In the third quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, almost immediately after it was announced that star rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka was out of the contest due to a hamstring injury, Baker Mayfield was swarmed over by a gang of defenders deep in the backfield on third-and-14. Mayfield somehow emerged from the pack still on his feet and started off downfield, evading several tacklers and diving to extend the ball just past the first-down marker. A delirious Raymond James Stadium crowd launched into a passionate chant of, "MVP! MVP!"
"I was in disbelief just like everybody else," said Head Coach Todd Bowles of Mayfield's crowd-stirring run. "It happens every other week or so and he makes those type of plays and you pray he doesn't get hurt or anything happens to him. But he has a knack. He has a knack that you can't teach or coach."
As if on cue, two plays later, the rising NFL MVP candidate launched a ball deep downfield to rookie WR Tez Johnson, who made a fingertip grab of a 45-yard touchdown to give the Buccaneers a 27-19 lead. They would go on to win, 30-19, and improve to 5-1, matching the best six-game start in franchise history. While the 49ers fell to 4-2, the Buccaneers were guaranteed at least a share of the best record in the NFC after six Weeks; the 4-1 Detroit Lions play at Kansas City on Sunday night.
"This is a resilient group," said Mayfield after the game. "It's tough, it's a hard-working group that loves playing for each other and playing with each other, and no matter what the circumstances are we're gonna go fight. That's really what team ball is all about. The culture's great, we just have to keep it going."
With Egbuka, the team's leading receiver, unavailable, Mayfield had to turn to some unexpected sources for yet another big game, in which he completed 17 of 23 passes for 256 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and a 139.0 passer rating. The Buccaneers started the game without wideouts Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan, not to mention lead running back Bucky Irving, but still managed to produce 352 yards of offense and a sparkling 7.0 yards per play.
"I truly, genuinely trust the guys that are in there," said Mayfield. "They're ready. We talk throughout the week. Guys are on the same page. I trust these guys, even though some of them may not have played a whole lot of ball, but when we're on the same page, good things happen. You don't have to have the perfect play when all your guys are fighting for each other and on the same page and that's an example of that. Defense played great, special teams as well, and so it's complementary football."
Tez Johnson was one of those players to step up, as he scored his first career touchdown. Second-year player Kameron Johnson also caught a 34-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter that was not only his first career score but also his first NFL catch. He finished the game with four catches for 64 yards. With Irving out, Rachaad White got his second straight start and produced 86 yards from scrimmage and his fourth touchdown of the season, a two-yard run in the first quarter.
"Tez and Kam really stepped up tonight, came into their own," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "The talent was always there, it's just understanding the offense and getting guys ready to play. We feel like we're very deep in that room; can't afford to lose anymore, but we're very deep in that room and I feel like those guys did a heck of a job."
White's touchdown run came two plays after CB Kindle Vildor intercepted QB Mac Jones and returned the ball to the 49ers' 12-yard line. The Buccaneers' defense produced the only two turnovers of the game, with a Jamel Dean interception late in the fourth quarter ending the 49ers' last scoring threat and leading to a game-clinching field goal. For the fifth time in six games, Mayfield and the Bucs' offense did not turn the ball over once.
Tampa Bay's defense also applied significant pressure on Jones throughout the evening, sacking him a season-high six times and hitting him 10 times. Jones still completed 27 of 39 passes for 347 yards as the 49ers won the overall yardage battle with 363 net yards. Christian McCaffrey was the focal point of the San Francisco offense, with 24 touches. He turned those touches into 101 yards and a touchdown, but the Buccaneers' defense largely kept him from piling up yards after the catch.
"The pass rush was unbelievable, pressures were getting home, guys making plays," said Mayfield. "That's a really good team and they're clearly well-coached. They followed their game plan and were able to get some plays here and there, but our guys made plays when it mattered and that's what it's all about."
The lead changed hands three times in the first half, but RB Sean Tucker put the Bucs up for good with a nine-yard second-quarter touchdown run. The Bucs' defense gave up seven conversions on 16 third-down attempts but repeatedly held strong in their half of the field, forcing the 49ers to settle for four field goal attempts. Still, it was just a 20-19 game before Mayfield's two incredible plays gave the home team some breathing room.
