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.
A missed field goal and a giveaway had kept the Seahawks off the scoreboard in the first half of Sunday’s matchup against the Buccaneers.
But Seattle engineered a successful two-minute drive to get on the board with a 6-yard touchdown from Sam Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba with six seconds left in the second quarter.
Still, the Bucs lead 13-7 at halftime.
Darnold finished the first half 13-of-17 for 130 yards with his touchdown. Cooper Kupp has four catches for 41 yards while Smith-Njigba has four catches for 35 yards with his TD.
The Buccaneers had gotten out to a 13-0 lead, in part due to the Seahawks getting a little too cute.
Midway through the second quarter, Jalen Milroe came in for a play on first-and-10 at the Tampa Bay 38. Milroe fielded the snap and ran a sprint option to the left with running back Kenneth Walker. But Milroe’s pitch to the running back was behind Walker and the ball ended up on the ground as a fumble.
Safety Tykee Smith recovered the loose ball to give the Bucs an extra possession.
Seven plays and 59 yards later, the Bucs were in the end zone.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield finished the first half 14-of-16 for 126 yards, with one of his incompletions being a clear drop.
Rookie Emeka Ebuka has two catches for 33 yards while Cade Otten has three receptions for 56 yards.
The Seahawks will have a chance to double up, as they’ll receive the second-half kickoff.
