Zac Taylor Hands Out Game Balls All Over The Roster Following 33-27 Win Over Tampa Bay

The Bengals got a home win to open the 2026 season, and it led to a fun game-ball session from head coach Zac Taylor after beating the Buccaneers 33-27.

Names like Evan McPherson and more got love after the foot sniper hit four field goals, made sure Cincinnati only punted once, and became the first Bengals kicker ever to hit multiple 55-plus-yard field goals in the same game.

He made it look easy too. Even Director of Player Personnel Duke Tobin got a ball following his 200th win with the Bengals.

“First of all, that was a great win for us. It wasn’t perfect. Week 1 rarely is. There are a lot of things we need to correct," Taylor said about the outing. "I just loved our guys’ will to win today. Something we’ve talked about for a long time is closing this thing out in the three-, four-minute drill. To see our offense be able to finish with the ball ... a bunch of situational things came up there that our guys excelled at and worked on for a long time.

"The defense getting four turnovers and really taking a ton of points off the board — that led to, I think, 24 points off the turnovers for us. And then our special teams was really big with Evan (McPherson) — Evan coming up big and making those four field goals. He’s the best kicker in the league. We’re fortunate to have him. Excited for the win, excited to make the corrections and move forward 1-0.”

In a week where teams across the NFL tore up defenses, Taylor's group only allowed 20 offensive points to Tampa Bay.

“I think so. I saw some big-time tackles by our guys," He said about the defensive execution. "Those four turnovers are a gut punch to an offense when you’re out there. We’ll watch it. I’m sure there are going to be some corrections and things we need to clean up, but at least we’re doing it after a win. We have a really tough one next week on the road, so we have to get our guys ready for that.”

Check out all of the game balls below:

Week 1. Got it done. pic.twitter.com/cUiee0mJFS
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) September 13, 2026

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