The Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost to the Minnesota Vikings, 23-16, at Raymond James Stadium in Week Three and fall to 0-3 on the 2026 slate. Quarterback Baker Mayfield suffered a dislocated thumb late in the fourth quarter and receiver Jalen McMillan exited the game early with a knee injury and did not return. Tampa Bay went two for 17 on third down and the club finished with 243 net yards of offense. The Bucs were penalized eight times for 81 yards, including a holding call that nullified an 85-yard touchdown by Chris Godwin Jr.
"We're 0-3 and we're a game out of first place, so we have to get our stuff together," said Head Coach Todd Bowles. "We [have to] reach down and do more, to a coach, to a person, to a player. We [have to] do more and figure out what [more] we can do. How can we be better and come back tomorrow and get ready to go?"
Offensive Outlook
Baker Mayfield finished with 17 completions on 34 attempts for 217 yards, one touchdown and one interception and was consistently under pressure in the pocket. He was sacked six sacks and absorbed 12 hits. The Buccaneers ran for 57 yards. Emeka Egbuka led Tampa Bay in receiving with five catches for 62 yards and rookie Ted Hurst III scored in the first quarter on a 40-yard touchdown to make it a 10-7 game.
After Myles Price's 86-yard return touchdown that gave the visiting team a 10-0 lead, the Bucs evened the scoreboard with Mayfield's 40-yard touchdown pass to Hurst and Chase McLaughlin's 28-yard field goal. Minnesota scored on Kyler Murray's 41-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Addison in the second quarter, but two more McLaughlin field goals made it a one-point game early in the fourth frame. The first of the two kicks came after defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson intercepted a pass that was deflected by nose tackle Vita Vea at the Carolina 22-yard line. Late in the fourth, Jalon Daniels made his regular season NFL debut and had a nine-yard run, along with two incompletions before his last-ditch Hail Mary attempt was intercepted by the Vikings in a clutter of bodies near the end zone.
Defensive Rundown
Inside linebacker Alex Anzalone, along with outside linebackers David Walker and Anthony Nelson all registered sacks on Kyler Murray and Robinson secured the second interception of his career. Vea broke up two passes in the clash and had a quarterback hit. Cornerback Zyon McCollum had two passes defensed, putting the clamps on Vikings' offense and helping the unit's efforts in holding Minnesota to just two conversions on 15 third-down attempts.
Murray returned to the field in Week Three after missing most of the Vikings' first two games due to a concussion and completed 15 of 29 attempts for 168 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Jordan Addison grabbed five passes for 90 yards and a score for the Vikings. Minnesota's leading receiver, Justin Jefferson, left with an ankle injury in the first half after catching two passes for 32 yards, including a 22-yard gain off a dig route.
