Chase McLaughlin's walk-off 39-yard field goal as time expired at Lumen Field gave the Tampa Bay Buccaneers a thrilling 38-35 road victory over the Seattle Seahawks. With the win, the Bucs improved to 4-1 on the 2025 season, increasing their lead atop the NFC South to 1.5 games. With just under a minute to play, veteran linebacker Lavonte David intercepted Sam Darnold to put Baker Mayfield and the offense right back on the field, stifling the Seahawks chance at a score. Darnold's pass hit the helmet of Logan Hall and David capitalized with the 14th interception of his prolific career.
Offenisve Overview
The Buccaneers' 426 yards of offense on Sunday marked their most in a game this season and their most since Week 17 in 2024 (551 yards vs. Carolina). Baker Mayfield completed 29 of 33 passes (87.9%) for 379 yards and two touchdowns, with zero interceptions, earning a 134.7 passer rating. His completion percentage was the highest by any quarterback in a game this season, and the second highest of his career behind only his 90.5 completion percentage (19 of 21) on 9/19/21 vs. Houston as a member of the Cleveland Browns. Per CBS, Mayfield is the first quarterback in NFL history with 375-plus passing yards and fewer than five incompletions in a regular season game. His favorite target against Seattle became rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka.
Egbuka, a Tacoma, Washington, native, accumulated a career-best 163 yards on seven receptions, with one touchdown. Egbuka's five touchdown receptions through five career games are tied for the eighth-most since the 1970 merger and are the most ever by a Buccaneers player. He became the sixth rookie wide receiver since 2020 to record back-to-back 100-yard receiving performances, joining Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Puka Nacua, Amon-Ra St. Brown and Brian Thomas Jr. Egbuka showcased his savvy route running and understanding of how to manipulate coverage. In the second quarter on a 24-yard gain, he adjusted his route to an out-and-up versus Seattle's Cover Two on the back end.
Rachaad White totaled 71 yards from scrimmage (41 rushing, 30 receiving), recording his second and third rushing touchdowns of the season. On his seven-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, Tristan Wirfs and Cade Otton pulled out in space to seal the edge to give Tampa Bay a 13-0 lead. With four receptions for 81 yards against Seattle, Otton matched his second-highest regular season receiving total in a single game, trailing only his career high 100 receiving yards on 10/21/24 vs. Baltimore. On the opening possession, Otton became the offensive catalyst. Mayfield found the tight end on a flag route for a gain of 28 yards and again over the middle of the field for a gain of 12 yards. He hit Otton off a play-action pass as Otton sat in the zone. Rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson had his biggest day since joining the Buccaneers, making four receptions for 59 yards. He showcased his shifty footwork, juking defenders to gain additional yards.
Defensive Rundown
The Buccaneers defense held the Seahawks without a point in the opening frame. Lavonte David finished tied for the team lead with nine tackles, including one for loss, in addition to bringing in the game-sealing interception. Among active players, David is tied for second in tackles for loss (173), trailing only Calais Campbell (191). He now leads all active linebackers in interceptions, with 14, surpassing Bobby Wagner (13). Tykee Smith recorded his first career fumble recovery, adding six tackles and two passes defensed. He now has four career games with multiple passes defensed.
Overall, Seattle's Sam Darnold had a stellar outing as well, completing 28 of 34 passes for 341 yards and four touchdowns. Darnold had another former Ohio State prodigy as his go-to target, as he completed eight passes for 132 yards and a touchdown to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
