After racking up three straight wins against teams far below the .500 mark to get back to 7-6 and retake first place in the NFC South, the Bucs were out west on Sunday for a tougher challenge against the 8-5 Los Angeles Chargers.

Tampa Bay got out to a fast start, scoring its seventh opening-drive touchdown of the season to take a 7-0 lead. But Los Angeles answered with a touchdown of its own, then the two teams traded field goals before the turnover bug bit Baker Mayfield again. That led to a 17-10 advantage for the Chargers, though the Bucs cut the deficit to 17-13 just before halftime.

Out of the break, it was all Tampa Bay. The defense got a stop and once Mayfield connected with Mike Evans for a 57-yard touchdown on the next possession, the Bucs never trailed again. That put them up 20-17. Then, they went up 23-17. Then, it was 30-17. One more Mayfield passing touchdown — his fourth of the day — and another McLaughlin field goal made it a 40-17 final. Todd Bowles’ team closed the game out on a 30-0 run.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Sunday’s dominant win at SoFi Stadium:

Bucs 40, Chargers 17

Bucs WR Jalen McMillan – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs offense got the ball to start the game and went right to work once again. A 19-yard catch by Jalen McMillan, an 11-yarder by Cade Otton and a 7-yarder by Mike Evans ultimately set up Tampa Bay’s seventh opening-drive touchdown of the season. Baker Mayfield hit a wide-open McMillan for a 26-yard score, capping a seven-play, 70-yard drive that put the visitors up 7-0 just 3:46 into the game.

But the Chargers responded quickly, with Justin Herbert finding Ladd McConkey early and often before a 13-yard completion to Quentin Johnston to the Buccaneer 34. After a couple of runs by Gus Edwards picked up another first down, a third-down pass interference call on Christian Izien got the ball down to the 12. Two plays later, Herbert and McConkey connected for a 7-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 with 6:18 left in the opening quarter.

Tampa Bay’s offense stayed hot on its next possession, with Evans converting an early 3rd & 3 with a 12-yard catch, Sterling Shepard hauling in a 16-yarder and McMillan going for 21 yards on a 3rd & 12. The first quarter then came to an end with the Bucs facing a 2nd & Goal at the 7, looking to retake the lead.

The Los Angeles defense stood tall to open the second quarter, though, holding Tampa Bay to a 22-yard field goal from Chase McLaughlin. That put the Bucs up 10-7, but it was certainly a win for the Chargers defense.

Next up was a chance for Tampa Bay’s defense to get a win of its own after an explosive L.A. drive. McConkey picked up 20 yards down the field to get the possession started before Stone Smartt got behind the defense for a 31-yard gain to the Buccaneer 14. But a Lavonte David sack — his second in two weeks — and a penalty set the drive back and forced the home team to settle for a 41-yard Cameron Dicker field goal to tie the game at 10 halfway through the second quarter.

Bucs WR Mike Evans and Chargers CB Tarheeb Still – Photo by: USA Today

The dreaded second-quarter Baker Mayfield showed up to start the Bucs’ next drive, throwing a pass intended for Evans over the middle of the field that was picked off by Tarheeb Still and returned 18 yards to the 27-yard line.

Three plays later, Herbert and Johnston linked up for a 13-yard touchdown to almost immediately convert the turnover into points and a 17-10 lead.

It went from bad to worse for the Bucs on their fourth possession, as they saw a third-down conversion by Rachaad White turn into a fumble forced by Joey Bosa and recovered by Elijah Molden.

Thankfully for Tampa Bay, Los Angeles couldn’t turn the turnover into points this time around, instead punting the ball away with the lead still at 17-10 with 3:35 left in the first half.

The Bucs offense got something going again with time running low in the opening half, as Mayfield connected with Evans to convert another third down before he ran for 21 yards on another third down. An 11-yard run by White got the ball just outside the red zone, but the drive stalled at the 19. That led to a 37-yard field goal from McLaughlin to cut the deficit to 17-13 with 33 seconds to go in the second.

A Logan Hall sack ended the first half, and the Tampa Bay defense kept it rolling by forcing an L.A. three-and-out to open the second half.

Bucky Irving took over to start the Bucs’ first possession of the third quarter. He ran for six, five and 18 yards to get the ball near midfield. Two plays later, Mayfield bought some time and found Evans, who broke free and raced the rest of the way for a 57-yard touchdown. That put Tampa Bay up 20-17 with 10:23 to go in the third.

Todd Bowles’ defense held strong on the Chargers’ next possession, with pressure from Calijah Kancey and Yaya Diaby getting to Herbert on third down to force an incompletion.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs then put themselves in position to make it a two-score game thanks to a 54-yard run by Irving on the ensuing possession, but an unsportsmanlike conduct call on Jalen McMillan cost the offense a shot at a 4th-&-Short situation. Instead, Tampa Bay had to settle for a 42-yard McLaughlin field goal to make it a 23-17 game.

The game truly swung on the next possession, with Herbert throwing the ball up to Johnston only for Jamel Dean to come down with it. That was Dean’s first interception since his two-interception game in Week 2 of the 2022 season, and it was the first pick thrown by Herbert since Week 2 of this season.

Despite two holding penalties halting progress on the next drive, the Bucs offense overcame and gained some separation. On a 3rd & 12, Mayfield found Evans again for a 35-yard touchdown. That put the visitors up 30-17 late in the third quarter.

The Tampa Bay defense kept the pressure on from there, forcing another Los Angeles three-and-out early in the fourth before grinding some clock with the run game and scoring again, with Mayfield finding White this time for an 11-yard touchdown that put the visiting Buccaneers up by 20.

McLaughlin later added his fourth field goal of the day to make it a 40-17 game, and once Vi Jones forced a Smartt fumble that was recovered by Kaevon Merriweather, the Bucs closed it out from there.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Baker Mayfield bounced back nicely from his second-quarter interception, putting together a dominant second half to finish 22-of-27 for 288 yards and four touchdowns to the one pick. Mike Evans had a monster day, one that he needed to get back on track toward an 11th straight 1,000-yard receiving season. He caught nine of his 11 targets for 159 yards and two touchdowns, keying the second-half offensive explosion.

Jalen McMillan had another impressive game after a two-touchdown game last week, bringing in five of his six targets for 75 yards and a touchdown.

The Tampa Bay run game was especially key in the second half, with Bucky Irving finishing with 117 yards on 15 carries (7.8 avg.) and Rachaad White adding 64 yards on 15 carries (4.3 avg.). White also caught an 11-yard touchdown.

What shouldn’t be lost in the offense’s second-half run is the fact that the Buccaneer defense shut the Chargers out over the final two quarters. Jamel Dean’s interception was a turning point, and the unit got plenty of pressure on Justin Herbert. Lavonte David and Logan Hall both finished with 1.5 sacks, while the defense as a whole totaled 10 quarterback hits.

The Bucs outgained the Chargers 505-206 in the game, and third downs were crucial. Tampa Bay was 9-of-15 on the money down, while Los Angeles went 0-for-6 on third downs. Possession was a big difference, too, with the visitors holding the ball for 36:48 of the game’s 60 minutes.

The Bucs (8-6) will now look for a fifth straight win next Sunday night when they meet the Cowboys (6-8) in primetime at Jerry World. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m.