Buccaneers’ Comeback Runs Out of Road in 33-27 Loss to Bengals

Too much hole, not enough shovel

The Buccaneers brought the fight to Cincinnati. Unfortunately, they let the Bengals bring the head start.

Tampa Bay’s 33-27 road loss in Week 2 offered plenty to keep a watch party interested and just enough hope to make the ending sting. From living rooms in St Pete to watch spots in Clearwater, Dunedin and the beaches, this was the kind of afternoon that turns sitting comfortably into standing directly in front of the television. As if getting closer might help the defense get off the field.

The Bucs rallied. They delivered a defensive touchdown. Baker Mayfield ran one in late. None of it erased the early damage, and Cincinnati finished the game with the ball instead of giving Tampa Bay another crack.

Comebacks are great entertainment. They’re a lousy weekly business plan.

Cincinnati handed Tampa Bay the bill early

Chase McLaughlin opened the scoring with a 34-yard field goal. That was the pleasant part.

Demetrius Knight Jr. flipped the mood with a 27-yard fumble return for a Cincinnati touchdown. Joe Burrow followed with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Mike Gesicki, and the Bengals led 14-3 by the end of the first quarter. When Chase Brown added a 5-yard touchdown run, the deficit was 21-3.

That wasn’t a slow start anymore. That was arriving at the tailgate after somebody had packed up the grill.

Bucky Irving gave Tampa Bay something to work with, scoring on a 10-yard run to cut it to 21-10. Evan McPherson answered with a 20-yard field goal before halftime, sending the Bucs into the break down 24-10.

The problem wasn’t a shortage of time to recover. It was how much recovery Tampa Bay had made necessary. Cincinnati’s 21 unanswered points turned the rest of the game into a chase, with precious little room for another empty possession or another Bengals scoring drive.

Trotter supplied the spark; Cincinnati kept the clock

After halftime, McPherson connected from 55 yards and McLaughlin answered from 51. Then Josiah Trotter did something considerably louder than trading field goals.

The rookie linebacker intercepted Burrow and took it back 38 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly, it was 27-20 at the end of the third quarter. The comeback had moved from wishful thinking to a very real reason not to leave your seat.

Trotter finished with a team-leading 11 tackles, a sack and that interception return touchdown. On a night when Tampa Bay needed somebody to change the conversation, he practically grabbed the microphone.

But Cincinnati kept collecting points. McPherson hit from 58 and 32 yards, stretching the lead to 33-20. Mayfield’s 9-yard touchdown scramble with just over three minutes remaining brought Tampa Bay within 33-27.

That was as close as it got. The Bengals ran out the clock.

Their third-down work explains plenty: Cincinnati converted 8 of 14, while Tampa Bay went 5 of 10. The Bucs needed possessions to finish the rescue job. The Bengals kept finding ways to extend theirs. Nothing drains a comeback quite like watching the other offense earn another set of downs.

Keep the fight. Lose the head start.

There’s something worth keeping here: Trotter’s impact, Irving’s scoring burst and an offense that kept pushing after the game threatened to get away.

But nobody watching in Pinellas needs a participation ribbon with a pirate flag on it. The early turnover touchdown hurt. The 21-3 hole hurt. Cincinnati sustaining drives hurt. Those are the parts that decided the result, not whether Tampa Bay showed enough spirit afterward.

For more on the Bucs, follow our Buccaneers coverage. The assignment coming out of this one is straightforward: keep the comeback energy, and stop making the comeback necessary.

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