Tuesday, 4 a.m.
5 Thoughts
- Not to quibble, but the next time the Bucs wear their 1976 jerseys, can they not bring back the 1976 secondary? I mean, those guys are getting kind of old.
2. There are a lot of ways to measure a quarterback -- wins, yardage, TDs, ratings, turnover ratio, etc. One of my favorite ways has always been fourth-quarter comebacks, when the game is to be decided and the pressure mounts. And hello, Baker Mayfield. More than a third of his 23 wins as a Buc (eight) have been via a comeback.
3. Is Chase McLaughlin supposed to be a leading tackler on special teams?
4. So, wasn't that the best play by Logan Hall since, well, since SMU?
5. Hi, I'm Emeka Egbuka, and I would like to announce my candidacy for Mayor of Tampa.
5 Comments
(From Todd Bowles' Monday press conference)
On winning tightly contested games this season): “Well, it’s been good to close them out. You don’t ever want to play games that close, but early in the year, all these games are going to be tough and they’re going to be one-score games. Like you said, last year, we didn’t pull them out. This year, we’ve been finding a way to win. That shows attention to detail and resiliency on our part.”
(On improving in late-game situations compared to last season): “You learn from last year. Experience is one thing, resiliency is another, practice is another. Coach [Tom] Moore says it all the time: you prepare hard, you practice hard, you play hard. And we go by the three P’s, as judged by Coach Moore. We try to cover all that stuff, as everybody else does as well, but they’re really focused towards the end of the ball game, and they understand what they have to do.”
(On how much he considered going for two after the late touchdown to WR Sterling Shepard against Seattle): “We talked about it. We ended up going for one. Lavonte [David] made a heck of a play, and it worked out for us, but we did talk about it.”:
(On what stands out about WR Emeka Egbuka as a person): “[He is] just humble, [has a] willingness to learn. [He is a] very good teammate, very smart guy, class act. He’s as sharp off the field, if not sharper, than he is on the field as a person. [He is] easy to talk to. His thirst for knowledge of the game is unbelievable. He’s just a great guy to be around.”
(On his decision to send a blitz that resulted in an interception from Seattle QB Sam Darnold towards the end of the game): “We hadn’t called it all game, so obviously, they had a set [and] we thought it’d be open. When they sent four guys out, we thought we had a shot at it. Lavonte [David] just made a heck of a play. ‘Win’ (Antoine Winfield Jr.) Winfield is one of our best blitzers, so we sent him off the edge as well, and it worked out for both of them. ‘Win’ got the pressure on the quarterback and it actually bounced off or skimmed Logan [Hall]’s helmet, and ‘Tay’ (Lavonte David) made a heck of a play coming up with the catch.”
Game Balls
Offense: Technically, Baker Mayfield has had nine games where he had a higher rating than Sunday. Which is a horrible indictment of ratings formula. Mayfield edged out Ebuka for the award.
Defense: Lavonte David's tackles have been down, but he proved he's still vital to this team.
Special teams: McLaughlin is money, once again.
Grades
Quarterback: Here's the truth. If Seattle had taken a 14-point lead, Mayfield would have found a way to come back. Grade: A.
Receivers: How did Edbuka fall to 19th in the draft? Nice gmes from Cade Otton and Tez Johnson, too. Grade: A.
Offensive line: Not much on the ground, but only one sack allowed. Grade: B.
Running game: Rachaad White lacks the burst of Bucky Irving, but he scored twice. Grade: C.
Defensive line: No rush. YaYa Darby and Haason Reddick had one tackle and two assists...combined. Grade: F.
Linebacker: Lavonte David had nine tackles. SirVocea Dennis had eight. Grade: B.
Secondary: The Bucs stopped six passes out of 34. Not good no matter who was hurt. Grade: F.
Rookie Wide Receivers
- Emeka Egbuka, Tampa Bay 25 445 5
2. Tetairoa McMillion, Panthers 24 351 0
3. Travis Hunter, Jacksonville. 16 182 0
4. Elic Ayamanor, Tennessee 14 169 2
5. Matthew Golden 11 126 0
Mayfield's Best 5 Bucs Comebacks
Year Opponent Rating
2025 Seattle 134.7
2025 N.Y. Jets 101.7
2025 Atlanta 99.3
2025 Houston 98.0
2023 Minnesota 94.4
NFL 2025 Comeback leaders
- Baker Mayfield 4
2. Dak Prescott 2
3. Josh Allen 2
5. Aaron Rogers 1
Matthew Stafford 1
Sam Darnold 1
Joe Flacco 1
Jared Goff 1
Justin Herbert 1
Carson Wentz 1
Jalen Hurts 1
Daniel Jones 1
Trevor Lawrence 1
Bo Nix 1
Bryce Young 1
Power Rankings
- Detroit
2. Philadelphia
3. Buffalo
4. San Francisco
5. Tampa Bay
Bottom 5
- N.Y. Jets
2. Cleveland
3. New Orleans
4. Tennessee
5. N.Y. Giants
NFL 5 Stars
- Baker Mayfield, Bucs
2. Jonathan Taylor, Colts
3. Carson Wentz, Vikings
4. Spencer Rattler, Saints
5. Rico Dowdle, Cowboys
NFL 5 Flops
- James Cook, Bills
2. Emari Demercado, Cardinals
3. Cooper Rush, Ravens
4. Jaxon Dart, Giants
5. Jake Browning, Bengals
Baker Mayfield Stats
Passing yards 1283 4
TD passes 10 t-3
Rating (100 attempts). 104.4 8
Interceptions (100 attempts). 1 t- 8
Completion pct. (100 attempts) 65.1 18
NFL Stats
Rushing Yards Bucky Irving 237 27
Receiving Yards Emeka Egbuka 445 4
Tackles Tykee Smith 29 t-21
Field goals Chase McLaughlin 12 t-2
Punting Riley Dixon 45.6 28
Bucs Coaches' Winning Percentage
- Bruce Arians 31-18 .633
2. Tony Dungy 54-42 .563
3. Todd Bowles 31-25 .554
4. Jon Gruden 57-55 .509
5. Dirk Koetter 29-29 .396
Bucs' QB winning percentage
- Tom Brady .640
2. Baker Mayfield .589
3. Brad Johnson .536
4. Trent Dilfer .500
4. Doug Williams .500
5 Fast Bucs Starts
(First five games)
Player Catches Yards TDs
- Emeke Egbuka * 25 445 5
2. Michael Clayton * 23 301 1
3. Mike Evans * 21 258 2
4, Keyshawn Johnson 21 223 1
5. Vincent Jackson 20 310 4
- - denotes rookie