Ira Kaufman’s 10 Takeaways From Bucs-Seahawks
October 5th, 2025
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BY IRA KAUFMAN
Tom Brady came close, but no Buccaneer player has ever been voted league MVP. It may be time to change that narrative.
Week 5 isn’t completely in the books yet, but Baker Mayfield is making a compelling case for the NFL’s most coveted individual award. Yes, he did it again.
For the fourth time in five games, Mayfield led a scintillating comeback in the late stages as Tampa Bay outlasted Seattle 38-35 in a matchup long on drama and incredibly short on defense.
The Seahawks hadn’t allowed that many points in a 60-minute home game since Dec. 17, 2017, eight days after Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy.
Mayfield ended up outdueling Sam Darnold on a day the two combined for 67 pass attempts and only 10 incompletions.
For the season, Mayfield is completing 65 percent of his throws for 1,283 yards and 10 touchdowns with only one pick. He scrambles effectively, is adept at buying time in the pocket and has taken only nine sacks.
The Bucs needed Mayfield at his best Sunday because Tampa Bay’s defense was awful in the second half. Seattle scored 28 points and rolled up 311 yards after trailing 13-7 at intermission.
But Mayfield, down two starting offensive linemen, a Hall of Fame receiver and his best running back, kept firing away at the league’s No. 2 scoring defense. A last-minute pick by Lavonte David set up Chase McLaughlin’s game-winning FG, but make no mistake — this was a game Mayfield simply would not let the Bucs lose.
He had some help as Emeka Egbuka was spectacular, catching all 7 of his targets for 163 yards. Fellow rookie Tez Johnson added four receptions for 59 yards and Cade Otton came up big with four catches for 81 yards.
The Bucs are now 3-0 on the road heading into Sunday’s home matchup against the 4-1 49ers. You can only imagine the jubilation aboard that cross-country flight back to Tampa.
That wide smile on the face of Todd Bowles as he walked across Lumen Field said it all. Here’s how the Bucs overcame a flurry of missed tackles and busted coverages to win a thrilling shootout:
* Give it up for new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard, who called a good game against a good defense. He ran the ball just enough to keep Seattle guessing, even though the Bucs averaged only 2.3 yards per carry. “They did a good job of scheming stuff open,” said Seattle coach Mike Macdonald.
Rachaad White
* David’s interception probably doesn’t happen without the massive pressure applied by a blitzing Antoine Winfield Jr., who got in Darnold’s grill just as he was releasing the ball. Bowles said he was saving that defensive call all day. It was worth the wait.
* Rachaad White gained only 41 yards in 14 attempts filling in for injured Bucky Irving, but he scored twice, caught four passes for an additional 30 yards and ran for a key first down that allowed Tampa Bay to drain the clock before McLaughlin’s winning kick. White’s rushing stats were deceiving. Seattle blew up a third-quarter swing pass to White for an eight-yard loss, but it technically was a run because the throw was backwards. Without that, White had 13 carries for 49 yards.
* Ever since Egbuka became a Buccaneer, we’ve heard constant comparisons to Chris Godwin in terms of his route running, hands and toughness. It’s very early in his pro career, but Egbuka now looks like the second coming of Hall of Famer Paul Warfield. He’s wrecking opposing defenses with smooth slants and deep balls, averaging 17.8 yards per catch.
* Seattle didn’t block any kicks on Sunday and McLaughlin was his customarily steady self, but the kickoff coverage was atrocious. Dareke Young returned five kicks for 154 yards, so Thomas McGaughey has some more work to do this week.
* The Buc defense had no answers for most of the day against a pedestrian attack. Darnold led five consecutive TD drives before David’s critical interception. Bowles tried an array of blitzes, but Darnold often had enough time in the pocket to order halibuts from Pike Place Market. Let’s just say Haason Reddick is off to a rather benign start as an edge rusher.
* With Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison sidelined, rookie Jacob Parrish made his first pro start. He opened at cornerback opposite Zyon McCollum. Parrish made a few plays but was also victimized a few times by stud wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who caught 8-of-9 targets for 132 yards and a touchdown.
MVP?
* How focused is Mayfield? The Seahawks had just executed a 99-yard drive to grab a 35-28 lead with 3:18 remaining. It looked like a kill shot but Mayfield needed only five plays to guide Tampa Bay 70 yards for the tying score. He opened with a 25-yard strike to Otton and capped the drive with an 11-yard TD flip to Sterling Shepard, craftily buying enough time for Shepard to break loose.
* Tykee Smith turned in a big play by jumping on a loose ball when the Seahawks tried to get too cute in the second quarter, setting up White’s 7-yard TD dash for a 13-0 advantage.
* Cardiac Bucs. That’s what Graham Barton dubbed his team coming off the field against the Jets two weeks ago. The label still applies. Tampa Bay’s four wins have come by a combined nine points and Mayfield is the clear-cut catalyst. It’s hard to imagine another NFL player more essential to his team’s success so far in 2025. League MVP? Don’t snicker. If the season ended today, he’d have my vote.
October 5th, 2025 at 10:09 pm
America’s qb
October 5th, 2025 at 10:13 pm
Array of blitzes? Dayum, I missed those. I was focused on our pressures the entire game and could have sworn we used four man rushes far more than normal
October 5th, 2025 at 10:13 pm
Great summary Ira!
Shout outs to McLaughlin’s tackling and the improvement of the H boys, Heck and Haggard.
October 5th, 2025 at 10:20 pm
Egbuka has mastered zone coverage! You can’t cover this guy with zone coverage. The sky is the limit. Great pass blocking today against the leagues #1 4-man rush!
