Baker Mayfield saves his best for last and Emeka Egbuka officially puts the NFL on notice in Bucs’ Week 1 win over Falcons
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers knew their Week 1 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons would be a dogfight, and sure enough, that’s exactly what went down on Sunday.It took a last-minute touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka to finally give the Bucs the winning edge. On a day when Mayfield was off […]
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers knew their Week 1 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons would be a dogfight, and sure enough, that’s exactly what went down on Sunday.
It took a last-minute touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to rookie sensation Emeka Egbuka to finally give the Bucs the winning edge. On a day when Mayfield was off on a lot of his throws and completed barely more than half his passes, he saved his best for last on a perfectly thrown ball to Egbuka. In fact, his two best completions were touchdowns to the former Ohio State Buckeye.
Mayfield saves his best for last in Bucs’ win vs. Falcons
Mayfield’s final stat line was a meager 17-of-32 for 167 yards, but he tossed three touchdowns and added 39 yards on five carries, and that’s what ultimately made the difference. The game became extremely intense when the usually-reliable Chase McLaughlin missed the ensuing PAT after the go-ahead score to Egbuka, but the Bucs survived thanks to Younghue Koo’s missed 44-yard attempt that would’ve tied the game.
Egbuka was the one who stole the day, though. He wound up finishing with four receptions for 67 yards and the aforementioned two tuddies on six targets. The 67 receiving yards led the Bucs’ passing attack, as well as the two touchdown receptions. The four catches came second to only Mike Evans, who finished the day with five catches for 51 yards.
“This was a routine game for him,” Todd Bowles told reporters after the game. “He’s up for the task. He’s everything we’ve been talking about since he got here. Everybody’s starting to see it, obviously, because it’s real time and it’s a real game, but he plays with so much poise, and Baker played with so much poise. He had some key runs.
“Obviously, the stat sheet didn’t light up for him, but managing and winning the game and doing what he had to do to win, he did everything that way, and I’m proud of both.”
Even though Egbuka didn’t record any world-beater-type stats, his game represented the perfect amount of carryover from training camp and the preseason. He’s made plays and drawn rave reviews since he was drafted with the 19th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft — the only question left to answer was whether or not he’d hit the ground running. Especially with the injuries to Chris Godwin Jr. and Jalen McMillan.
Welp, Egbuka answered that question in a huge way, and the end result was a huge divisional win on the road that has the Bucs in a great spot just one week into the regular season. It’s safe to say the rest of the NFL is on notice, and with Evans in the fold, the Bucs’ passing attack shouldn’t miss a beat as long as Mayfield is on point.
