The Tampa Bay Buccaneers opened their 2025 preseason slate with a 29-7 thrashing of the visiting Tennessee Titans at Raymond James Stadium on Saturday night, dominating the first half statistically before pulling away with a trio of interceptions in the second half. The Buccaneers' offense got a precise outing from second-string QB Kyle Trask to build a 13-7 halftime lead and then ran 41 times for 178 yards to erase any chance of a Tennessee comeback.

"I was especially pleased in the second half when they know you're going to run it and you can still run it," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "That says a lot about those guys grinding in there. "

With virtually all of the team's starters sitting the night out, Trask opened in place of Baker Mayfield and completed 12 of 16 passes for 129 yards and a 98.2 passer rating. He led the Buccaneers on a game-opening field goal drive with key early strikes to second-year WR Jalen McMillan for 25 yards and rookie WR Emeka Ebugka for 21 yards.

"I thought he played very well," said Bowles of the fifth-year quarterback. "He was 12-for-16, he made some timely throws down the field. He did a very good job controlling the offense. He was poised in the pocket."

Undrafted rookie Connor Bazelak was the only other quarterback to play for the Buccaneers, as he completed six of nine passes for 48 yards. The most active pass-catcher was Ryan Miller, who hauled in six passes for 66 yards. Meanwhile, running backs Owen Wright and Sean Tucker combined for 137 yards and two touchdowns, with Tucker providing the only end zone incursion of the first half on a two-yard third-down run to punctuate Tampa Bay's second possession.

Overall, the Buccaneers gained 348 yards of offense and 20 first downs while converting seven of 16 third-down attempts. Tampa Bay's defense held Tennessee to just 201 net yards, 11 first downs and five conversions in 13 third-down attempts. While the Buccaneers played almost exclusively reserves on both sides of the ball, the Titans ran with their first-team offense for most of the first half in order to give QB Cam Ward, the first-overall pick in this year's draft, some much-needed experience.

Even after out-gaining the Titans 209 yards to 87 in the first half and controlling the clock for 21 of 30 minutes, the Buccaneers only had a six-point lead at the intermission. Tennessee threatened to take the lead on the first possession of the second half, gaining a first down at the Bucs' 17 behind reserve QB Brandon Allen, but a key third-down stop by LB Antonio Grier helped lead to a turnover on downs. After that, interceptions by undrafted rookie LB Nick Jackson, cornerback Tyrek Funderburk and undrafted rookie CB Roman Parodie shut the Titans' offense down. Parodie returned his pick 39 yards for a touchdown for the game's final points.

Third-round rookie CB Jacob Parrish, undrafted rookie S J.J. Roberts and undrafted rookie LB John Bullock each had two passes defensed as the Bucs' defense disrupted 10 of Tennessee's 33 passes. This was a welcome continuation of what has been one of the most encouraging developments in this year's training camp.

"It's good to see them carry over from practice to the game," said Bowles. "It's a good start. It's preseason and everything else but we've been emphasizing it and it fell in our favor tonight, so that was good to see."

In addition to his interception, which came on a pass tipped by Bullock, Jackson recorded a sack, two tackles for loss and a quarterback hit. Undrafted rookie OLB Warren Peeples also contributed a sack. Bowles was impressed by Jackson's NFL debut.

"A football player from the time he came in here," said Bowles. "He was somebody we wanted to see, we wanted to watch. We were playing close attention to him. He just knows how to play the game. He knows how to play the game, he's very instinctive, he can read things, he's physical when he needs to be physical and he knows how to cover. He did a very good job tonight."

The Buccaneers won the game-opening coin toss and chose to take the ball first. WR Rakim Jarett fielded the kickoff a yard deep and brought it out to the Bucs' 18. Trask got the Bucs off to a quick start with a strike down the left numbers to WR Jalen McMillan for a gain of 25. Two plays later, he found Egbuka on a deep comebacker for another 21-yard pickup to the Titan's 33. The Bucs then faced a third-and-seven at the 30 and Trask tried to hit Egbuka on a deep pass down the left sideline but the rookie couldn't quite hold on to a one-handed catch attempt. K Chase McLaughlin came on to drill a 45-yard field goal for the game's first points.

