Why All Eyes Will Be on Rueben Bain Jr. When Buccaneers Take on Bengals in Week 1

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are finally set to face off against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 1 on Sept. 13. There are plenty of things head coach Todd Bowles and the front office are excited to see when it comes to this football team, but perhaps nothing more so than their first-round pick.

The Bucs drafted edge rusher Rueben Bain Jr. out of Miami with the No. 15 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The team thought they got a steal, and although it's early, the returns on Bain have been promising. He looked very strong during training camp, and he's already had a play of his from his preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs go viral.

.@BarstoolGruden was feelin' NICEY after this move by Rueben Bain Jr. 🗣️

🔜 #TBvsJAX Aug. 28 7:30 p.m. ET on WFLA pic.twitter.com/ibRuI03R6U
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 23, 2026

That's the preseason, though. The regular season is soon to arrive, and when it does, NFL fans everywhere will be curious — will Bain live up to the hype?

One game will not make or break Bain's season, of course. But this Bengals offensive line will give him one of the best opportunities he'll have all year to feast, and the Bucs will hope he shows the world just why Tampa Bay drafted him next Sunday.

Rueben Bain Could Feast on Sunday

Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Rueben Bain Jr. (3) participates in training camp at AdventHealth Training Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Pro Football Focus ranked the Cincinnati Bengals the 28th-best offensive line in football last year. They're also projected to be the 30th-best offensive line by ESPN this season, and they're retaining their entire line from last year that underperformed.

Combine that with the fact that quarterback Joe Burrow was the fourth-most sacked quarterback in the NFL during the last fully healthy season he played in 2024 (48 sacks), and Bain should be able to show what he's made of right away.

Bain doesn't have to rack up a trillion sacks, but this is a great initial opportunity to prove that Bain's reputation truly precedes himself. He'll have Yaya Diaby on the opposite side to draw some pass rushers away from him, and with Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey up the middle, he should have plenty of opportunities to pressure Burrow and potentially bring him down.

It will take a bit for Bain to get used to NFL game speed, and he could have a bumpy first game as a rookie. But there will be very few offensive lines and quarterbacks that offer him the opportunity to wreak havoc like Burrow and the Bengals, and all eyes will be on Bain to see if 14 other teams truly made a big mistake passing on him.

The Bucs play the Bengals at 1 p.m. on the road on Sept. 13.

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