New Bengals Stars WOW With Pro Football Focus Grades Against Buccaneers

Cincinnati had a wide-range of performances.

Sep 13, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Boye Mafe (53) hands the ball to Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II (97) during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pro Football Focus released its grades for the Bengals following their 33-27 Week 1 win over Tampa Bay.

Starting on offense, Mike Gesicki's five-catch 78-yard performance led to the top mark for that unit at 90.1 overall. On the blocking side, things were much worse than they felt as no Bengal logged a PFF offensive linemen grade higher than Amarius Mims' 65.9 mark.

Joe Burrow got dragged down by his pick-six and finished with a 66.1 grade. Tee Higgins, Dohnte Meyers, and Chase Brown all notched 70-plus grades as the offense leaned on Higgins, Brown and Gesicki to drive the win and capitalize with 24 points off the Buccaneers four turnovers.

Defensive Impact

Cincinnati Bengals Tee Higgins celebrates the Bengals home opener win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Paycor Stadium on September 13, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Defensively, three different Bengals checked in with 77-plus grades, including Boye Mafe (86.5) and a career-high 80.5 mark for Barrett Carter.

“Playing behind those guys, it’s truly an honor. It’s truly a blessing," Carter said after the win. "Football is not an easy game, as we all know. But they definitely make it a little easier. There’s still a lot of stuff to clean up, but there’s not a defensive line I’d rather play behind, there’s not a line I would rather go to war with every single game, and I love those guys like they’re my brothers. There’s a lot more plays to be made, a lot more stacking to do. We have a lot of work to do, but the Bengals are 1-0, and that’s all I could ask for.”

Dexter Lawrence had about as monstrous a game as a defensive tackle can have with just one QB hit. Lawrence currently leads all DTs in quarterback pressure rate (36% win rate); he had a 77.6 grade and three pressures.

 “Honestly, stats don’t mean too much because he wrecks the game as soon as the week starts, and offensive coordinators have to prepare for the week. Just having him in the middle, being a stump in the middle, creating a push — that’s not a stat line, but he’s creating a push all game. That’s exactly what we were looking for," Myles Murphy said on Sunday.

Murphy struggled a bit with a 49.6 grade, and the rest of the low grades defensively went to names like Jonathan Allen (39.6), B.J. Hill (33.1), and Jordan Battle (39.3).

Check out all the grades here.

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