Tennessee's first drive started at its own 29 after a short kickoff return. Tony Pollard got five yards on a first-down carry but rookie CB Jacob Parrish broke up a pass over the middle intended for Van Jefferson and Ward was chased into a throwaway on third-and-five. The resulting punt went out of bounds at Tampa Bay's 20.

A White four-yard run over left tackle and Trask's alert scramble created a first down to the 30, and White then round the right edge for a gain of 12. Two more runs made it third-and-one at the Titans' 49, and Tucker bashed up the gut for just enough to move the sticks. Tennessee followed with its first big defensive play of the game, as OLB Jihad Ward dropped Trask for a seven-yard sack. WR Ryan Miller made an impressive grab in between two defenders on third-and-12 to make it fourth-and-one and the Bucs elected to go for it from the Tennessee 39. After a Titans timeout, the Bucs ran a zone read and Trask kept it, getting two yards to move the sticks. The drive was then hit by an outlet pass to Tucker that gained nothing and a holding call, but a tunnel screen to Miller and yet another Trask-Miller hookup turned a second-and-20 into a first down. Tucker then bounced a handoff around right end, danced along the sideline and got 23 yard down to Tennessee's two-yard line. Two Tucker runs from there failed to get it in as the first quarter came to an end. After the two teams walked the length of the field to the opposite end zone, the Bucs stubbornly ran it again and Tucker pushed straight up the middle for the score.

Tennessee's second drive started at its own 35 after a touchback. This one got off to a much better start as Ward had a lot of time to throw and eventually found WR Calvin Ridley for a gain of 27. An offensive pass interference penalty backed the Titans up Ward found Ridley twice in a row to pick up a first down at the Bucs' 25. A near-interception by CB Josh Hayes two plays later made it third-and-nine but Ward kept the drive alive with a quick pass over the middle to TE Chig Okonkwo. Two runs left Tennessee in a third-and-six at the Bucs' 10, and Ward found WR Elic Ayomanor for just enough to make it first down at the three. Two plays later, Pollard twisted out of an ankle tackle to extend the ball over the goal line.

The Bucs' next drive started midway through the second period at their own 35 after a touchback. Two plays into the possession, Trask stood in against a collapsing pocket and got off a 21-yard completion to Miller. Unfortunately, Elijah Klein's next snap was wide of the quarterback and Trask had to chase it down for an 18-yard loss. The Bucs couldn't overcome that mistake and punted away from near midfield with five minutes left in the half.

CB Josh Hayes dropped RB Tajae Spears for a loss of five and Parrish broke up another pass to make it third-and-15. Spears nearly got the necessary yards on a screen pass but came up a couple short and the Titans punted. Rookie WR Garrett Greene shot straight up the field on the ensuing return for 17 yards and a facemask penalty tacked on 15 to the Tennessee 39 with 3:39 left in the half.

A second-down catch over the middle by Miller left the Bucs in a third-and-one and Tucker's third-down run came up short as the two-minute warning arrived. The Bucs went for it on fourth down and didn't even have to run a play as Trask induced a neutral zone infraction by the defense. Three plays later, on third-and-seven, a tunnel screen to Greene was well-blocked and he scampered upfield for a first down at the Tennessee 22. Two more runs took it down to the 18 and the Bucs called a timeout with 28 seconds left in the half. Trask found TE Devin Culp over the middle for another first down at the 10 and a second timeout was utilized with 23 seconds to go. Culp got out of bounds on a five-yard out, but Trask's second-down pass was deflected at the line. A third-down shot at the end zone was denied and McLaughlin came on to boot a 23-yarder to make it 13-7 at the break.

