Tag: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Buccaneers rally past Saints 27-19, clinch NFC South
Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes and the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers came from behind to defeat the New Orleans Saints 27-19 and win their fourth consecutive NFC South title Sunday.
In addition to securing a playoff spot, Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans reached 1,000 yards receiving for the 11th consecutive season to tie Jerry Rice’s NFL record, hitting the mark on the final play of the regular season.
Mayfield passed for 221 yards and rushed for 68, but the Buccaneers (10-7) didn’t lead until he threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Jalen McMillan with 10:09 left in the game. Tampa won for the sixth time in seven games and will host a playoff game next weekend.
Blake Grupe kicked four field goals and rookie Spencer Rattler passed for a season-high 240 yards and a touchdown for the Saints (5-12), who lost their last four games.
The Bucs received the second-half kickoff and drove to Mayfield’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Payne Durham to get within 16-13.
Jordan Howden’s interception of Mayfield gave New Orleans the ball at the Tampa 37 and led to Grupe’s 49-yard field goal and a 19-13 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Mayfield converted a fourth-and-8 with a 33-yard completion to McMillan and two plays later the pair teamed on the go-ahead touchdown. Bucky Irving ran 11 yards for a touchdown and a 27-19 lead with 1:51 remaining.
Rattler drove New Orleans to the Tampa 32 in the final minute, but threw an incompletion on fourth and 5.
With one last possession, Evans was able to reach 1,000 yards receiving on a 9-yard catch and run to end the game and earn a $3 million bonus in the process. Evans finished with nine receptions for 89 yards.
The Saints drove to Grupe’s 35-yard field goal on the first possession of the game and on the ensuing possession Chase McLaughlin tied the score with a 52-yarder after a roughing-the-punter penalty on New Orleans moved the ball into field-goal range.
The score remained tied until Grupe kicked a 39-yard field goal on the second play of the second quarter.
Rattler threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Dante Pettis Jr. to complete a 14-play 79-yard drive and give New Orleans a 13-3 lead.
Mayfield drove Tampa to the New Orleans 7 before the drive stalled and McLaughlin kicked a 25-yard field goal to trim the lead to 13-6 with 1:03 left before halftime. Rattler drove the Saints to Grupe’s 39-yard field goal with seven seconds left, giving New Orleans a 16-6 halftime lead.
–Field Level Media
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49ers finally on target to edge Buccaneers 23-20
Jake Moody found redemption on a 44-yard field goal as time expired as the visiting San Francisco 49ers finished off a 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday in the return of Christian McCaffrey.
Moody had earlier missed field goals of 49, 50 and 44, with the final one of the bunch coming with 3:09 remaining.
Moody’s third miss led to Chase McLaughlin’s 26-yard field goal for the Buccaneers to tie the game 20-20 with 41 seconds remaining.
The Bucs drove to the 49ers’ 8-yard line to set up for the game-tying kick with the help of four penalties and a circus 8-yard completion by Baker Mayfield, who escaped pressure and fended off defensive end Nick Bosa long enough to get off a throw.
Purdy’s 13-yard pass to Jauan Jennings set up San Francisco’s game-winning field goal from Moody. Jenings had seven receptions for 93 yards.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan worked McCaffrey back into the mix immediately after missing the first eight games of the season with bilateral Achilles tendinitis. His presence also freed up opportunities for wide receivers Deebo Samuel and Jennings — both of whom had been dealing with injuries — and tight end George Kittle.
McCaffrey, the 2023 Offensive Player of the Year, finished with 39 yards rushing on 13 carries and 68 receiving yards on six catches for San Francisco (5-4).
Purdy finished 25-for-36 for 353 yards with touchdown passes to rookie Ricky Pearsall and Kittle. Pearsall’s 46-yard TD reception in the first quarter, which gave the 49ers a 7-0 lead, was the first score of the rookie’s career and came after he was shot in the chest in a robbery attempt in August. He finished with four receptions for 73 yards.
Tampa Bay (4-6) lost All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs to a knee injury in the first half.
Rachaad White’s 9-yard touchdown reception from Mayfield tied the game 10-10 on the Bucs’ first drive of the second half as Tampa Bay exploited a muffed punt by Jacob Cowing at the San Francisco 21.
