In 2025, for the first time in 20 years, the Buccaneers won their first three games of the season, beginning with a last-minute comeback victory over the division-rival Falcons in Atlanta on Baker Mayfield's touchdown pass to rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka. The Bucs followed with a Monday Night Football win in Houston and a walk-off two-point victory over the Jets in their home opener. Thanks to consecutive wins over NFC West powerhouses Seattle and San Francisco in Weeks Five and Six, the Buccaneers hit their Week Nine bye with a 6-2 record that was tied for the most wins in the NFC at that time. Unfortunately, the second half of the season took a serious turn in the wrong direction, as the Buccaneers lost seven of their last nine outings to finish at 8-9. That was still good enough for a tie for first place in the NFC South, but Tampa Bay's streak of four straight division titles was snapped by a tiebreaker that went in the Carolina Panthers' direction. The team's offense took a step back after ranking in the top five in multiple categories in 2024, thanks in part to a long string of injuries that hit the receiving corps, the offensive line and Mayfield himself. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan all missed significant time, though Egbuka helped fill the void with a team-leading 938 receiving yards and six touchdown catches. After topping 1,500 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, running back Bucky Irving missed nearly half of the season and finished with 865 combined yards in 2025. Offensive tackles Tristan Wirfs and Luke Goedeke each sat out at least five games and starting guards Cody Mauch and Ben Bredeson each ended up on injured reserve. Tampa Bay's run defense remained strong, finishing fifth in the league, but the pass defense ranked 27th and the pass rush generated its lowest team sack total in Todd Bowles' tenure. Kicker Chase McLaughlin impressively made 11 of his 12 attempts from 50 yards and beyond but the Bucs' special teams suffered five blocked kicks and punts overall.