The 49ers were also missing several key players, including QB Brock Purdy, TE George Kittle and WR Ricky Pearsall. Worse, superstar linebacker Fred Warner was lost in the first quarter to a gruesome ankle injury that required an air cast and a cart to take him off the field.
"Losing, in the middle of the game, Fred Warner, I mean that sucks," said Mayfield. "You never want to see that, so thoughts and prayers to him."
Seven different defenders were involved in producing the Bucs' six sacks, including Diaby with 2.0. LB Lavonte David turned in one of the key defensive plays of the game for the home team when he blitzed on third down early in the fourth quarter and dropped Jones for an 11-yard sack, leading to a punt with the Bucs clinging to a one-score lead. Also, in addition to his second interception of the season, Dean also recorded the first sack of his career.
"That was Dean's first sack that I've seen in my career and that was about the best play, I can say, next to Mike Evans getting a thousand yards last year, that I have ever seen," said Bowles, jokingly. "That goes down in history for me."
The Buccaneers took a 20-16 lead into halftime even though they had been outgained by the 49ers, 210 yards to 184. San Francisco also converted four of eight third down attempts while the Bucs were only one of four. The difference was the game's only takeaway to that point on Vildor's interception, plus a pair of drive-ending sacks by the Bucs' defense.
The Bucs took the opening kickoff and Sean Tucker got the ball out close to the 40 but a holding penalty on Devin Culp moved it back to the 16. A play-action rollout pass to Egbuka got the drive started off well and White followed with a five-yard run for the game's initial first down. A slow-developing screen to White lost a yard and Mayfield threw incomplete on second down after scrambling away from pressures. After a false start, on third-and-16, Mayfield threw a pinpoint deep out to WR Sterling Shepard on the right sideline, but the play came up a yard short and the Bucs punted from their 37. Riley Dixon's high, hanging punt was fair caught at the San Francisco 16.
McCaffrey took a toss sweep left for three yards on San Francisco's first play, and Jones scrambled forward and dived for four more on second down. On third down, Vildor jumped a pass meant for Kendrick Bourne near the left sideline and intercepted it. He had an open path to the end zone but stumbled to the ground twice and was tagged down at the 12.
The Bucs needed only two plays, both handoffs to White. On the first, White used a slight hesitation to find a gap over left guard that he pounded through for 10 yards. On the second, he went straight up the gut for the two-yard score, putting the Bucs on top, 7-0, five minutes into the first period.
Bourne got wide open behind the defense on the next play from scrimmage and Jones rolled out left before hitting him deep for a 41-yard gain to the Tampa Bay 29. A five-yard McCaffrey run and an incomplete pass in his direction under pressure made it third-and-five, and Roberts dropped Jones for a 10-yard sack on third down after Vita Vea had applied the initial pressure. The 49ers still got three points out of the drive as Eddy Pineiro came on to drill a 52-yard field goal.
The Bucs' next drive started at their own 36 after another good return by Tucker. White ran a counter to the left on first down and dashed for 10 yards and a quick first down, with Warner remaining down after the play. After Warner was carted off the field, White ran for one yard and Mayfield threw incomplete in TE Cade Otton's direction. Mayfield was under duress on third down, and while he was able to evade several defenders he eventually went down in the arms of rookie DL Mykel Williams for sack of eight yards. Dixon ripped off a 60-yard punt to help push San Francisco back to its own 14.
McCaffrey was stone-walled by Vea on a first-down run, but Jones found him on his next two passes for a total of 13 yards and a first down at the 27. After a false start and a short pass to RB Brian Robinson, Jones and McCaffrey hooked up again for a four-yard gain to make it third-and-seven. The pocket collapsed quickly on Jones on third down and he was sacked by Diaby while trying to scramble up the middle. The resulting punt bounced out of bounds at the Bucs' 29.
A hands-to-the-face penalty on the 49ers gave the Bucs five free yards and Jones fought through tacklers for three yards on the next snap. Mayfield just missed an open Egbuka on both second and third downs and the Bucs had to punt. After another booming 60-yarder by Dixon, the 49ers had the ball back at their own 16.
