On Saturday, the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Paycor Stadium as both teams kick off their three-game preseason slate. The Bengals are expected to play their starters, including Joe Burrow, while the Bucs are choosing to roll with their backups.
Here’s everything you need to know about this Week 1 preseason matchup between the Bengals and Buccaneers, including how to watch, how to listen, the start time, and more.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals
- Start time: Saturday, August 10, 2024, 7 p.m. ET
- Channel: Local
- Live stream options: NFL+
- Radio stations: Bengals Radio Network, Buccaneers Radio Network, WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (1530), WEBN-FM (102.7)
- Starting QBs: Kyle Trask, Joe Burrow
- Betting lines:
- Spread: CIN -4.5
- Total: 38
- Moneyline: CIN -218, TB +180
Last year, the Bucs exceeded all expectations in their first season of the post-Tom-Brady era. While most analysts expected them to bottom out and land a top pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, Tampa Bay won the NFC South for a third-straight season and even managed to win a playoff game, defeating the Eagles in the Wild Card round and challenging the Lions in the Divisional Round.
This will be the first look at their new offense, with Liam Coen taking over offensive coordinator duties from Dave Canales, who accepted the Panthers’ head-coaching gig during the offseason.
Also, Bucs fans are excited to get a look at the 2024 draft class, as Tampa Bay has a number of rookies who are expected to play significant roles, including center Graham Barton, EDGE Chris Braswell, wide receiver Jalen McMillan, running back Bucky Irving, and nickel/safety Tykee Smith. The team is counting on these newcomers to produce — similar to last year’s rookies who played a lot, such as defensive tackle Calijah Kancey, right guard Cody Mauch, outside linebacker YaYa Diaby, wide receiver Trey Palmer, and nickel/safety Christian Izien.
The Bucs have several position battles that feature a rookie trying to supplant a sophomore, including Smith and Izien battling for the nickel role, and McMillan and Palmer competing for the WR3 role.
Meanwhile, Bengals entered last season with Super Bowl hopes but struggled relative to expectations, missing the playoffs after Joe Burrow went down with a season-ending right wrist injury in Week 11.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor recently said he’s expecting to play his starters in this game, including QB Joe Burrow. It would be Burrow’s first game action since his season-ending wrist surgery in November of last year. It remains to be seen how much Cincy’s starters will play, but at least we’ll get a glimpse at their first unit on both sides of the ball.
One player we likely won’t see is star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who has been absent during training camp as he holds out for a new contract. It seems unlikely that he would play in a preseason game without getting any practices in. Burrow recently opened up about Chase’s contract situation, expressing his support for his friend and adding that he’s “been able to give some insight into how my [2023 contract-negotiation] process was because I think it’s pretty similar.”
The Bengals have several position battles worth paying attention to, including at running back (with Zack Moss and Chase Brown competing for starting duties), WR3 (between Andrei Iosivas and third-round pick Jermaine Burton), and right tackle (between first-rounder Amarius Mims and veteran Trent Brown, who’s been sidelined due to an injury).
While training camp performances can certainly help a player stand out amidst a position battle, showing up when the lights are brightest is the best way to get the attention of coaches and win the starting job.
Bucs vs. Bengals Betting Preview
With new faces on both of the offensive lines in this game, we could see them playing some extended time as they look to build chemistry. Outside of that, there are not many major question marks for either team to answer, making it tough to work out the potential flow of this game. Over the course of the full game, this should be fairly even, but the Bengals could have the better first 30 minutes.
For more betting analysis, make sure to check out PFN’s Week 1 preseason picks and predictions.
Fantasy Players to Watch
Bengals WR Jermaine Burton
With Tyler Boyd gone, the Bengals have an opening at WR3. Andrei Iosivas is currently the favorite for that role, but the third-round rookie Jermaine Burton is not without talent. He fell down draft boards largely due to off-the-field concerns. Focus on Burton’s performance, as well as when he is in the game. If he shows signs of pushing Iosivas for the WR3 role, Burton may very well be worthy of a late-round dart throw in fantasy drafts.
Buccaneers RB Bucky Irving
Rachaad White was fed massive volume last year, despite being one of the least efficient runners in the league. Perhaps the Bucs wanted to ease his workload but just didn’t have the personnel. This year, the Bucs drafted Bucky Irving, who should immediately become the team’s RB2 behind White. If Irving can play well, he could eat into White’s workload.
For more fantasy analysis, make sure to check out PFN’s fantasy players to watch during the NFL preseason.