameis Winston (1,563) and Tom Brady (1,376).
Second-year receiver Egbuka caught five passes for a team-leading 63 yards, pushing his career total to 1,001 receiving yards in 18 NFL games — second among 2025 draft picks behind Tetairoa McMillan’s 1,089 with the Panthers. Running back Bucky Irving caught all seven passes thrown his way for 48 yards and rushed eight times for 45 yards and a touchdown, recording his ninth game with a per-carry average of 5.5 yards or better in 28 career contests. Rookie wide receiver Ted Hurst added three catches for 36 yards in his debut.
The Buccaneers’ defense limited Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to a combined five catches for 71 yards, with Chase held to just two grabs for 12 yards — tied for the second-lowest receiving total of his 79-game career. Cornerback Zyon McCollum recorded two pass breakups, including one that dislodged a 33-yard catch from Higgins, while Benjamin Morrison, Jacob Parrish and safety Tykee Smith each added a pass defensed.
As Head Coach Todd Bowles noted after the game, the Buccaneers did not punt once against the Bengals — every drive ended in a score or a lost fumble. It marked the eighth time in franchise history Tampa Bay went an entire game without punting and the first of those eight that did not end in victory. Kicker Chase McLaughlin connected on field goals of 34 and 51 yards and made all three extra-point attempts; he entered the game as the most accurate kicker in NFL history on 50-plus-yard attempts at 84.6 percent, converting 44 of 52 since joining the Buccaneers in 2023.
Tampa Bay hosts the Cleveland Browns in Week Two looking to avoid its first 0-2 start in 12 years.