The 49ers drive started and the first quarter ended on a blitz by Dean that resulted in his first career sack. Dean knocked the ball loose in the process but TE Luke Farrell fell on it to avoid a turnover. After the two teams switched sides, Jones found Bourne for a huge play again, this time a 56-yard catch-and-run down to the Bucs' 33. McCaffrey got eight yards on a first-down carry but just one on second down. Jones moved the chains on a keeper, making it first down at the 22. A pass to FB Kyle Juszczyk got nine yards before the Niners went back to McCaffrey for another chain-mover down to the nine. A swing pass to McCaffrey got a little more than half of the needed yards, and Jones made an amazing throw while being dragged down to hit Robinson at the two-yard line. On third-and-goal, McCaffrey was stopped short of the end zone but the Bucs were hit with an offsides penalty. McCaffrey got it again and was able to power over the line for the go-ahead score.
The Bucs' next drive began at their 32 and White got two yards on a first-down run. A square-in by Egbuka got him open in the middle of the field and Mayfield drilled a 17-yard pass to him. Misdirection on the next snap got Otton wide open on the right side and Mayfield lobbed it to him to set up a 23-yard catch-and-run. Otton got the ball on the next snap, too, for five more, and White kept his legs driving to push the pile up the middle for four yards. On third-and-one, Miller picked his way over left tackle to get four yards and a first down at the 13. After a short pass to White got four more, Tucker took a handoff and bounced it out wide to the left, out-running the defense to the end zone for a nine-yard score.
The Niners' next drive started at its 37 and faced an early third down after McCaffrey slipped down for a loss of three on second down. Jones kept the drive alive by layering a pass into a hole in the zone to WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a gain of 19. Jones tried a deep shot on the next play but it was well-covered and out of Bourne's reach. Two plays later, on third-and-six, jones nearly found Valdes-Scantling again on the left sideline but a hit by S Tykee Smith at the last second jarred the ball loose. Pineiro came on for another long-range shot, hitting from 54 yards to pull the visitors within one point with just over two minutes left in the half.
The two-minute warning arrived on Tucker's kickoff return out to the 28-yard line. The Bucs kept it on the ground on first down and White lunged for nine yards. On the next play, White found himself wide open in the left flat and Mayfield delivered it to him for an 18-yard that stopped the clock. A curl by Otton gained 11 more to the 49ers' 34 and Mayfield then took a downfield shot in Tez Johnson's direction that was incomplete, stopping the clock with 50 seconds left. On the next play, Kam Johnson went in motion left to right, then turned upfield and was wide open for Mayfield to hit him on a 34-yard touchdown. The Bucs went for two after the touchdown but did not convert, making it 20-13 with 44 seconds left in the half.
The 49ers had 39 seconds to work with after a kickoff return to their 29. WR Demarcus Robinson dropped the ball on first down but then hauled in a pass over the middle for 31 yards to the Bucs' 40. The 49ers used a timeout with 24 seconds left. A short pass to McCaffrey got just three and led to another timeout at the 18-second mark. The 49ers' last timeout came with 11 seconds left after a 13-yard pass to Robinson. After one unsuccessful shot at the end zone, the 49ers sent Pineiro out again and he added three points on a 42-yard field goal.
San Francisco got the ball first in the second half, starting at its own 24, but committed a false start before running a play. A simple pitch over the middle to McCaffrey got nine and Bourne ran a slant for a first down at the 47. LB Lavonte David met McCaffrey at the line of scrimmage on the next handoff, and it was then third-and-two after a sideline catch by TE Jake Tonges. The 49ers let Jones power it forward on a keeper and he was able to get three yards and a first down at the Bucs' 42. Jones had time to throw but nobody open and eventually ran out of bounds after a five-yard scramble. McCaffrey found the corner on a toss to the right and got 11 yards to the 26. Three plays later, on third-and-one, McCaffrey took a handoff out of the shotgun and burrowed his way to the 15 for a first down. An offensive pass interference call on WR Jauan Jennings cost the 49ers 10 yards and also briefly knocked CB Jacob Parrish out of the game. The 49ers managed to get it back to a third-and-seven at the 11, and Parrish, just back in the game, broke up a pass near the goal line intended four Bourne. Pineiro came out yet again and hit the 29-yard chip shot to make it a one-point game midway through the third quarter.
