Sam Hubbard, in his first game of retirement, still wore a 94 jersey at Sunday's Paycor Stadium opener and still went into the stretch line to fire up his men and still signed items draped over the wall.

Except, this time, the name above the number said, "Ruler," for "Ruler of the Jungle."

"My job today," Hubbard said, "is to bring the energy."

Which is exactly what he did during his 107 Bengals games he led all NFL defensive ends in tackles, from his rookie year of 2018 until last season. But, no, he said. It didn't feel like he should be playing.

"I'm watching all the orange streaming in here and all the people and I can feel the energy," said Hubbard as he squinted into the crowd from the end zone near the Bengals locker room. "It's an honor."

With the temperatures creeping toward 85 degrees, it was a on a day like this that Hubbard's Cincinnati Kid Legend was born. Hubbard played in the third-hottest game in Paycor when he was a rookie on Oct. 7, 2018, and it was in 87-degree weather that he authored his first Rumble In the Jungle for a touchdown on a 19-yard fumble return with 2:37 left in a 27-17 victory over the Dolphins.

"It does feel like it. You can feel the heat coming in," Hubbard said. "Carlos Dunlap got the ball loose and …"

That was one of his first flexes as a Bengal. And quarterback Joe Burrow expected nothing less as Ruler.

"I think you can expect a double-armed flex, though. I think that was a given," Burrow said last week.

On Sunday, Hubbard could only shake his head.

"I can't disappoint my quarterback," Hubbard said.

NO. 1S ALL

When the Bengals' Joe Burrow (Class of 2020) dueled Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence (Class of 2021) in Sunday's home opener, it marked the 10^th time in the history of Paycor Stadium that overall No. 1 drafted quarterbacks faced off against each other.

Get used to it.

It's going to happen every month this season and soon enough in the next Paycor game when Jared Goff (Class of 2016) brings the Lions to town Oct. 5. The Bears' Caleb Williams (Class of 2024) is in here Nov. 2, and the Cardinals' Kyler Murray (Class of 2019) is set for a late December game yet to be announced.

Burrow has been in five of these No. 1 home games and has a 3-2 record that includes wins over Lawrence in 2021, Baker Mayfield (Class of 2018) in 2022, and Matthew Stafford (Class of 2009). Stafford is the only one who has played both Burrow and Carson Palmer (Class of 2003), also losing to Palmer in his rookie year.

Burrow and Lawrence staged a classic on a Thursday night during the Bengals' inaugural Ring of Honor Game four years ago. The Bengals crawled back from a 14-0 halftime hole as Burrow led them to a frenetic 24-21 win on Evan McPherson's walk-off field goal.

Burrow's relationship with Lawrence, the man he beat in the 2019 national title game for LSU, is limited to saying hello when they play. He has just as many fond memories of another Paycor win over Jacksonville because it was the first of his career when Gardner Minshew II was the Jags quarterback in the 33-24 win on Oct. 4, 2020.

"A hundred years ago and yesterday. I certainly remember a lot about that game," said Burrow of his first 300-yard game at home before a COVID-era crowd of 6,243.

The game against the Bears is nearly 21 years to the day of Paycor's first No. 1 matchup, when Palmer and Marvin Lewis dominated Vinny Testaverde (Class of 1987) and the Cowboys of Bill Parcells, 26-3, on Nov. 7, 2004.

INACTIVES

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor not only rolled out the same game captains he had in last week's Opening Day win in Cleveland, he went with the same inactive list.

Almost.

Backup center Matt Lee is up after being down last week, and the Bengals didn't elevate nose tackle Mike Pennel from the practice squad like they did last week. Otherwise, it's the same. Wide receiver Jermaine Burton, tight end Cam Grandy, cornerback Marco Wilson, and defensive tackles McKinnley Jackson were out.

The Bengals' emergency center Lucas Patrick (calf) was hurt on the 16^th play last week and is on injured reserve.

CORNER JOE

Burrow didn't know what to make of the prospect of facing Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter if the Jaguars used him at cornerback. Hunter took only six plays there last week while playing 42 snaps at wide receiver and making six catches for 33 yards.

But he has high regard for Hunter after watching many Colorado games.

"When he was out there last week, he didn't play much on defense, so there's very limited tape on that end for me. I don't have a ton to say on that front, " Burrow said last week. "But I know what I watched in college and on the defensive side of the ball. His ball skills are obviously great. That's why he's playing offense too, and he just continuously made plays it seemed like in big spots, so I've got a lot of respect for what he did and how he did it, and I'm excited to watch him in the league."

Too early to make any corner comparisons ("You don't see a ton of guys with his ball-skill ability playing on the defensive side of the ball. Trevon Diggs had the one season with all those interceptions, but I haven't studied the tape of him on defense from college"), yet it did get him a bit nostalgic for the days at Athens High School when he mauled the Ohio record while playing some cornerback.

After all, his father was an all-CFL safety.

"I loved playing defense. I got some varsity snaps my freshman year on defense. Not quarterback," Burrow said. "I could always tackle for the most part. I enjoyed that part of the game … Varsity big games, I would play corner."