CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals capitalized on three first-half takeaways to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 33-27 in the season opener at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.The Buccaneers dug themselves a hole with the three first-half fumbles, each leading to Bengals touchdowns. The first, on a strip-sack of Baker Mayfield, was scooped up by linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr., who ran it back for a 27-yard touchdown. The Bengals went into halftime with a 24-10 lead.The game tightened in the third quarter when Buccaneers rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter returned an interception of Joe Burrow 38 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-20. A Boye Mafe sack in the fourth quarter caused Mayfield’s third lost fumble and stopped Tampa Bay’s momentum, but Mayfield scored on a late fourth-quarter drive to pull back to 33-27 with 3:19 remaining. Burrow and the Cincinnati offense were able to drain the rest of the clock to hold onto the win.Box score | Week 1 live blog | Game discussionTop Plays from Buccaneers @ BengalsCincinnati’s offseason strategy on display with revamped defenseAll the money and draft capital spent reimagining the Cincinnati’s defense was in action on Sunday. Nearly every well-compensated free agent or top draft pick made a big play and the players that the personnel department bet on making a jump were at the center of the game’s most impactful moments for the unit.Let’s take a look back through the offseason.• The Bengals paid Mafe $20 million per year. He blew up Mayfield from behind for a sack-fumble in the fourth quarter and also recovered a fumble in the first half.• They paid safety Bryan Cook $13 million per year and he forced a fumble in the first half.• They paid Jonathan Allen $25 million over two years. He recorded a sack on third-and-long to force a field goal.• They traded for Dexter Lawrence. He might have contributed the quietest stat line, but pushed the pocket, forcing Mayfield to scramble on what turned into a fumble in the end zone in the first half while drawing double teams all afternoon.