Coming into the final day of November off three straight losses, the Bucs returned to Raymond James Stadium for a crucial Week 13 matchup against the struggling Arizona Cardinals, a team on its own three-game losing streak.

As frustrating as recent weeks have been for Tampa Bay as it lost three straight and four out of five, Sunday’s game was the start of a three-game homestand against sub-.500 teams. In other words, it was the opening of a window of opportunity for Todd Bowles and Co. as they look to clean some things up and get back on track toward their fifth straight NFC South title and a sixth straight playoff appearance.

The Bucs getting their first win since Oct. 26 was never going to come easy, though. Arizona came in at 3-8, but six of its eight losses had come by four points or fewer. So, it wasn’t surprising when the first quarter ended scoreless and Tampa Bay carried just a 10-3 lead into halftime.

And it wasn’t a shock when after the Bucs went up 17-3 in the third quarter, the Cardinals came right back to make it a one-possession game again. In the end, the Bucs just barely held on for a 20-17 win on Simeon Rice’s Ring of Honor induction day. The victory kept Tampa Bay atop the division and handed Arizona a seventh loss by four points or fewer.

Here’s a recap of all the action from the Bucs’ victorious return to Ray Jay, which got them to 7-5 on the season:

Bucs 20, Cardinals 17

The Bucs got the ball to open the game and got going with a bit of Baker Mayfield magic as he avoided a Budda Baker sack, left the pocket and found Chris Godwin Jr. for a 25-yard gain to convert an early 3rd & 9. But a false start on Payne Durham and a negative first-down play put the offense behind the sticks and led to an eventual punt.

Riley Dixon’s punt pinned the Cardinals at their own 6-yard line, but it didn’t take much time for Jacoby Brissett to get his offense down the field. Before long, Arizona was in the red zone and looking to finish off a six-minute drive with a score.

Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett – Photo by: USA Today

But the Buccaneer defense came through with a takeaway when it badly needed one, with Jamel Dean deflecting a Brissett pass and Antoine Winfield Jr. coming up with it for his second interception of the season.

A terrible holding call on Tristan Wirfs halted the next drive, which ended with a Josh Sweat sack. That also brought us to the end of a scoreless first quarter.

After Dixon booted a 56-yard punt and the Bucs defense forced a quick three-and-out, Mayfield and the offense went back to work. An 11-yard pass to Durham and a 31-yarder to Godwin highlighted a drive that got inside the 10-yard line, but Godwin dropped a touchdown on third down and Tampa Bay had to settle for a 3-0 lead thanks to a 25-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin.

The Tampa Bay defense responded well on the ensuing Arizona possession, with Yaya Diaby chasing Brissett down for a first-down sack, Winfield pressuring him into a second-down throwaway and Vita Vea getting to him for a third-down sack to force a punt. And after Kam Johnson returned that punt 15 yards to midfield, the Bucs offense had their best starting field position yet.

A 21-yard run by Mayfield on a 3rd & 3 sparked the drive and after a Rachaad White touchdown got negated by an offensive pass interference penalty on Tez Johnson – yet another questionable call – White made some moves to get 11 yards to set up a 4th & 2 on the other side of the two-minute warning.

Tampa Bay went for it and converted with a pass from Mayfield to Sterling Shepard, then a Bucky Irving touchdown run was negated by a holding call on Durham. But it was all worth it when, after a 9-yard catch and run by White got the Bucs back to the 2-yard line, Mayfield found a wide-open TRISTAN WIRFS (!!!) for a touchdown to put the home team up 10-0.

Bucs LT Tristan Wirfs and C Graham Barton – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Arizona came back with an answer before halftime, with a 21-yard catch by Harrison on 3rd & 9 getting the drive going before a few more completions did just enough to set up a 52-yard field goal by Chad Ryland. That made it a 10-3 Tampa Bay advantage heading into the break.

The Cardinals carried some momentum out of halftime with a big kickoff return and a chunk run by Bam Knight, but then the Bucs swung things back in their favor as Logan Hall knocked the ball loose from Knight and Tykee Smith recovered it for the defense’s second takeaway of the day.

The offense couldn’t do anything with the turnover, though, leading to a quick punt.

On their ensuing possession, the Cardinals got going much like they did on their opening drive before the Winfield interception, working their way methodically down the field. But after Brissett missed Harrison on a deep ball on 3rd & 3, Ryland came on and missed a 43-yard field goal wide right, keeping it a 10-3 Buccaneer lead halfway through the third.

The Bucs offense then came out and moved with some urgency, getting across midfield with a 23-yard catch by Egbuka. Godwin then got another 22 into the red zone, and from there, Bucky Irving did the rest. The second-year running back found some space and scored from 13 yards out, giving Tampa Bay a 17-3 lead with just under four minutes left in the third.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Cliff Welch/PR

The Cardinals didn’t take long to respond, going right down the field with chunk plays from Harrison and Trey McBride. Eventually, Brissett found Knight for a 15-yard touchdown to get the visitors back within a touchdown just before the fourth quarter.

And after the Bucs punted early in the fourth, the Cardinals had a chance to go down the field and tie the game. Three missed tackles on one play allowed Arizona to convert one third down, but then a missed deep ball set up 4th & 1 at the 39-yard line. The Cardinals went for it, but Anthony Nelson came up with a big stop to keep it a seven-point game and give the Buccaneer offense great field position.

The offense didn’t pick up a single yard on its next possession, but Chase McLaughlin came on and booted a 57-yard field goal to get something out of the field position. That extended Tampa Bay’s lead back to two possessions at 20-10 with 8:58 to go.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: USA Today

Once again, Brissett and the Arizona offense moved methodically down the field, going 73 yards in nine plays over four minutes to get back within 20-17 thanks to a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brissett to McBride. With 4:54 left, the Bucs’ lead was back down to three.

The Buccaneer offense went to work on the clock from there, but its drive eventually stalled out and Dixon came on to punt the ball away with just under two minutes to go. That meant it would be the Bucs defense tasked with closing out the game, which was a scary proposition.

A 58-yard punt by Dixon and a short return had the Cardinals going from their own 9-yard line with one timeout. Two plays for only 8 yards killed a lot of clock, then two straight Brissett incompletions meant there would be no late drama. The Bucs got the stop they needed and held on for a tight 20-17 win.

Baker Mayfield finished the day 18-of-28 for 194 yards and a touchdown, which was thrown to Tristan Wirfs. Bucky Irving provided the offense with a spark in his return to action, running 17 times for 61 yards (3.6 avg.) and a touchdown while catching two passes for 20 yards.

Speaking of sparks, Chris Godwin Jr. had his best game of the season, catching three of his five targets for a team-high 78 yards. Emeka Egbuka chipped in with four catches on eight targets for 42 yards.

Defensively, Tampa Bay allowed Jacoby Brissett to put together a 300-yard passing day as Arizona outgained the home team 386-279. But two takeaways proved to be critical for the Bucs, with Antoine Winfield Jr. intercepting Brissett and Tykee Smith recovering a fumble forced by Logan Hall. Arizona was also held to a 3-of-8 mark on third downs and an 0-for-2 mark on fourth.

It was far from an impressive win for this Buccaneer team, but it was a badly needed one nonetheless. Now, it’s time to string some wins together down the stretch.

The Bucs (7-5) will continue their three-game homestand and look to make it back-to-back wins next Sunday when they host the Saints (2-10) at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.