Bengals Shine in Week 1; Josh Allen Dominates as NFL Season Kicks Off

A good rule of thumb in life is this: You get what you pay for.

The Cincinnati Bengals are starting to realize that firsthand after seeing immediate returns from a defense where they deployed an unprecedented amount of resources over the offseason. In all, Cincinnati spent roughly $138.7 million in free agency, with the bulk of that spending going toward the defensive side of the ball.

Most notably, edge rusher Boye Mafe received a $60 million deal, safety Bryan Cook got $40.25 million, and defensive tackle Jonathan Allen signed a contract worth a total of $25 million. And that was just what they did on the open market. The Bengals also shipped out the No. 10 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to New York to land All-Pro defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence , who they promptly signed to a one-year, $28 million extension.

This investment, while admittedly hefty, was necessary for Cincinnati.

While Joe Burrow (when healthy) has spearheaded a high-octane offense over his tenure, the organization's ceiling has been battered down because of poor play on the defense. Last season proved to be rock bottom, allowing the third-most points per game (28.9) in the league and allowing the most yards per play (6.2). Their points-per-game-allowed metric had decreased in each of the previous four seasons. That was the cause of the action we saw this offseason.

While you may look at 27 points allowed in a Week 1 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to begin 2026 as the Bengals' offense simply bailing the defense out once again with 33 points scored, you'd be mistaken. Cincinnati's defense appears to have turned a corner, and this new cast of characters was at the center of the winning effort.

In the opener, the Bengals' defense generated four total turnovers (all fumbles). Three came on consecutive drives from the middle of the first quarter to the beginning of the second. The first put points on the board with linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. recovering a loose ball after Baker Mayfield was sacked by Myles Murphy and Barrett Carter and returned it 27 yards for the score.

> BENGALS WITH THE SCOOP AND SCORE!!! TBvsCIN on FOX/FOX One Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/XV5FjYppBP — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Just three plays after that scoop-and-score, Cook took down Bucs running back Bucky Irving , popped the ball free, and Mafe recovered. Those were three key pillars of this offseason defensive makeover contributing to an early turnover.

> BENGALS WITH THE SCOOP AND SCORE!!! TBvsCIN on FOX/FOX One Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/XV5FjYppBP — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Meanwhile, the third fumble was recovered by Cook, and Mafe forced the fourth, so this new group made significant waves in their debuts.

Key Bengals offseason additions Week 1 production

S Bryan Cook

6 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery

EDGE Boye Mafe

3 pressures, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery

DT Jonathan Allen

2 pressures, 1 sack, 3 tackles

DT Dexter Lawrence  2 pressures

On top of the turnovers, Cincinnati finished the opener with four sacks, holding Tampa Bay to converting 5 of 10 third-down opportunities, and allowed a touchdown on just two of their four red zone trips. Meanwhile, a touchdown in this game wasn't the defense's fault, with Burrow tossing a pick six in the third quarter. So, they really surrendered 20 points in the win.

While that doesn't sound like much, for a defense that ranked at or near the bottom of the NFL in most meaningful categories last year, this is a substantial step forward.

Bengals defense in 2025 Stat NFL rank

PPG allowed

28.9

30th

YPG allowed

380.9

31st

Yards per play allowed

6.2

Last

A common talking point about the Bengals entering 2026 has been getting these defensive figures up. They don't need to be a top 10 defense in the NFL, but can they be near league average? If so, the firepower on offense gives them a Super Bowl-caliber ceiling. From what we saw in Week 1, they might be well on their way to spending their way out of the basement and thrusting themselves into serious title contention.

Game Balls

How Game Balls work: Six are awarded to standout players from the slate on teams who won their contests, and only one player on a team can get a game ball.

Trevor Lawrence JAC • QB • #16

CMP% 78.3 YDs 245 TD 4 INT 0 YD/Att 10.65 View Profile

- Week 1 stats : 18 of 23 passing, 243 yards passing, 4 passing touchdowns, 150.4 passer rating

Lawrence picked up right where he left off at the end of the 2025 season where he led the NFL in total touchdowns over his final eight games. In the opening win against Cleveland, Lawrence was superb, leading scoring drives on his first four possessions. This was his third career game with four or more passing touchdowns and his 12th career game with three or more passing touchdowns (which tied the most in franchise history).

His final touchdown of the day was arguably his best. Lawrence evaded pressure, rolled out to his left, and somehow uncorked a dart 32 yards down the field to connect with Jakobi Meyers in the back of the end zone.

> Trevor Lawrence with his 4TH TD pass of the game 🔥 PUTTING ON A SHOW CLEvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+ Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/77IDTz3gOw — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

This was MVP-caliber play from Lawrence, who is entering Year 2 under Liam Coen.

Jahmyr Gibbs DET • RB

Att 29 Yds 156 TD 2 FL 1 View Profile

- Week 1 stats : 29 carries, 156 yards rushing, 2 rushing touchdowns; 5 receptions, 30 yards receiving

Gibbs was the top pick in most fantasy football drafts for a reason. With David Montgomery traded to Houston this offseason, there was a promise for an increased workload, and we saw that in Week 1. Gibbs registered 34 touches in the overtime win over New Orleans and piled up 186 yards from scrimmage. This was Gibbs' 12th career game with two or more rushing touchdowns, which is tied for the second-most since entering the NFL in 2023. He also tallied his 50th career touchdown in this game, making Gibbs just the sixth player in NFL history to have this many scores in his first 50 career games.

