SEATTLE — Somehow you knew whoever had the ball in their hands last would walk away with a win. Quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, once the darlings of the NFL draft before becoming discarded teammates in Carolina, spent Sunday trading haymakers at Lumen Field like kids in the backyard with nobody hollering them home for dinner.
SEATTLE — Somehow you knew whoever had the ball in their hands last would walk away with a win.
Quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, once the darlings of the NFL draft before becoming discarded teammates in Carolina, spent Sunday trading haymakers at Lumen Field like kids in the backyard with nobody hollering them home for dinner.
It ended with the kind of theater that is only saved for second acts: Tampa Bay’s oldest player clutching an interception. A No. 2 running back smartly sliding down to drain the clock, and a flu-stricken kicker drilling the walkoff field goal to give the Bucs a record fourth win in the final minute in five games.
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Lavonte David, the oldest player on the field at 35 and in his 14th NFL season, intercepted a deflected pass from Darnold with the score tied and only 53 seconds remaining.
Rachaad White helped bleed the clock by smartly sliding down after a 12-yard run to make the Seahawks use their final timeout.
The play set up Chase McLaughlin’s winning 39-yard field goal as time expired to give the Bucs a 38-35 win over the Seahawks. McLaughlin was added to the injury report Saturday due to stomach flu-like symptoms.
“Honestly, the games we’ve had so far this year, as long as we have time on the clock we’ve got a chance, and our guys truly, truly believe that from the bottom of our hearts,” Mayfield said. “That’s a good feeling to have.”
How could they not? In improving to 4-1, the Bucs have won all four games in the final minute, including two on walkoff field goals.
The Bucs became the first team in NFL history with four wins by three or fewer points in their first five games of the season.
If you like offense, Sunday’s game was even more appealing than the Bucs and Seahawks wearing their throwback uniforms from 50 seasons ago.
The teams combined for 73 points. Before David’s interception, the Seahawks scored touchdowns on five consecutive possessions, while the Bucs nearly matched them with four out of five.
Mayfield completed 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 134.7. Darnold was 28 of 34 for 341 yards and four touchdowns with an interception for a 135.4 rating.
The Bucs won despite traveling 3,092 miles without their top two offensive players, Mike Evans and Bucky Irving.
They did it because the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Month, Emeka Egbuka, had a career day to make for a happy homecoming with seven catches for 163 yards and a touchdown.
Bucs head coach Todd Bowles, the defensive play-caller, has had better days. But there was a sense of pride, considering he drafted Darnold No. 3 overall while with the Jets and, of course, helped to resurrect Mayfield’s career.
“I thought they both played a heck of a ballgame,” Bowles said. “Obviously, Baker was very sharp. He came out smoking on all cylinders, and he played that way the entire game. Sam did a hell of a job as well.”
Bowles didn’t have many answers for Darnold on defense. The Seahawks helped his cause.
Unbelievably, they ran rookie quarterback Jalen Milroe into the game midway through the second quarter. His pitch to Kennth Walker III was behind the running back, and safety Tykee Smith recovered the fumble at the Tampa Bay 41. That led to White’s 7-yard touchdown run and a 13-0 Bucs lead.
But then after Mayfield tied the game with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with 1:08 remaining in the game, Bowles dialed up a blitz that forced Darnold’s only mistake.
Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. blitzed Darnold, and his pass to Cooper Kupp was deflected by defensive lineman Logan Hall and intercepted by David.
“We were saving that blitz for a rainy day, and we brought it out,” Bowles said. “... Everybody was waiting on it, and it finally came and (Lavonte) made the veteran play that he made. ... For our leader to step up and make that play was huge.”
All that was left was to burn the Seahawks timeouts and get in range for McLaughlin, who already had made field goals from 30 and 36 yards. White broke lose for 12 yards on third and 7 and slid down.
“Very heads up play by him,” Mayfield said. “We’re trying to get the ball to the right hash. Chase likes it over there, so we’re trying to do that and Rachaad just being able to do that and execute was huge.”
As for McLaughlin? “It’s his flu game,” Mayfield said. “Not exactly Michael Jordan. But his stature.”
What does it say about the Bucs that they never say die? That you can’t give this team the last heartbeat?
“Says we’ve matured,” Bowles said. “We’re finally playing 59 and 60 minutes. We’re winning them early. We’ve got to keep stacking them. They’re hard to come by. We’re playing good teams with injured guys all over the place. For those guys to come here after a long plane ride says a lot.”
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Category: General Sports
