Bucs Nation
In common Week 1 fashion, both the Buccaneers and Falcons needed to shake off the off-season rust, and it could’ve been either team’s game as they traded blows.
However, Tampa Bay emerged victorious in a critical division road game with some late heroics and a little bit of luck as the Bucs defeated Atlanta 23-20 Sunday.
The Bucs got some critical contributions from several fresh faces, some rookies and some veterans, as they overall showed more good than bad. They didn’t get absolutely shredded by Michael Penix, Jr., who was making just his fourth start, and they again stuffed the run at an elite level as they’ve consistently done under Todd Bowles.
Let’s give some season-opening shoutouts as we exhale and recollect for next week and Monday Night Football against the Houston Texans.
Though plenty of people got caught doing the shocked Pikachu face after Tampa selected Egbuka 19th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft, it’s proven to be the smartest move GM Jason Licht could’ve possibly made given Chris Godwin’s recovery and Jalen McMillan’s neck injury.
Arguably the cleanest receiver evaluation in the entire draft, Egbuka came in with elite production (Ohio State’s all-time receptions leader) and character, and he’s earned nothing but praise from everyone in the building. He proved it was well-deserved Sunday by scoring two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with barely a minute remaining in the game.
He finished as the team’s receiving leader on a day where QB Baker Mayfield (and new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard) clearly needed to get up to speed and Mike Evans faced plenty of bracketed coverage — Egbuka caught 4 passes for 67 yards and the scores. The future seems to be shining bright for No. 2.
Finally, the offensive line needs props. It came out just before kickoff that the Bucs opted for a completely new starting configuration. Center Graham Barton kicked out to left tackle(!!), Ben Bredeson went from left guard to center, and newly signed Mike Jordan started at left guard. This was a risky gambit when everyone just assumed Charlie Heck would take over for Tristan Wirfs at left tackle. However, it worked out as Baker got sacked only once and largely had the time he needed for most of the game. We’ll see how it works against a much better Houston front, but early returns were encouraging.
When Egbuka got picked, most originally assumed that selection would go toward pass-rushing reinforcements. While the team did address that later on via Day 3 picks David Walker (who unfortunately tore his ACL in training camp) and Elijah Roberts, brass made it clear they trusted in their only major outside free agent signing — edge rusher Haason Reddick.
The near 31-year-old had a tumultuous 2024 with the New York Jets that saw him barely play, so he was a bit of an unknown commodity. It’s just one game against a compromised Atlanta offensive...
