Buccaneers vs Bengals: Matchups to Watch

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will look to make it two wins in a row this week when they travel to Cincinnati for a showdown with the high-powered Bengals. What are some of the key matchups to look for?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) had a lot of self-reflection to do in the aftermath of last week’s overtime victory against the Cleveland Browns (4-3). They lost the heart and soul of their defense in Kwon Alexander, and their offense looked stuck in the mud and struggled to finish in the red zone. In all honesty, it was a victory that felt quite a bit like a loss – walking out of the stadium I felt little relief that they didn’t blow it, as opposed to glee that they won it.

This week the Buccaneers face off with another opponent from the AFC North in the Cincinnati Bengals, who have quite a bit of self-reflection to do themselves.

Where the Browns thrived on a hard-hitting defense, the Bengals thrive on a balanced, high-flying offense led by receiver A.J. Green and running back Joe Mixon. Cincinnati began the season 4-1 but have dropped two games in a row and will desperately fight to keep it from falling to three.

Like last week with the Browns and their strong defensive line, the Bengals have several areas of expertise where they can expose weaknesses on the Buccaneers. Let’s take a look at those and reflect on how they may impact the game.