The game started off with an offensive output that was strong from the Cincinnati Bengals, as running back Joe Mixon got the home team’s offense rolling all the way to the red zone. But, after opting to go for a quick fourth-and-1 deep in Buccaneers territory, Bucs safety Jordan Whitehead came up and tackled Mixon in the backfield to give the Bucs the ball and a tied game of 0-0.

The Bucs and quarterback Jameis Winston took over with the ball deep on their own side of the field and orchestrated a strong 10-play, 61-yard drive that got them knocking on the door of the red zone on the Bengals side of the field. However, an overthrown interception by Winston once again meant all those yards were for nothing and the score remained 0-0.

Following the exciting start, both offenses stalled back-to-back with consecutive punts after three-and-outs, one by each side.

When the Bengals got the ball after that, however, they took it 63 yards in four quick plays, with Mixon again as a big catalyst for a score and the first lead of the game by a score of 7-0.

Winston and the Buccaneers offense tried to respond to the deficit, and did get the ball going a bit on their next drive, but another interception by Winston — a re-occurring theme during this contest — meant Cincinnati would get the ball and maintain the lead.

The Bengals took their time on the next drive, as it took 12 plays to go 58 yards, but the result was the same as it was on the previous drive, and the Bengals were able to increase their lead with another touchdown to a score of 14-0.

After a Bucs punt on a three-and-out, the Bengals went quick again, this time striking hot with just four plays to yet again score and get themselves a comfortable 21-0 lead. Thankfully for Tampa Bay, it didn’t take them long to strike back, as a 60-yard long touchdown pass from Winston to wide receiver DeSean Jackson gave them their first score of the game. A missed extra point by Catanzaro, however, meant the score was just 21-6.

The Bengals also struck end zone gold following the Bucs first score of the game, and their 6-play, 75-yard drive extended their lead to a score of 27-6, after they, too, missed an extra point.

The Bucs then took their time to carve out the rest of the first half with a 14-play drive that went 53 yards and ended in a field goal, bringing the score to 27-9.

The Bucs took the ball to start the second half, and Winston and company drove right down the field — on a drive that looked like the Bengals defense was very confused and flustered — and punched it in for a score.

After making the score 27-16. The Winston threw his third interception of the game, and on the drive after that, he threw his fourth — that one for a pick-6.

That was all the coaching staff could see, and Winston was benched for Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick came in an right away commanded a drive that went 55 yards in eight plays ending in a field goal. The drive after that, Fitzpatrick hit Mike Evans deep down the field for a touchdown. That brought the score to just 34-26 in favor of the Bengals, the closest it had been in a long time.

After a few punts, the Bengals got the ball and tried to run the clock out late in the fourth quarter, but the Bucs defense, specifically Jason Pierre-Paul, stepped up big time (JPP with two sacks) and forced a punt to give themselves a chance down eight.

Fitzpatrick got the drive started with a big catch down the sideline to Evans. After that, the Bucs drove all the way down to the red zone after a big catch by DeSean Jackson. The game came down to a big fourth down call while in the Bengals’ red zone on fourth-and-3.

Fitzpatrick dropped back.

He scanned.

He found Howard for the touchdown.

But the danger wasn’t over there. The Bucs needed to convert the two-point conversion, and Fitzpatrick did just that to Chris Godwin. The game was then tied with just over one minute left, 34-34.

But Dalton and company did what they needed to do, got into field goal range and as time expired, they knocked it through for a 37-34 victory.