The Cincinnati Bengals started the NFL season on the right foot after securing a 33-27 victory in Week 1 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers behind a solid performance from Joe Burrow, though the quarterback acknowledged there are still areas to improve.
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow gave an honest answer when asked how he felt about his performance in Week 1. “Yeah, If I didn’t have that interception, I’m feeling great walking out of here. You can’t make plays like that, so I got to get that fixed,” Burrow told reporters in the locker room, per Mike Petraglia. “Offensive line was pretty lights out. I thought we ran the ball, ran the ball well in spots, and you know, I got the ball to my guys in space pretty quickly.”
Burrow’s one mistake of the game was a significant one. Buccaneers rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter picked off Burrow for a pick-six during the third quarter, a mistake that helped bring Tampa Bay closer to Cincinnati on the scoreboard and made the rest of the contest that much more competitive.
Burrow encouraged after securing Week 1 victory
During his locker room comments, Burrow balanced his self-criticism with optimism and appreciation for the win, understanding how crucial it is to open the season with a victory in Week 1.
Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals passes the ball.
“It’s great for the vibes,” Burrow said. “There’s a lot of attention around Week 1, just because there’s so much anticipation around it. So going out and getting a win feels great, but we just got to keep it rolling.”
The standard is through the roof for Burrow, who knows one week does not make a season. Cincinnati has another huge game next weekend that could spark a long winning streak leading into an October matchup against Baltimore, who also started 1-0 on Sunday.
“Yeah, it was great to see the work come in and execute in those situations. But it’s one week. We got to keep getting better. Come and learn tomorrow. Get back in the lab,” Burrow noted before praising the crowd for helping induce penalties on Tampa Bay to offset Cincinnati’s offensive mistakes. “Yeah, that’s what you see in Week 1. A lot of procedural penalties. We had some as well on defense. So that came at pretty good times.”
Burrow’s Week 1 stat line
Burrow finished the game 25-of-35 for 254 passing yards with one touchdown and one interception, while adding five carries for 20 rushing yards on the ground to cap off an encouraging NFL season opener.
Getting the win in Week 1 is the most important outcome from Sunday’s game, but Cincinnati showed promise while keeping their sights set on improvement. Next up, the Bengals head on the road to face the Texans, who are coming off a loss to the Bills, in Week 2.