> Jahmyr Gibbs doing what Jahmyr Gibbs does! TD Lions 👀 NOvsDET on FOX/FOX One Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/q0dJZhPU9F — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Josh Allen BUF • QB • #17

CMP% 69.0 YDs 334 TD 2 INT 0 YD/Att 11.52 View Profile

- Week 1 stats : 20 of 29 passing, 334 yards passing, 2 passing touchdowns; 6 carries, 23 yards rushing, 2 rushing touchdowns

It was another Herculean effort by Josh Allen as the Bills quarterback willed his team to a 36-31 win against the Texans . Allen carved up what has been widely considered to be one of the top defenses in the league, with Buffalo averaging 7.9 yards per play. This was Allen's first career road win against the Texans, entering this matchup with a 0-4 mark. Allen recorded his seventh career game with 300-plus passing yards, two-plus passing touchdowns, and two-plus rushing touchdowns, which extends his NFL record. This was also his 26th career game with four or more total touchdowns, which ties Brett Favre for fifth all time.

> Josh Allen takes it in himself for the TD 💪 BUFvsHOU on CBS/Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/ihfkBNmfeS — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Derrick Henry BAL • RB • #22

Att 24 Yds 144 TD 3 FL 0 View Profile

- Week 1 stats : 24 carries, 144 yards rushing, 3 rushing touchdowns; 1 reception, 19 yards receiving

Henry continues to be the ageless wonder. The 32-year-old demolished the Colts ' run defense in Baltimore's 41-23 win in Indy. This was his seventh-career game with 140-plus rushing yards and three-plus rushing touchdowns, which ties him with Jim Brown for the most in NFL history. His rushing touchdowns also helped him surpass Marcus Allen for the third-most in NFL history (126).

> KING HENRY RUMBLES IN FOR ANOTHER TD!! BALvsIND on CBS/Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/4h8WpRsLW5 — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Caleb Williams CHI • QB • #18

CMP% 72.4 YDs 269 TD 2 INT 0 YD/Att 9.28 View Profile

- Week 1 stats : 21 of 29 passing, 269 yards passing, 2 passing touchdowns; 10 carries, 65 yards rushing, 2 rushing touchdowns

FIFTY-NINE! The Chicago Bears dropped 59 points in the Week 1 win over Carolina, and Williams was a man possessed in Charlotte. He became the first player in Bears history with 250-plus passing yards, two-plus passing touchdowns, 50-plus rushing yards, and two-plus rushing touchdowns in a game. These 59 points scored were the third-most in a game in Bears history.

> CALEB TO KMET FOR 6 CHIvsCAR on FOX/FOX One Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/KedXXw4da5 — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Justin Jefferson MIN • WR • #18

TAR 141 REC 84 REC YDs 1048 REC TD 2 FL 0 View Profile

- Week 1 stats : 8 receptions, 92 yards receiving, 2 receiving touchdowns

Even amid quarterback turnover with Kyler Murray going down in the first quarter and Carson Wentz coming in under durress, Justin Jefferson reminded folks why he's considered one of the top receivers in the NFL. He caught eight of his nine targets on the day for two receiving touchdowns. Remember, Jefferson had two receiving touchdowns in ALL of last season.

> JUSTIN JEFFERSON FULL SEND Vikings are POURING it on pic.twitter.com/Ekm93GH9Mw — NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) September 13, 2026

Notable Week 1 gaffes

Drake Maye's game-losing INT

We'll go back to the NFL opener for our first gaffe, with Patriots quarterback Drake Maye's inexplicable game-losing interception. Trailing 13-10 in the fourth quarter, New England got the ball to the Seattle 16-yard line with less than 30 seconds to play in regulation. While the Patriots could take a shot to the end zone, Maye needed to be smart with a game-tying field goal (and forcing overtime) in his back pocket. Spoiler: he wasn't smart.

> CALEB TO KMET FOR 6 CHIvsCAR on FOX/FOX One Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/KedXXw4da5 — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

On a third-and-5 play, Maye had pressure coming from his right and, with the pocket collapsing, threw off his back foot, and the ball wobbled to the right side of the end zone with Josh Jobe making the game-clinching pick.

This was Maye's first-career three-interception game. Each of them came in the fourth quarter, making him the first quarterback since 2022 to have three picks in the fourth quarter of a one-score game.

Deshaun Watson's poor comeback

Deshaun Watson's return to play was unceremonious. The Browns quarterback was at the helm during a 34-10 demolition at the hands of the Jaguars . Watson completed just 16 of his 22 pass attempts for 205 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He also fumbled the ball, but recovered. On just the fifth snap of the game, Watson tossed a pick, which helped spark a 14-0 run by Jacksonville in the first quarter.

> . @Jaguars INT ALERT 🚨 CLEvsJAX on CBS/Paramount+ Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/L0oXz3R29V — NFL (@NFL) September 13, 2026

Watson nearly had another interception on his second possession of the game, rolling out to his right and throwing the football directly into the chest of a Jags defender, but he couldn't haul in the turnover.

Cleveland was shut out over the first two quarters, and their lone touchdown of the game arrived in garbage time, so the Browns' quarterback situation is still very much a work in progress. Questions about if/when we'll see Shedeur Sanders will only get louder from here.

Minnesota's Kyler Murray experiment goes haywire

The Vikings were hoping that Kyler Murray could be a Sam Darnold 2.0 and reinvigorate the franchise. While Murray presented the highest ceiling of anyone in Minnesota's quarterback room (which is why he won the job), durability was a concern. That unfortunately became a storyline in his debut in the form of a concussion, which cut his day short.

> Scary scene as Kyler Murray takes a massive hit and stay

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-1-storylines-game-balls-biggest-gaffes/)._