CINCINNATI (AP) — The Bengals saw all they needed to see of Joe Burrow in their first series against Tampa Bay on Saturday night.

In his first game action in nearly nine months, Cincinnati’s franchise quarterback directed a 73-yard drive, tossed a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins and then walked off the field.

The Buccaneers scored late to win the game 17-14, but Burrow passed his test.

He was 5 for 7 for 51 yards, directed five first downs and completed passes to four different receivers.

“I thought he was in control and saw the defense really well,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “I thought he handled it really well, and those guys made plays for him.”

The first and last passes of the drive were to Higgins, one of the few other Bengals’ offensive starters to play. Burrow found Higgins for a 9-yard gain to open the drive. Then, on second-and-goal from the Tampa Bay 10, Burrow hit Higgins at the 5, with the receiver sidestepping cornerback Josh Hayes to go in untouched.

Burrow looked as if he was back to his old self after having surgery last year to repair a torn ligament in his throwing hand. He avoided taking any hits, on one play throwing the ball into the ground to avoid blitzing safety Kaevon Merriweather.

“Still some work to do, but it was nice to be back out there,” Burrow said. “Scored that touchdown, had a little help. It was a nice start.”

Burrow was injured last Nov. 16 at Baltimore, coincidentally on a touchdown throw to Higgins.

Backup Jake Browning didn’t fare as well on Saturday. He played the rest of the first half and the third quarter, going 10 for 18 for 52 yards. Cincinnati struggled until Logan Woodside, the third quarterback of the night, threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to rookie Jermaine Burton, a third-round draft pick, late in the game.

Higgins left the game after the first series, too. He is playing with a franchise tag, so he has something to prove in 2024.

Bucs rest starters

Quarterback Baker Mayfield and most of Tampa Bay’s top players didn’t participate. Backup Kyle Trask played the first half, going 12 for 20 for 144 yards and was intercepted by rookie cornerback Josh Newton.

Fourth-round pick Bucky Irving carried six times for 27 yards and bulled in for a 5-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Center Graham Barton, Tampa Bay’s first-round pick, saw significant action, helping blow out the middle of the Bengals’ defensive line on Irving’s touchdown.

“We got our first game under our belts,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. “A lot of guys played for the first time. For the most part it was sloppy. There are a few things we need to clean up, but we made progress.”

Unlike last August when Mayfield was on a one-year, prove-it contract and competing with Trask to succeed Tom Brady as Tampa Bay’s quarterback, there are no lingering questions about the direction of the offense in training camp this summer.

The Bucs are confident Mayfield is positioned for continued success after leading the team to a third consecutive NFC South title and being rewarded with a new three-year, $100 million contract.

Injuries

Bucs TE Devin Culp was being evaluated for a possible concussion.

Bengals WR and kick-returner Charlie Jones wasn’t in uniform after injuring a knee in practice Thursday.

Up Next

Buccaneers: At Jaguars next Saturday.

Bengals: At Bears next Saturday.

Tampa Bay	7	0	3	7	—	17
Cincinnati	7	0	0	7	—	14

First Quarter

Cin-Higgins 10 pass from Burrow (McPherson kick), 8:34. Drive: 13 plays, 73 yards, 6:26. Key Plays: C.Brown kick return to Cincinnati 27; C.Brown 2 run on 3rd-and-1; Burrow 23 pass to Iosivas on 3rd-and-5.Cincinnati 7, Tampa Bay 0.

TB-Irving 5 run (McLaughlin kick), 1:35. Drive: 8 plays, 77 yards, 3:55. Key Plays: Trask 24 pass to R.Miller; Trask 19 pass to McMillan; Trask 21 pass to Palmer on 3rd-and-6.Tampa Bay 7, Cincinnati 7.

Third Quarter

TB_FG McLaughlin 35, 9:13. Drive: 11 plays, 53 yards, 5:47. Key Plays: Wolford 12 pass to R.Miller on 3rd-and-4; Tucker 26 run on 3rd-and-2; D.Williams 3 run on 3rd-and-12.Tampa Bay 10, Cincinnati 7.

Fourth Quarter

Cin-Burton 37 pass from Woodside (McPherson kick), 3:33. Drive: 4 plays, 68 yards, 2:37. Key Plays: Woodside 12 pass to Butler; Woodside 21 pass to Collins.Cincinnati 14, Tampa Bay 10.

TB-Jefferson 3 run (McLaughlin kick), :57. Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 2:36. Key Plays: Knue kick return to Tampa Bay 31; Wolford 18 pass to Knue; Wolford 11 pass to Knue; Wolford 18 pass to Jefferson.Tampa Bay 17, Cincinnati 14.

