Chris Godwin Jr. has collected plenty of accomplishments during his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but his latest award might be the most unusual. Sports Illustrated named Godwin and teammate Emeka Egbuka co-winners of its 2025 "Octopus of the Year" award after both receivers accomplished one of the NFL's more unusual scoring feats last season.
An "octopus" occurs when the same player scores a touchdown and then scores the following two point conversions, accounting for eight consecutive points. Eight points, each accounting for one leg of said Octopus. Sports Illustrated's Mitch Goldich coined the term in 2019 and has handed out an annual award recognizing the feat ever since. Godwin recorded his against the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday
Night Football in Week 15. Baker Mayfield found Godwin for a three-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter before Tampa Bay kept its offense on the field for the two-point attempt. Mayfield went right back to Godwin, connecting with him again to complete the octopus. Godwin wasn't even thinking about the accomplishment immediately afterward. Egbuka was. "It was Emeka," Godwin told Sports Illustrated when discussing who yelled "octopus!" during their celebration. Godwin explained that he was primarily excited about converting the two-point attempt before Egbuka ran over and reminded him what he had just accomplished.
Egbuka had some experience with it. The then rookie recorded an octopus of his own against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5, part of a performance in which he caught seven passes for 163 yards. That made Tampa Bay responsible for two of the NFL's three octopi during the entire 2025 season and led Sports Illustrated to name Godwin and Egbuka the first co-winners in the award's seven-year history. The two scores also marked a surprising moment in Buccaneers history. Before Egbuka and Godwin accomplished the feat last season, Tampa Bay had recorded only one octopus in franchise history, which came from Vincent Jackson in 2012. It may not carry the prestige of a Pro Bowl or All-Pro selection, but Godwin and Egbuka now have a distinction no previous Buccaneers teammates can claim. In a season with only three octopi across the entire NFL, two of them belonged to Tampa Bay's wide receiver room.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: Godwin Jr and Egbuka Co-winners of Octopus award