October 5th, 2025 at 10:25 pm
Mayfield and Egbuka are the most exciting QB/Receiver combo in the NFL
The Best since a healthy Burrow/ Chase combo and reminiscent of the ‘90’s Cunningham/Moss combo.
October 5th, 2025 at 10:34 pm
Can someone tell me the percentage of plays in the game the Bucs used the blitz? Because like the other commenter on here I sure didn’t see it but I also had a few drinks so I might have been a little off. Go Bucs!
October 5th, 2025 at 10:35 pm
Cardiac Bucs has been around longer than Ira has. The NFL finally put a honest, ref team on this game. Man, did both the Seattle teams and we Bucs faithful see/ hear why we are football fans. Go Mighty Bucs!!
October 5th, 2025 at 10:37 pm
If Grizzard had called a better game against the Eagles Baker would’ve pulled that one out too.
October 5th, 2025 at 10:46 pm
They took away our run and short pass game and dared Mayfield to beat them. He of course did. I have $30 on Baker for MVP at 32 to 1 odds. Feeling good!!!
October 5th, 2025 at 10:47 pm
Really 99 you gonna say something about Grizz after that performance. Here’s your sign you are officially a stuip!
October 5th, 2025 at 10:51 pm
One of the best Buccaneer offense team performances I’ve seen this year, and every ounce of it was needed.
Hawk’s picked the defense apart, and I’m not still waiting to see Reddick’s name be called out by a game announcer for doing something…anything! I saw him getting shoved in that Australian rugby scrum in the second half and realized that was the first time I even saw his name across the back of his uniform in the game! It’s time for him to become game relevant again!
October 5th, 2025 at 10:52 pm
Baker had elite quarterbacking today and his connection with Egbuka made ALL the difference in this game. Hope Godwin can get up to speed by next game. Look forward to when we get Jalen McMillan and Mike Evans back as well. Very good job to come out of Seahawk battle with a win.
October 5th, 2025 at 11:00 pm
No blitz until LVDs INT….
Bowles played zone most of the time due to injuries in the secondary
Lack of pass rush from the edges are concerning
4-1
GO BUCS
October 5th, 2025 at 11:04 pm
Baker is Americas QB. This team is pure entertainment. They keep you on the edge of your seat the whole game. Let’s goo 4-1. Another week watching the Bucs another week with more grey hairs and an elevated heart beat.
October 5th, 2025 at 11:10 pm
One Question Ira.
When is the kicker going to be told to just kickoff out of the end zone?
We were giving the Seahawks half a field almost every drive they had.
October 5th, 2025 at 11:10 pm
Baker was completely unflappable today…..no sign of panic whatsoever….has to bleed over to the rest of the offense.
You could cut the confidence with a knife.
October 5th, 2025 at 11:12 pm
Ungodly GG14 got himself a sun tan. He had EE2, White and Otton floating around. So he just played decoy and backup. I am saying it: this offense gets back to full strength, it will be unreal. ST has also cleaned up its act. Dare I write it: next weekend, Bucs go 5-1 ?
October 5th, 2025 at 11:14 pm
Baker’s 87.9% completion percentage was a significant achievement. It was the highest percentage recorded by any quarterback in a single game during the 2025 NFL season. For context, this feat places him in a rare category of quarterbacks, joining Justin Herbert (2023), Lamar Jackson (2021), and Tom Brady (2009) as the only players in NFL history to complete over 85% of their passes with more than 375 yards.
October 5th, 2025 at 11:16 pm
I agree, I did not see the array of blitz
October 5th, 2025 at 11:47 pm
warfield? how many people reading this even know who that is?
October 5th, 2025 at 11:56 pm
Did anyone see Barton get pancaked? He got absolutely destroyed on one play. He’s a really big man. I wonder who could do that to him? Impressive.
October 6th, 2025 at 12:13 am
Love the Warfield reference and what a fluid receiver he was! Compliment to EE for sure!
October 6th, 2025 at 12:35 am
In baker we trust. Might want to extend his contract now before he wins mvp
October 6th, 2025 at 1:41 am
Bowles really needs to hire a D-Coordinator. The defense sits back way too often. While these games are anxiety inducing, they are great to watch and a lot of fun but it cannot be sustained. Something has to change on defense so they’ll actually play to stay ahead.
October 6th, 2025 at 2:12 am
Paul Warfield may seem a bit much. Both Ohio State and not nearly as fast.
Leave it at that.
Seahawks fans are wondering like Texans fans.
October 6th, 2025 at 4:43 am
Well delivered, Ira.
Baker was phenomenal. Yes, focused along with that fighting attitude we all love. Even other team’s fans are cheering him on!
October 6th, 2025 at 6:13 am
Ira, can we not agree that this was a great game between two evenly matched opponents? The difference is how many injuries the Bucs are dealing with on BOTH sides of the ball. When healthy I’m betting that the defense will improve tremendously. Why give credit to an injured offense but not an injured defense?
October 6th, 2025 at 9:01 am
Warfield one of my favorites as a kid. I se the resemblance, smooth and silky
October 6th, 2025 at 10:24 am
Why was bowles lauding Reddick in the preseason as the answer to our edge rush, and then keep him off the edge so often? Was this his strategy all along? Trying to fool opposing offenses? Still scratching my head, coach.
October 6th, 2025 at 11:00 am
Egbuka is actually on pace to crush Paul Warfields rookie stats, for whatever that’s worth. He’s a special special player, this Egbuka!