“A Ton Of Emotion”
September 28th, 2025
Full-time workload today for Chris Godwin.
Even though Bucs receiver Chris Godwin didn’t play near his elite standard today, it was fantastic seeing him back on the field after tearing up his ankle 11 months ago.
Not only did Godwin play, he was targeted 10 times, more than his career average per game.
Unfortunately, Godwin had just three catches for 26 yards. And there were at least two balls he didn’t haul in that he normally would.
In the somber Bucs postgame locker room, Godwin acknowledged he was knocking off rust and will continue to improve as the season wears on.
The nine-year veteran also said it wasn’t just another game.
“A ton of emotion going through my head, most of it gratitude,” Godwin said, ingadd how swelled he felt seeing his wife and son as he ran onto the field and felt the rush of gameday again.
Joe thought Godwin moved pretty well. And Joe was impressed by how many snaps the Bucs handed him. There was speculation prior to kickoff that Godwin would be on some form of a pitch count.
The Bucs lost a tough one, but it was a positive return for No. 14.
Before the game, Buccaneers Ring of Honor general manager Jason Licht said Tristan Wirfs and Godwin making their season debuts was extremely uplifting.
“What an emotional boost for us to get two of our best players back,” Licht said, noting Godwin’s challenging journey but giving no specifics.
What a game this has been.
Regardless of the outcome, Joe is jacked up for what a healthy Bucs team will look like.— JoeBucsFan (@JoeBucsFan) September 28, 2025
September 28th, 2025 at 7:48 pm
He’d have had more than 3 catches if the Eagles weren’t tackling him on every play before the ball got there.
In any case, he looked better than I expected, and hopefully he’ll back close to himself faster than I was expecting.
Just think, if everyone can stay healthy, in a few weeks the Bucs will have Godwin, e2, plus get Evans and the hopefully McMillan back right after that.
September 28th, 2025 at 7:52 pm
Glad he is back. Even with a little rust. He is a warrior.
September 28th, 2025 at 7:53 pm
The future looks bright if we can get everyone healthy including Goedeke.
Just need a new OC
September 28th, 2025 at 7:59 pm
Wow, y’all ate a bunch of weakA-**es.
Yaya sucks BTW
September 28th, 2025 at 8:03 pm
Chris is tough as nails. However, he is now our #3 when Evans gets back.
September 28th, 2025 at 8:03 pm
You can shove health in one hand and wish in the other.
September 28th, 2025 at 8:04 pm
MUCH respect Chris…you Sir are a WARRIOR!
September 28th, 2025 at 8:07 pm
A lot of no-call PIs, including the one on Sterling away from the ball when Baker threw the pick that shouldn’t have counted. The Bucky fumble that didn’t really look like a fumble to me. You take away those two things, we probably get the win. Don’t like making excuses, but the officiating was atrocious. There were other no-calls in replays that I won’t mention just because I don’t think they drastically altered the outcome of the game as much as those two.
With that being said, I still feel confident in the Bucs going forward. We weren’t %100 healthy and still probably beat the defending champs if the Zebras weren’t Eagles in disguise. GO BUCS!!!
September 28th, 2025 at 8:18 pm
Last year the we beat the eagles whom were missing their 2 wr and this year we’re down 4 offensive starters, we hung in there and gave them all we had. Bucky was down before the hip drop tackle fumble 🤔 and the Eagles held all day on defense just like the Chiefs did in SBLV (cue Tony Romo).
September 28th, 2025 at 8:26 pm
I must have missed the second “drop” but the one I saw would have been a heck of a catch if he had made it. Well defended with a defender on his arm. I also saw him make a good block. He seemed good, to me.
September 28th, 2025 at 8:26 pm
Bucs should have won by 20. Let’s stop with the mate comebacks and start becoming what we anticipate This elite roster should be. GO BUCS
September 28th, 2025 at 8:41 pm
Ex FL resident Bucs fan in Philly after a rare televised game.
Tough early.. but Bucs did not give up on themselves, which is better than some of us fans, me included.
Many things to improve but gotta love the fight of this team!
