Fittingly donning the creamsicle throwbacks, the Bucs almost harkened back to the “Yuccs” but managed yet another last-minute victory, 29-27, over the New York Jets Sunday.
A dominant three quarters gave way to a perilous final frame during the team’s home-opener and 50th anniversary celebration, as the Buccaneers took their foot off the gas way too early and gave up their three-score lead on two straight Tyrod Taylor-led drives and a blocked field goal return for a touchdown. But Baker Mayfield,
who played very well once more, led his third-straight 2-minute scoring drive to rise above the various obstacles that plagued the day.
Despite highly questionable officiating, poor play from the makeshift offensive line, and even more injuries, Tampa rallied to record its first 3-o start in 20 years.
While the resilience has been special for this group so far, harder challenges are coming soon and hopefully they’ll continue to tighten the screws. Let’s do some shoutouts.
Offensive Top Performer: WR Emeka Egbuka
Mayfield obviously gets his deserved flowers for his continued clutch play, but the game would’ve been made so much harder for him if Emeka Egbuka wasn’t already a bonafide stud.
A fractured front five and Mike Evans getting his annual hamstring injury could’ve put this offense in completely dire straits, but Egbuka served as a focal point for the third consecutive game and made multiple critical plays en route to leading the team — and the entire game — in receiving (6 catches for 85 yards).
Beyond his insane one-handed grab over one of the league’s best in Sauce Gardner, Egbuka moved the chains several times as he played through a hip/groin injury on a short week (it could be strongly argued he had another great catch during the 2-minute drill that went inexplicably unreviewed). If Evans misses multiple weeks, as is likely the case now, Egbuka becomes the de facto No. 1 even if Godwin comes back soon since the latter will need time to ramp up. He’s showing he’s ready for the challenge early on.
Of course, Mayfield played mistake-free football and marched the team downfield in crunchtime once again. Now getting the moniker “Two Minute” Mayfield, that probably has off-field implications he would dispute, but on the field I’m sure he’ll happily accept it. Mayfield finished 19-of-29 for 233 yards, a touchdown, and more clutch scrambles that totaled 44 yards on 4 carries.
Sterling Shepard also needs praise. The veteran has been reliable all season, and he stepped up after Evans got hurt, including the final 24-yard reception that set the Bucs up for the win. He finished with 4 catches for 80 yards, and the 32-year-old will keep getting his number called in the weeks ahead.
Defensive Top Performer: CB Jamel Dean
The Bucs’ defense played very well for three quarters before completely emptying the tank in the fourth quarter, which obviously cannot happen, but it wouldn’t be right to ignore what they did well.
First and foremost, they forced turnovers!
Two turnover-free weeks continued a drought from the previous season and forced the expectation of perfection for the offense, but Week 3 brought two huge plays that resulted in 10 much-needed points for the Bucs. A sack-fumble led to a field goal, but it was Jamel Dean jumping a target to Garrett Wilson and housing it before halftime that gave the Bucs a cushion.
Dean got a second interception in the second half that got reversed on yet another questionable ref penalty, as he overall played very well for the second straight week. This may be his final year in Tampa after his paycut, but he’s making it count.
Other members of the secondary kept the heat up as well. Rookie Jacob Parrish is proving to be a major steal as a third-round pick, as he helped cap Wilson (10 catches but only 81 yards) and showcased his explosiveness as a run defender and blitzer. He logged 5 total tackles and his first career sack.
Antoine Winfield, Jr. kept up his torrid start with three tackles, a sack, and the forced fumble. The combination of him, Parrish, and Tykee Smith gives Todd Bowles a devious number of ways to affect the quarterback from the nickel position. The secondary play in the box contributed largely to Tampa’s 4 sacks and many pressures on the day.
Special Teams Top Performer: K Chase McLaughlin
We needed to see a bounce-back week from the entire special teams unit, and that partially happened.
Chase McLaughlin, after endangering the team with missed kicks in both of the first two games, responded by hitting 5 of 6 field goals, including the game-winner as time expired. And as previously mentioned, the miss was not his fault as the blocker got over the line completely untouched.
While his rebound proved to be pivotal, the rest of the unit continued to struggle.
The Bucs clearly decided to have punter Riley Dixon change how he operates after the blocked punt and huge allowed return last week, as he set up faster and went for more hangtime. The result, unfortunately, was several poor kicks that put the defense in tougher positions. He averaged just 40.5 yards per kick. Hopefully they just let him do what makes him successful moving forward and just, you know, block and tackle better for him.
And it goes without saying that permitting a blocked field kick that would’ve iced the game is completely unacceptable. These issues need to be sorted out fast.
