Bucs Nation
In a joint celebration of 50 seasons for both franchises, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks staged an instant classic.
Dressed in their Sunday bests, the two 3-1 teams traded blows with their rejuvenated signal callers, but it was Tampa that made the critical defensive stop when legend Lavonte David collected a key interception and set Chase McLaughlin up for the game-winner in a 38-35 nailbiter.
The unbreakable Bucs again withstood special teams miscues and failed defensive turnover opportunities, and the battered offense again saw Baker Mayfield go supernova and strengthen his MVP campaign with a practically perfect performance.
At 4-1 and tied atop the NFC standings, the Bucs earned a victory that provides much-needed cushion during this challenging stretch. Let’s do some shoutouts before the team prepares for another hefty challenge against the 49ers next Sunday.
It’s getting harder and harder out there for the Mayfield haters and doubters.
In four wins, Mayfield has four 4th-quarter comebacks — the most in the league, obviously. He entered Sunday night tied with Lamar Jackson for the best touchdown/interception ratio in the league at 10-to-1, and Mayfield became the first player in NFL history to throw for more than 375 yards and fewer than 5 incompletions in a single regular-season game.
He was unflappable all day long, completing 29-of-33 passes for 379 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no turnovers — his 87.9% completion percentage marked the highest of any quarterback this season. Since 2023, Mayfield has logged three games of 350+ yards and 2+ touchdowns in a game, which is tied for the most with Jared Goff and Joe Burrow.
When you can just keep going with all of these awesome stats and factoids, that’s usually a great sign. The Bucs have a top-10 quarterback in football right now who wins games when it gets tough, and that’s a cathartic feeling.
On the receiving end, Emeka Egbuka continued to serve as Mayfield’s trusted No. 1 wideout, which is absolutely bonkers considering he turns 23 in less than two weeks and just played his fifth career game. Seattle injuries or not, Egbuka continued his lightning-quick ascension into a bonafide stud.
The Washington native buried Seattle’s secondary all day long in his homecoming, leading all players with 7 catches for 163 yards and 1 touchdown. Against Josh Jobe, one of the more underrated corners this year, Egbuka skewered him for 81 yards — a career-worst for Jobe against a single opponent per Next Gen Stats. Egbuka is the first player in NFL history with 25+ receptions, 400+ receiving yards, and 5+ receiving touchdowns through his first five career games, and he easily surpassed Michael Clayton’s 301 yards for most to begin a career in Bucs history.
Like Mayfield, you could just keep going on and on. The Bucs may have the makings of something special with this duo — and Chris Godwin and Mike Evans are still here!
We have to quickly address a few other guys...