September 28th, 2025 at 9:04 pm
My view is this; the Glazers are doing all things well. Extending Bowles for 3 years was the correct decision. This franchise, in it’s 50th year, has never seen the strong foundation it has now. Keeping Bowles was mandatory and the team is successful from the front office to the franchise QB and the plentiful quality talent. For the coaching staff to have performed as well as it has given the 3 consecutive OC’s in 3 years is remarkable and a testament to the players. Having said that, special teams has been a disappointment for years. A new coach was brought in to improve performance of special teams and yet they seem to have regressed. A clock management hire was made and the jury is still out on that issue. Bowles is a stabilizing factor and he is the best option for HC for now. However it appears that he has reached his ceiling and the Glazer family needs to have a succession plan in place. The inability of this team to start games strong and fast when the ability to do so is so very apparent falls squarely on the shoulders of Todd Bowles. This team may well make it to the super bowl this year but the focus should be on the long term. I believe the Bucs are on the verge of something special.
September 28th, 2025 at 9:26 pm
The game was fugly.
September 28th, 2025 at 9:30 pm
Coen looks pretty good right now, but we had to keep Bowles.
September 28th, 2025 at 9:36 pm
Jason, tell your dual hatted employee his second half is how you demand he starts the games especially on defense. Tight press.
Cmon. Bucs prove they can have a top 5 defense
September 28th, 2025 at 9:50 pm
Wow, a few minutes ago I was complaining how boring this SNF game was.
September 28th, 2025 at 9:54 pm
Unfortunately I doubt our team gets back to healthy as the season wears on so will more injuries but man it was great to see CG14 out there. Hopefully him Mike and EE can get this offense humming like we all know it can. Man the way the defense played the 2nd half is really encouraging. Also our 2nd draft pick played great vs some great receivers. 21 might be the real deal.
September 28th, 2025 at 9:57 pm
Cybersecurity_intern Says:
September 28th, 2025 at 9:30 pm
Coen looks pretty good right now, but we had to keep Bowles.
———
I’d have kept Coen if we could, but it really wasn’t an option due to the racist NFL hiring rules. Because of the bogus Rooney Rule, the Bucs would have had to fire Bowles, then held a sham series of interviews for head coach, before they could hire Coen. In the meantime, the Bucs wouldn’t have had any ability to stop anyone else from hiring Coen. No one is going to make that risky of a move because it could backfire bigly.
The Jags are 3-1, and should absolutely be 4-0 except for an easy dropped pass in Cincinnati – and they’re supposed to be a bad team this year. They’ll still likely go on a slide at some point, but the people of Jacksonville got to be extremely happy right now.
September 28th, 2025 at 10:00 pm
Goodwin is That Man
September 28th, 2025 at 10:02 pm
I’m not upset by this game. Awful first half but adjusted and fought really hard with some great play in all areas.
BTW – everyone knows that Bakers INT pass was tipped right? Godwin was open for a tight window throw.
Get healthy and go kick some…
September 28th, 2025 at 10:09 pm
‘74 Bucs Fan – If you’re throwing beyond the LOS, and the ball is tipped by the defenders and gets intercepted, that means it’s a bad pass. Plus Godwin wasn’t open. After running around like that, you just throw it away, watching it live I knew 100% that was ending in an INT, and if Winston had done that exact same play, every comment here would be demanding that he’s benched or cut.
It’s OK to call out bad plays, it doesn’t mean Baker stinks or should lose his job, but that was a terrible decision, and if was anyone but Baker, all the people in town would be yelling about how it’s the worst pass they’ve ever seen (it’s not, but that’s what they’d be saying).
But, with that said, I agree with you. I’m not actually upset by the game, and so long as the Bucs make the playoffs, I love it, in particular if we play the Eagles again. Also, lets not forget the 2002 Bucs lost to the Eagles in the regular season as well, and we all know how that turned out.
September 28th, 2025 at 10:17 pm
Munch is 100% right…
Great play just to be able to get the throw off though— and on 4th down, I’m all for taking that kind of shot. But since it was 1st down, you’ve got to throw that away and live to play another down. Hopefully, it’s a learning moment for Baker, and he remembers to throw it away next time — unless it’s 4th down.
