The Cincinnati Bengals Linebackers Flashing Big Improvement Following Week 1

Two of last season's linebackers have made big improvements

Sep 13, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Barrett Carter (49) attempts to tackle Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) during the second quarter at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

En route to the Cincinnati Bengals’ 6-11 2025 record, a linebacker corps of rookies, Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. often found themselves in the heat of the battle, where more often than not, they struggled to look the part, in what finished as the NFL’s second-worst overall defense that finished the season allowing 382.1 yards per game. 

Every fault from last season won’t be completely forgotten after one game into the 2026 slate. The pair each showed out in Cincinnati’s 33-27 week one win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Things started quickly for the duo. On Tampa’s second drive of the game, Carter played a part in a strip-sack of Baker Mayfield that ended up with Knight recovering the loose ball and taking the rock 27 yards to the end zone to open up a 7-3 Bengals lead. 

“Damn near brought a tear to my eye,” opened Carter postgame to reporters. “That's my brother. I'm glad that we were able to make that play. And I mean this in the most humble way possible, but, we as a defense, we expect to make those.Those are the plays that are gonna get our team to be playing in late February. So, I'm so glad that, we kickstarted the season with the D-Knight scoring a touchdown. That's my brother for life and it means the world that he was able to scoop and score.”

On the day, the Bengals forced a whopping four turnovers against the NFC South side.

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. recovers a fumble and scores against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, Sept. 13. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

When speaking with Voice of the Bengals, Dan Hoard, postgame, Bengals head coach Zac Taylor spoke on the performance from the linebackers. 

“I saw guys play with a lot of confidence, flying around, having fun, you know, and not thinking too much, like a rookie can do. These guys have now earned some confidence from the experience they've gotten. They have the trust of all the coaches and their teammates, and they went out there and made some plays," Taylor said.

Carter finished the day with five solo tackles and the aforementioned forced fumble. Knight himself finished with five solo tackles. 

“I think just the speed in which they diagnose things and go make a play. There's no hesitation, which over the course of the season they certainly improved on, but they trust the talent around them. So you don't have to do too much,” quoted Taylor to the media.

“I thought that they had really good command of the defense. Barrett with the headset and doing a good job getting us in the right calls. So I was impressed. And again, there's improvement for everybody we had, but I thought it was a good starting point.”

On the day, Tampa Bay totaled 282 yards averaging 5.4 per play, but held just a 50% touchdown scoring rate in the end zone. 

Up next for Cincinnati is a trip down south to square off against the Houston Texans, who opened their season with a 36-31 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

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