TAMPA — Linebacker Josiah Trotter joined Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt as only the second NFL player in the past 10 seasons to record an interception, a sack and five or more tackles in his very first regular-season game, a debut performance the Buccaneers hope sets the tone for their 2026 home opener against the Cleveland Browns at Raymond James Stadium.

Trotter’s stat line against Cincinnati — a 38-yard pick six, 10 tackles and the team’s only sack of Joe Burrow — was the brightest spot in a 33-27 loss that gave Tampa Bay its first season-opening defeat since the 2020 Super Bowl season. The Bucs never punted, just the eighth time in franchise history that has happened, but a 4-1 deficit in turnover ratio buried the offense. Head Coach Todd Bowles noted after the game that every Bucs possession, save for a one-play kneel-down to end the first half, “either finished with a score or a turnover.”

Quarterback Baker Mayfield will face his former team for the first time as a Buccaneer. Mayfield, who entered the NFL as the first-overall pick by Cleveland in the 2018 draft and played four seasons in a Browns uniform, will become the 12th different quarterback to start for Tampa Bay across the franchise’s 12 games against Cleveland. The Browns lead the all-time series 7-4, with the most recent meeting coming in 2022.

Cleveland arrives in Tampa reeling from a 34-10 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Quarterback Deshaun Watson was sacked five times by the Jaguars defense, a vulnerability Tampa Bay’s pass rush will look to exploit after managing just one sack in Week One. The Browns’ offense produced 292 gross yards against Jacksonville, with 214 of those coming from players added over the past two years, including running back Quinshon Judkins, wide receivers KC Concepcion and Denzel Boston and tight end Harold Fannin.

Running back Bucky Irving gives the Bucs a weapon out of the backfield after posting 73 yards after the catch in Week One, the second-highest YAC total for any running back in the NFL’s opening week. Kicker Chase McLaughlin drilled a 51-yard field goal against the Bengals, pushing his career total to 27 of 31 from 50-plus yards in his three-plus seasons as a Buccaneer — no other kicker in franchise history made more than 15 from that distance.

Kickoff at Raymond James Stadium is set for Sunday.