It’s a bit like watching Favre honestly — you live by the gunslinger, and you die by the gunslinger. Personally, I think he’s the most exciting and best quarterback the Bucs have EVER had, aside from Brady, of course. But even then, Brady wasn’t really Brady anymore — more of an older version of himself, backed by a dominant Bucs team. Seriously he came down to Tampa for a reason lol he knew how good the team was around him and then he got Gronk and it was Game Over!!
September 28th, 2025 at 10:19 pm
That’s the line Baker must cross to be considered elite: no fumbles, picks, stupid plays and beat a Super Bowl caliber team.
September 28th, 2025 at 10:25 pm
I was very nervous all game for him, lack of info had me dooming bout Godwin these last months. Agree he has rust but thats not the point, he played a whole game and did not leave on a cart. Very good to see.
September 28th, 2025 at 10:43 pm
“Hopefully, it’s a learning moment for Baker, and he remembers to throw it away next time — unless it’s 4th down.“
At this point it’s just part of who he is, he’s had >100 games started or played against NFL competition and he’s made plays like THAT before, he’s had time to learn it’s just comes with who he is as a player. We’ve got fans calling 2nd yr player Braswell a bust, but a guy who was drafted first overall **checks notes** back in 2018(!?) needs to learn?
That’s the one thing he never talks about just a “that’s one me” and no sign/word of correction. Some of you were talking MVP after the Jets game, MVP caliber players don’t make those mistakes not when you’re in desperate need of points. Good play by the D? Or a tip ball like we saw earlier in the game where Mayfield volleyball spiked a batted pass out of the air?
September 28th, 2025 at 10:43 pm
Please go GET a PUNTER
September 28th, 2025 at 10:57 pm
agree with nobs get f-cking punter cause that is 2 weeks in a row and teams are teeing off on us–Bowles needs to figure it out and fix it and stop allowing this to put us behind the 8 ball!
September 28th, 2025 at 10:58 pm
Grizz has put the deep ball back in the Buccaneers offense. Coen is a good coach but more conservative. A win over a beat up 49ers team does not make him great. The Buccaneers had 391 yards of offense, 300 in the second half. The 3 turnovers killed them. Bad OCs don’t produce that kind of yardage. Coen had the same 5 offensive lineman for 15 of 17 games. And he was winless in ga.es without Mike Evans.
September 28th, 2025 at 11:04 pm
Peyton Manning didn’t win his first MVP until Year 6 (2003), posting a 67% completion rate, 4,267 yards, 29 TDs to 10 INTs, and a 99.0 passer rating. He also didn’t win a Super Bowl until Year 8.
Baker Mayfield, now in Year 7, just had a season with 64.3% completions, 4,044 yards, 28 TDs to 10 INTs, and a 94.6 passer rating—very close to Manning’s numbers. Mayfield did this despite changing teams, a patchy offensive line, and a first-year OC.
Manning’s early years were marked by high interceptions and inconsistent results, but under Tony Dungy, he learned to manage the game smarter. Mayfield seems to be following a similar late-blooming path.
Elite QBs improve and mature over time. Baker’s trajectory might not be flashy now, but his best football could still be ahead. Huh, would you look at that.
September 29th, 2025 at 3:40 am
Welcome back CG14!
September 29th, 2025 at 1:28 pm
There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks for some hope and perspective, Joe! So darn good to see #78 & #14 out there and healthy. Both will only continue to get better.
September 29th, 2025 at 2:06 pm
First, we hung with the Eagles despite a makeshift line and a missing WR1.
Second, the Eagles apparently are the only team in the league allowed to tackle the receiver before the ball arrives. I counted at least a dozen such tackles.
Third, yes, Baker needed to throw that ball away and live to play another day.
Fourth, Bucky was down, and the ground cannot cause a fumble, and it was a hip-drop tackle. Take your pick.
The defense stepped up in the 2nd half, and our Kicker is awesome. Need to figure out how to block on punts, and tackle on KO and punt.