Kittle’s 11-yard TD catch came after Purdy extended the play, giving San Francisco a 20-17 lead with 7:02 left. The six-play, 64-yard drive was helped by an over-the-shoulder catch by McCaffrey that went for 30 yards.
Tampa Bay took its first lead of the game 17-13 with 14:18 left against a defense withering in 90-degree heat. Running back Bucky Irving sliced in from 12 yards to cap a 10-play, 70-yard drive.
Mayfield finished 18 of 29 for 116 yards and one TD.
–Field Level Media
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Bucs seek to add to another strong start, take on Broncos
There are four undefeated teams in the NFC heading into Week 3 of the season and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers stand out in the exclusive group.
Of the seven NFC playoff teams from last season, the Buccaneers are the only one to open 2-0 this season and will try to remain perfect when they play host to the Denver Broncos on Sunday.
The Buccaneers earned a 20-16 road victory last weekend against the Detroit Lions, turning in just enough defense, and opportunistic offense behind quarterback Baker Mayfield, into a 2-0 record for the fourth consecutive season.
“We’re not out to prove everybody wrong, we’re out to prove ourselves right,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said. “We’re hungry, we’re trying to get to the playoffs and win the Super Bowl. The same people that are patting us on the back are the same people that were talking about us and expecting us to win none.”
The common denominator in those previous 2-0 starts is that none of them turned into a third consecutive victory, including a 25-11 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles during Week 3 last season. The last time Tampa Bay went 3-0 was in 2005.
The Buccaneers exacted a measure of revenge with their win Sunday over the Lions, who eliminated Tampa Bay in last year’s NFC Divisional round of the playoffs.
“We know it’s a long season,” Buccaneers cornerback Zyon McCollum said. “We went 2-0 last year and you all saw what happened. So the leadership on this team has been keeping us together and keeping us grinding, staying humble and focusing on the Broncos.”
Humility is key, especially since Tampa Bay has the 28th-ranked defense in total yards allowed at 381 per game. They have offset that by allowing 18.0 points per game, tied for sixth best in the league.
Broncos rookie quarterback Bo Nix will try to expose a Buccaneers defense that is 29th overall in passing defense with 242.5 yards allowed per game.
Denver (0-2) gave up just 13 points to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week on 117 passing yards, but scored on just a pair of fourth-quarter field goals from Will Lutz.
Nix had 246 yards passing last week but threw two interceptions and now has four in two games, with no touchdowns. One of those interceptions came in the end zone in the third quarter after Denver had advanced to the Pittsburgh 6-yard line.
The empty drive was otherwise one to remember, with Nix connecting on passes of 26 and 49 yards. Wide receiver Josh Reynolds caught the 49-yarder on a trick play and has nine receptions for 138 of Nix’s 384 total yards.
“(I’m) pleased with what he’s doing,” Nix said of Reynolds. “He played really well down the stretch. He (made) catches and (found) zones in the defense and got us some key conversions.”
Denver is 29th in total offense at 263 yards per game and is one of 10 teams averaging fewer than 100 yards rushing per game. The Buccaneers also are on that list.
The Broncos will lean into a defense that is ninth in the NFL with 277.5 yards allowed per game. After Denver plays at Tampa Bay, it will stay on the road and head to West Virginia to prepare for the New York Jets in Week 4.
“It’s not a make-or-break, but we’re going to have a better idea of where this team is going to be after these next two weeks going on the road,” Denver head coach Sean Payton said. “… Sometimes that can work as a positive relative to your team being together the whole time.”
Broncos right tackle Mike McGlinchey (knee) went on injured reserve Wednesday, while injuries have impacted the defense. Linebacker Baron Browning (foot), defensive end John Franklin-Myers (concussion) and safeties Brandon Jones (foot) and JL Skinner (ankle) all missed practice Wednesday.
Players not practicing for the Buccaneers on Wednesday: defensive lineman William Gholston (knee), tackle Luke Goedeke (concussion), defensive back Josh Hayes (ankle), defensive lineman Calijah Kancey (calf), nose tackle Vita Vea (knee) and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot).
–Field Level Media