A_63,323.

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	TB	Cin
FIRST DOWNS	22	12
Rushing	5	1
Passing	15	10
Penalty	2	1
THIRD DOWN EFF	6-17	3-11
FOURTH DOWN EFF	1-2	1-2
TOTAL NET YARDS	390	288
Total Plays	73	50
Avg Gain	5.3	5.8
NET YARDS RUSHING	136	36
Rushes	32	13
Avg per rush	4.25	2.769
NET YARDS PASSING	254	252
Sacked-Yds lost	3-21	0-0
Gross-Yds passing	275	252
Completed-Att.	24-38	23-37
Had Intercepted	1	1
Yards-Pass Play	6.195	6.811
KICKOFFS-EndZone-TB	4-0-0	3-1-1
PUNTS-Avg.	4-42.75	6-53.0
Punts blocked	0	0
FGs-PATs blocked	0-0	0-0
TOTAL RETURN YARDAGE	88	122
Punt Returns	4-36	2-14
Kickoff Returns	2-52	4-108
Interceptions	1-0	1-0
PENALTIES-Yds	3-32	8-61
FUMBLES-Lost	1-0	0-0
TIME OF POSSESSION	36:26	23:34

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Tampa Bay, Tucker 10-68, Williams 10-29, Irving 6-28, Jefferson 2-6, Wolford 2-4, Trask 2-1. Cincinnati, C.Brown 5-10, Woodside 1-7, Williams 3-7, Collins 1-6, Browning 2-5, Evans 1-1.

PASSING-Tampa Bay, Trask 12-20-1-144, Wolford 12-18-0-131. Cincinnati, Woodside 8-12-0-149, Browning 10-18-1-52, Burrow 5-7-0-51.

RECEIVING-Tampa Bay, Miller 3-42, Thompson 3-26, Jarrett 2-35, Knue 2-29, Durham 2-27, Jefferson 2-25, McMillan 2-23, Tucker 2-8, Palmer 1-21, Webb 1-19, Kieft 1-8, Culp 1-6, Williams 1-6, Irving 1-0. Cincinnati, Burton 3-82, Hudson 3-16, Lassiter 3-14, Collins 2-24, Higgins 2-19, Evans 2-8, Iosivas 1-23, McLachlan 1-23, Butler 1-12, K.Pryor 1-11, Irwin 1-9, Grandy 1-8, S.Jackson 1-3, C.Brown 1-0.

PUNT RETURNS-Tampa Bay, Knue 2-22, Palmer 2-14. Cincinnati, Lassiter 1-8, Irwin 1-6.

KICKOFF RETURNS_Tampa Bay, Knue 1-30, Irving 1-22. Cincinnati, Evans 3-82, C.Brown 1-26.

TACKLES-ASSISTS-SACKS-Tampa Bay, Russell 6-1-0, V.Jones 3-1-0, Smith 3-1-0, M.Banks 2-2-0, A.Hayes 2-1-0, Brewer 2-0-0, Grier 1-1-0, J.Hayes 1-1-0, Merriweather 1-1-0, Gholston 1-0-0, Grzesiak 1-0-0, B.Hall 1-0-0, Izien 1-0-0, McDonald 1-0-0, Nelson 1-0-0, Person 1-0-0, Thomas 1-0-0, Britt 0-1-0, DeLoach 0-1-0, Funderburk 0-1-0. Cincinnati, Njongmeta 7-3-0, Battle 4-1-0, Johnson 4-0-1, Brooks 3-2-0, D.Hill 3-1-0, Robinson 3-1-0, Heyward 2-3-.5, Jules 2-2-0, Dowell 2-1-0, T.Bell 1-2-1, Harper 1-2-0, Gunter 1-1-.5, A.Carter 1-1-0, Z.Carter 1-1-0, Bachie 1-0-0, J.Davis 1-0-0, Newton 1-0-0, Ossai 1-0-0, Pratt 1-0-0, Stone 1-0-0, Turner 1-0-0, Anthony 0-3-0, Casey 0-1-0, C.Davis 0-1-0, Davis-Gaither 0-1-0, Jenkins 0-1-0, J.Pryor 0-1-0.

INTERCEPTIONS-Tampa Bay, Isaac 1-0. Cincinnati, Newton 1-0.

MISSED FIELD GOALS-Tampa Bay, McLaughlin 51. Cincinnati, McPherson 58.