The Bucs kicked off to start the second half and Tennessee got the ball out to their own 33 on the return. Catches by RB Julius Chestnut and TE Gunnar Helm accounted for 24 yards as the Titans quickly got across midfield. Two Chestnut runs got it down to the Bucs' 28 but a pair of incompletions made it third-and-10. QB Brandon Allen then threaded the needle between multiple defenders over the middle to phit WR Bryce Oliver for a first down at the 17. The Titans faced a third-and-one at the Bucs' eight but LB Antonio Grier stopped RB Kalel Mullings for a loss of one. The Titans went for it on two but Allen was pressured into a high throw that went out of the back of the end zone.

The Bucs took over at their own nine and brought in undrafted rookie Connor Bazelak to play quarterback. Two Wright runs gained nothing and a third-down pass to Miller was good for just three yards, leading to a punt. James Proche had a long return deep into Bucs territory but it was called back on a holding penalty, putting the ball on Tennessee's 26.

Jackson came up with a big play, blitzing up the middle to drop Allen for an eight-yard sack. However, Mullings rambled for 12 yards on second down and Allen converted the third down with an eight-yard completion. The drive ended two plays later, however, as Bullock tipped an Allen pass and Jackson hauled it in for the first turnover the game, giving the Bucs possession at Tennessee's 40.

The Bucs quickly faced a third-and-four but Bazelak stood tall in the pocket and got off a pass over the middle to Greene for 13 yards to the Tennessee 21. Two Wright runs made it third-and-two at the 13, and the Titans then got their first takeaway on third down, as rookie WR Jacob Harris successfully fought to get a first down on a short pass but then fumbled, with Tennessee recovering at the 11.

With Tim Boyle taking over at quarterback for the visitors, the Titans fed Mullings on three straight plays to gain a total of 13 yards as the third quarter came to an end. After another run to start the fourth quarter, the Titans faced a third-and-three at their own 28, which became third-and-eight after a false start. Boyle threw under pressure on third down and it was incomplete, leading to a punt, which rolled to a stop at the Bucs' 32.

The Bucs appeared to get a first down on two Tucker runs but the second was brought back by a holding penalty, making it second-and-16. However, Bazelak then found Jarrett on a crossing route and the 18-yard gain made it first down at the Bucs' 44. Three plays later, Bazelak converted another first down with a six-yard strike to Harris, getting the ball across midfield. The next third down, unfortunately, didn't got the Bucs way and a punt ensued from the Titans' 44 with nine-and-a-half minutes left in regulation.

Tennessee got the ball at its own seven and got nothing on its first two plays. Undrafted rookie S J.J. Roberts killed the drive by jumping in front of WR Xavier Restrepo and nearly intercepting a third-down pass. The Titans' punt bounced out of bounds at their own 41.

Wright started the next drive with a 15-yard run and a hands-to-the-face penalty on the defense on the next snap made it first down at the Titans' 20. Wright got six more on the next play, but his apparent touchdown scamper on second down erased much of the gain and made it second-and-eight. Tucker came back in and absorbed a big hit at the end of a run that left the ball eight inches short of a first down. Wright once again bounced outside for an apparent touchdown run but it was brought back on another holding call on the perimeter. After a short run on third down, undrafted rookie K Ryan Coe came on to try a 36-yard field goal and knocked it through for a nine-point lead with 5:33 to play.

Tennessee's next drive started at its 30 and quickly hit third-and-10 after two incompletions. On third down, Boyle tried to throw a curl to WR Jha'Quan Jackson out to the right, but Roberts got a hand in the way to deflect the pass and Funderburk caught the rebound for an interception that he returned to Tennessee's 30. That set up a short drive that Wright ended with a 15-yard touchdown run, this time not called back by a flag.

Down by 15 points with three minutes to go, the Titans had to put the ball in the air and Boyle converted a fourth-and-five with a 12-yard strike to WR T.J. Sheffield. However, a 10-yard sack by Peeples help put Tennessee in a desperate fourth-and-13 and Parodie jumped a pass intended for WR Mason Kinsey and dashed to the right front pylon, just diving over it into the end zone for a touchdown. The ball came loose at the end of Parodie's dive but the play was reviewed and upheld.