The Buccaneers defeated the Raiders 28-13 and took sole possession of first place in the NFC South. Despite a mid-game lull including three turnovers, the Bucs pulled away following rookie receiver Jalen McMillan’s second touchdown in the final two minutes of regulation.
“We shot ourselves in the foot with a couple penalties and they stoned us at the line of scrimmage a couple times as well,” said Head Coach Todd Bowles. “We didn’t play well overall. It’s hard to win a game when you turn it over three times, but those guys stuck with it and made some plays in the second half, and we got it done. It’s not always going to be pretty, but as long as you can win ’em, it doesn’t matter how you get ’em.”
The Bucs’ win paired with Atlanta’s 42-21 loss to the Vikings on Sunday put Tampa Bay back in the driver’s seat of the division hunt. With the third-straight victory, Tampa Bay improved to 7-6 while the rival Falcons lost their fourth-consecutive and fell to 6-7. Atlanta holds a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Bucs after a 2024 season sweep and the Bucs have to equal or surpass the Falcons’ win total over the final weeks of the season to lock up the division.
Offensive Snapshot
The Buccaneers generated 420 net yards of offense in Sunday’s win, marking their seventh game this season in which they accumulated 400 or more yards of offense. Tampa Bay accounted for 152 yards and one score on the ground against the Raiders, their fourth consecutive game with over 100 rushing yards and their 10th overall this season. Tampa Bay has recorded three of its five highest-rushing-total games in 2024 over the last three weeks (157 yards in Week 12, 236 yards in Week 13, 152 yards in Week 14). The club’s three straight games with 150 or more yards and at least one rushing touchdown is the longest such streak in franchise history.
In addition to Jalen McMillan’s two-touchdown day, running back Rachaad White also scored twice and posted over 100 yards from scrimmage, catching a five-yard pass in the first quarter and running one in from three yards out in the fourth quarter. The Buccaneers’ offense scored twice on their first two drives – averaging over eight yards per play – and twice in the fourth quarter.
Baker Mayfield capped off a 12-play, 85-yard methodical march down the field on the game’s opening possession with a 15-yard scoring pass to McMillan. Mayfield faked a screen pass to Bucky Irving and once the cornerback bit, McMillan sailed by on a fly route. McMillan’s second touchdown put the exclamation mark on the win. Up 21-13, McMillan once again crossed the goal line, this time form third-and-six. The Raiders were in off coverage and McMillan, a fluid route runner, released and then quickly turned on a dime, and Mayfield put the ball right on his chest plate. McMillan turned upfield and as Jack Jones came downhill, Luke Goedeke sealed off the corner for McMillan to waltz in on a 29-yard score. He became the first Tampa Bay rookie to catch two scoring passes in the same game since tight end O.J. Howard accomplished the feat against Buffalo on Oct. 22, 2017.
White spearheaded the Bucs’ rushing attack with Bucky Irving dealing with a back injury. He posted 90 yards on 17 totes and Sean Tucker added three carries for 47 yards to the mix. Tucker helped set up White’s fourth quarter touchdown with a 34-yard run. Center Graham Barton pulled around and sealed off the edge for Tucker, who quickly accelerated north down the right sideline. In addition, a 32-yard gain by Mike Evans off an in-breaking route moved the chains on the aforementioned drive and featured a jaw-dropping hurdle by the future Hall of Fame receiver. Then on the Bucs’ final offensive possession, Cade Otton broke a tackle and nabbed a 44-yard catch-and-run to spur McMillan’s second score. Otton finished with three catches for 70 yards. Evans finished with four catches for 69 yards.
Defensive Look
The Buccaneers limited the Raiders to just four third-down conversions on 13 attempts and 286 total net yards, but three turnovers by Tampa Bay in the first half kept the Raiders in the game and led to seven points for Las Vegas – a one-yard quarterback keeper by Aidan O’Connell following a fumble in the second quarter.
The Bucs have dealt with a myriad of injuries on defense. Down safeties Jordan Whitehead (injured reserve, pectoral) and Mike Edwards (hamstring), the Buccaneers once again had to shuffle players around after Antoine Winfield Jr. exited with a knee injury. Kaevon Merriweather, re-signed with the Bucs this past week off the Lions’ practice squad, started and recorded seven tackles and 1.0 sack and nearly logged an interception but the play was eventually overturned and ruled an incompletion. In a collective approach on the back end, Tykee Smith, Christian Izien and Tavierre Thomas all recorded snaps at safety. Former Falcons’ quarterback Desmond Ridder finished the game in the fourth quarter for Aidan O’Connell after he was carted off at the end of the third quarter with his leg in an air cast.
Lavonte David delivered a vintage performance on Sunday, recording a sack and a fumble recovery in the first 17 minutes of play. On the sack, Anthony Nelson dropped in coverage after the snap and David looped inside as the Raiders’ offensive line slid to the outside, leaving David unblocked through the middle on the pressure. David forced the punt and racked up seven tackles, a tackle for loss, a quarterback hit and a fumble recovery. He now has 37.5 sacks and 19 fumble recoveries in his prolific career in Tampa Bay – the most fumble recoveries among all players since David entered the league in 2012. David also helped the Buccaneers contain rookie phenom Brock Bowers to just three catches on five targets.
The Raiders had a chance to take the lead in the third quarter on a 66-yard drive, but Smith intercepted a pass intended for Brock Bowers at the Bucs’ seven-yard line. Smith logged three tackles, two passes defensed and an interception in the win, marking his second interception of the season. Smith is one of three players with two-or-more interceptions and three-or-more forced fumbles this season, along with Atlanta’s Jessie Bates III and San Francisco’s Fred Warner.
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