Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold went toe-to-toe with Baker Mayfield for almost all of Sunday’s matchup between Seattle and Tampa Bay.
But what ended up being Darnold’s last play of the day was a significant mistake.
Darnold was looking to throw the ball over the middle when his pass deflected off the helmet of a defender and went into the waiting arms of linebacker Lavonte David for an interception.
A few plays later, Chase McLaughlin hit a 39-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bucs a 38-35 win.
“[T]he last turnover, definitely on me,” Darnold said in his postgame press conference. “I was just trying to throw it away. I think it might have deflected off a helmet. Once I saw it was going to be hot to my left, I just tried to throw it away, and I think it deflected off somebody’s helmet. At the end of the day, I got to protect the football in that situation and can’t give them a short field to put the game away like that.
“I feel like that was bad quarterback play on that last snap.”
Part of that is because Darnold said he could have changed the protection call at the line.
“I had a good answer to that side, and I think Tory [Horton] was open as well on the right side,” Darnold said. “So, I just got to be a lot better there pre-snap.”
Darnold finished the contest 28-of-34 for 341 yards with four touchdowns and an interception. Through five games this season, Darnold has completed 73.1 percent of his passes for 1,246 yards with nine touchdowns and three picks.
Two pairs of former teammates showed out in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.
Former Panthers quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold were both dealing to former Ohio State receivers Emeka Egbuka and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
But in the end, the Buccaneers were able to get a needed turnover late in the fourth quarter and used it to set up another walk-off field goal, defeating the Seahawks 38-35.
The Seahawks used an eight-play, 99-yard drive to go ahead 35-28 with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter, as Darnold evaded a sack on fourth-and-2 in Tampa Bay territory to hit Tory Horton with a 21-yard touchdown.
But the Buccaneers were able to tie the game with Mayfield’s 11-yard TD pass to Sterling Shepard with 1:08 on the clock.
Armed with three timeouts, the Seahawks had plenty of time to get down the field and set up a last-second field goal. But on the second play of the possession, Darnold’s pass ricocheted off a defender’s helmet at the line of scrimmage and went right to the hands of veteran linebacker Lavonte David.
That set up Tampa Bay at the Seattle 35-yard line, though the Seahawks still had three timeouts. But that became a moot point once Rachaad White converted third-and-7 with a 12-yard run to put the Bucs on the Seattle 20.
After a kneel down, Chase McLaughlin nailed his 39-yard field goal to put the game away.
Mayfield got the better of Darnold in the QB duel, but Darnold still performed well for much of the contest. Mayfield finished 29-of-33 for 379 yards with two touchdowns. He also had 15 yards rushing.
Darnold finished 28-of-34 for 341 yards with four touchdowns and an interception.
Egbuka caught all seven of his targets for 163 yards with a touchdown, including a 57-yard bomb that set up a separate TD.
Smith-Njigba caught eight passes on nine targets for 132 yards with a touchdown. He had a 53-yard deep catch that set up a TD.
Another Seattle giveaway was part of the difference, as Jalen Milroe fumbled a pitch to running back Kenneth Walker during the second quarter. That turnover led to a Tampa Bay touchdown, with White scoring his first of two rushing TDs.
Tampa Bay finished the contest with 426 total yards, 25 first downs, and 7-of-11 on third down.
Seattle tallied 463 yards, 27 first downs, and was 6-of-9 on third down.
Now at 4-1, the Bucs will host the fellow 4-1 49ers next Sunday afternoon.
The 3-2 Seahawks will be on the road to play the Jaguars in Week 6.
Two former Ohio State receivers are going at it in Seattle on Sunday.
After Jaxson Smith-Njigba set up a Seattle touchdown with a 53-yard deep catch midway through the third quarter, Buccaneers receiver Emeka Egbuka set up a TD with a deep catch of his own.
Bucs QB Baker Mayfield connected with Egbuka for a 57-yard reception down to the Seattle 2-yard line.
Two plays later, Rachaad White powered the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown.
That gave the Bucs a 28-21 lead with 19 seconds left in the third quarter.
Egbuka has caught all five of his targets so far on Sunday for 129 yards with a touchdown.
Smith-Njigba has six catches for 99 yards with a TD of his own.
On the injury front, Buccaneers running back Josh Williams is being evaluated for a concussion. Seahawks cornerback Riq Woolen is also questionable due to a concussion evaluation.
It’s only Week 5, but Buccaneers receiver Emeka Egbuka continues to look like a bona fide offensive rookie of the year candidate.
Egbuka caught a 20-yard touchdown, and a two-point conversion to give the Buccaneers a 21-14 lead over the Seahawks.
Egbuka now has five receiving touchdowns in his young career. He’s become just the fourth rookie in the last 40 seasons to have at least five receiving touchdowns in his team’s first five games — joining Randy Moss in 1998, Calvin Ridley in 2018, and Ja’Marr Chase in 2021.
Egbuka has three receptions for 53 yards on Sunday.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is 20-of-22 for 199 yards with a touchdown midway through the third quarter.
The Seahawks have successfully doubled up to take a one-point lead over the Buccaneers.
After scoring a touchdown with six seconds left in the first half, Seattle scored again to open the third quarter with running back Zach Charbonnet’s 5-yard touchdown run.
Charbonnet’s score capped a quick four-play, 77-yard drive. Quarterback Sam Darnold hit receiver Dareke Young for a 36-yard pass on the second play of the drive. Then Kenneth Walker got the offense down to the 5-yard line with a 31-yard run.
Charbonnet did the rest from there.
Seattle now is averaging 8.2 yards per play on their 28 offensive snaps.