With Egbuka out of the game, the Buccaneers leaned on White to start their first drive of the half, and he gained nine yards on his first two carries. White was stood up short of the line on third down but was able to power forward for two yards on a second effort. A rollout sideline pass in Tez Johnson's direction was incomplete and a holding call on second down erased a good White run to make it second-and-20. After a six-yard pass to Otton, Mayfield somehow emerged from a pile of would-be tacklers and took off on an incredible scramble, juking out several defenders and extending the ball past the line as he hit the ground. Two plays later, Mayfield went over the top to Tez Johnson and the rookie made an amazing fingertip grab as he crossed the goal line for the 45-yard touchdown. The extra point put the Bucs up by eight, 27-19.
Diaby reacted quickly to a dumpoff pass to Tonges, holding him to three yards, and McCaffrey got four on a second-down toss-sweep right. Jones moved the chains with a quick little pass over the middle to Jennings for seven yards. Tonges got the ball again on the next play for a gain of 16 yards to the Bucs' 38. A holding call backed the Niners up 10 yards and brought the third quarter to a close. The first play of the fourth quarter was a dumpoff to Robinson that got only two yards thanks to the quick reaction of OLB Chris Braswell. Two plays later, on third-and-11, David looped around left tackle on a perfectly-timed blitz and smothered Jones for a sack of 10 yards. David also forced a fumble by Jones and recovered the loose ball at the 49ers' 49. However, the play was reviewed and Jones was ruled down before he lost the ball. That gave San Francisco a chance to punt it away, and the Bucs were pushed back to their 14-yard line.
Two plays into the ensuing drive, Mayfield hit Shepard on a crossing route and the veteran receiver pulled his way out of an initial tackle then weaved his way through the defense for a gain of 36 yards to get the ball one yard past midfield. Tucker took a handoff over left tackle for six yards, then found the left corner for six more and a first down. Three plays later, the Bucs faced a third-and-10 at the 37, Mayfield hit Otton for six yards, getting the ball closer for a Chase McLaughlin field goal attempt. McLaughlin came on to try a 49-yarder but missed it wide to the right.
That gave the ball back to the 49ers at their own 39, and the Bucs swarmed over Jones on first down, with Haason Reddick and C.J. Brewer sharing a seven-yard sack. However, a swing pass to Tonges got that and a lot more back, with a 13-yard gain to make it third-and-four. The 49ers had to burn a timeout before the next snap, and Parrish had perfect coverage on Jennings downfield on a third-down incompletion. The 49ers punted the ball away but Vea ran into P Thomas Morstead after the kick, drawing a five-yard penalty that made it first-and-10 on the midfield stripe. A pass out to the right to Bourne got 12 and a first down, but Vildor broke up another attempt to get the ball quickly to Bourne. A misdirection screen to Tonges worked well, giving him room to run down to the 29, and on third-and-one the 49ers tried another Jones sneak but were stopped inches short. The 49ers kept the offense out on fourth down but committed a false start. Down by eight with six minutes left, the 49ers still elected to go for it on fourth down and Dean picked off a pass intended for Jennings and went to the ground at the Bucs' 20. A post-turnover personal foul on Seattle moved it out to the 35 with 5:43 left in regulation.
Looking to drain the clock, the Bucs gave it to White on first down and he got two yards. The offense then surprisingly went empty-backfield on the next snap and Mayfield found Kam Johnson over the middle for 13 yards. White mishandled the snap on the next play but was able to fall on it to avoid the turnover and keep the clock running. Mayfield then found Kam Johnson once again over the middle for another 17 yards and a first down at the 49ers 33 as the clock ticked below three minutes. White ran into a crowd for a gain of two and the visitors used their second timeout with 2:42 left. Another four yards by White led to the Niners' final timeout at the 2:38 mark. A short pass to Kam Johnson got just a yard but did bring the clock down to the two-minute warning. The Bucs kept their offense on the field on fourth down, but only to try to induce an offsides penalty. When the Niners didn't bite, the Bucs used a timeout and sent out McLaughlin for a 44-yard try. McLaughlin nailed it to give the home team an 11-point lead with 1:55 left.
Diaby sacked Jones on the first play of the 49ers' final drive and the quarterback was hurried into an intentional grounding penalty on second down. McCaffrey turned a short pass into a 23-yard gain to give the 49ers a fighting chance at extending the drive, but a short out to Valdes-Scantling came up short when Parrish slung him out of bounds three yards shy of the sticks. Mayfield kneeled once to kill the remainder of the clock.
