Buccaneers Defeat New York Jets 29-27 in Week 3

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been trailing with less than a minute to play in each of their first three games of the 2025 season, yet they remain undefeated after yet another Baker Mayfield-led two-minute drill produced a 29-27 win over the New York Jets Sunday at Raymond James Stadium. The Buccaneers had already produced their fifth straight 2-0 start to a season but now are 3-0 for the first time since 2005.

“It’s hard to win in this league, period,” said Head Coach Todd Bowles. “Us shooting ourselves doesn’t help it much, but the resiliency they had to come back and win those games [is big]. We’re stacking them early this year. We’ve been 2-0 the past three or four years but we haven’t won the third game, so that’s a plus, winning the third game.”

With the Falcons falling 30-0 to the Carolina Panthers on the road Sunday, the Buccaneers will finish Week Three with a two-game edge in the NFC South standings. The Falcons, who also lost at home to Tampa Bay in Week One, are 1-2, as are the Panthers. The New Orleans Saints came into the weekend with an 0-2 record and were set to face the Seattle Seahawks on the road on Sunday. The Buccaneers are seeking their fifth straight NFC South title, which would be a record for the division, which was created during realignment in 2002.

In this case, the Buccaneers appeared to have the game well in hand when they took a 23-6 win into the fourth quarter against the winless Jets. However, backup quarterback Tyrod Taylor led a pair of long touchdown drives to make it a one-score game with almost four minutes left to play. The Buccaneers got into position to kick a 43-yard field goal that would have given them a nine-point lead, but Chase McLaughlin’s 43-yard attempt was blocked by Will McDonald, who then chased down the bouncing ball and returned it 50 yards for the go-ahead score.

Before the field goal attempt that was blocked with less than two minutes to play, the Buccaneers lined up as if they were going for it on fourth-and-one at the Jets’ 40. A first down would have allowed the home team to kill the remainder of the clock, while a field goal would have essentially put the game away as well. The Bucs didn’t snap the ball, instead trying to induce an offsides penalty. Despite the stunning results of the ensuing attempt, Bowles said he thinks the Bucs made the right call.

“It was the right thing to do when we had the fourth-and-one,” said Bowles, whose description of his thoughts as McDonald was scoring included multiple expletives. “That would have put us up by nine; that would have made it hard for them to win the ballgame. I wasn’t looking for the block and it happened. That can’t happen. Thankfully, we came back and won the game.”

That necessitated more Mayfield heroics, as he drove the home team 48 yards on seven plays to set up McLaughlin’s 36-yard game-winner. The drive included catches of 28 yards by sensational rookie WR Emeka Egbuka and 20 yards by intrepid veteran Sterling Shepard, the latter of which got the ball down to the Jets’ 18. From there, the Bucs simply ran the last minute off the clock and sent out McLaughlin to win the game. He did with his fifth field goal of the contest, including two from beyond 50 yards.

Mayfield completed 19 of 29 passes for 233 yards, one touchdown, no interceptions and a 101.7 passer rating. His five-yard scoring pass to WR Mike Evans in the second quarter gave the Bucs a 10-6 lead, but the offense had to mount the game-winning drive without their top receiver, who had left the game with a hamstring injury with six minutes left. Egbuka and Shepard picked up the slack, the former leading the team with 85 yards on six catches and the latter adding 80 yards on four grabs.

Mayfield was sacked just once behind a makeshift offensive line that included two players – guards Elijah Klein and Luke Haggard – making their first NFL starts. In addition, veteran Charlie Heck made his first start as a Buccaneer at right tackle in place of the injured Luke Goedeke and second-year C Graham Barton continued to fill in at left tackle while the team awaits the return of All-Pro Tristan Wirfs. Mayfield was sacked just once but frequently had to escape pressure, eventually running four times for 44 yards, including a 33-yarder into scoring territory late in the fourth quarter.

“Obviously, we had a little mix-up on the offensive line, and those guys played great,” said Mayfield. “‘Carbs’ (Run Game Coordinator/Offensive Line Coach Kevin Carberry) and [Offensive Line Coach Brian] Picucci got those guys ready and then they executed, especially in critical moments. They were blitzing, having to check to some plays, different protections – you can’t say enough about those guys keeping their calm and executing in the heat of the moment there.”

The new-look O-Line played well enough to win, but it wasn’t a completely clean outing. The Buccaneers were penalized 14 times for 124 yards, and were frequently called for holding on offense. In fact, Tampa Bay overcame four holding penalties in the span of seven snaps to get three points on its first drive of the game. After each team had run one possession, both ending in fields, the game officially had 15 plays from scrimmage and eight penalties. The Buccaneers also averaged just 3.6 yards per carry, though they did finish with 122 yards on the ground, led by Bucky Irving’s 66 yards on 25 carries. Irving added 33 more yards on four receptions.

“They fought, but we had 14 penalties,” said Bowles. “It felt like it was a holding penalty on about 12 of them. That’s what it felt like; I’m sure it wasn’t but at the same time we’ve got to be better in that area.”

After a slow start for both sides, the Bucs turned the tide in the first half with their first two defensive takeaways of the season. That included Jamel Dean’s 55-yard pick six down the right sideline, the Bucs’ first defensive score of the season and their first since Antoine Winfield Jr.’s 58-yard scoop-and-score of a fumble at New Orleans on October 13, 2024. It was also the Buccaneers’ first pick-six since Shaquil Barrett had one against Chicago on September 17, 2023 and the first by a Tampa Bay defensive back since Mike Edwards recorded one against the Saints on September 18, 2022.