The Bucs took the field at Raymond James Stadium Saturday night for the first time in 209 days, opening up the 2025 preseason and their 50th season as an NFL franchise against the Tennessee Titans.

As expected, Tampa Bay held many of its starters out of the game, with only left tackle Charlie Heck, running back Rachaad White, wide receiver Jalen McMillan and inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis among the regulars who suited up. First-round pick Emeka Egbuka and third-rounder Jacob Parrish were among the rookies debuting for the Bucs. Meanwhile, Saturday marked the NFL debut for Titans No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward.

The home team jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first before forcing a three-and-out to get the ball back ahead of what was a 17-play touchdown drive that lasted nearly 11 minutes. The Titans bounced back on their next drive with a touchdown, which looked to be setting up a high-scoring affair between the two teams. Only that didn’t come to fruition, as another McLaughlin field goal late in the first half were the only points for the next quarter and a half.

But late in the fourth, there were plenty of fireworks. A Ryan Coe field goal made it 16-7, then Owen Wright turned a Tyrek Funderburk interception into a 22-7 lead before a late Roman Parodie pick-six added the final touches to a 29-7 win.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Tampa Bay’s 2025 exhibition opener at Ray Jay:

Bucs 29, Titans 7

The Bucs won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff, and it didn’t take long for Kyle Trask to get the offense into Titans territory as the fifth-year quarterback connected with Jalen McMillan for 25 yards on the first play from scrimmage and soon found 2025 first-round pick Emeka Egbuka for a 21-yard catch.

Both receivers made impressive contested catches to get things going, but the drive would stall out from there. Chase McLaughlin came on to nail a 45-yard field goal, giving Tampa Bay its first points of the preseason and a 3-0 lead.

The Tampa Bay defense got out to a strong start in its first action of the night, forcing a three-and-out that was highlighted by a hit from rookie Jacob Parrish that broke up Cam Ward’s second-down pass. The ensuing punt set the Bucs back up at their own 20-yard line to start drive No. 2.

And that drive No. 2 would be a long and productive one, as Trask was firing on all cylinders, finding Ryan Miller three times for 33 yards before Sean Tucker broke off a 23-yard run to the 2-yard line near the end of the opening quarter. At the start of the second, Tucker punched it in for a 2-yard touchdown that capped a 17-play, 80-yard drive that took 10:48 off the clock and gave the Bucs a 10-0 lead.

Bucs RB Sean Tucker – Photo by: USA Today

Ward and the Tennessee offense responded well to that 10-0 deficit, though, as they got the ball moving on their next possession. Ward found veteran receiver Calvin Ridley three times for 50 yards to spark the drive before Tony Pollard eventually scored from 1 yard out to make it a 10-7 game.

An errant snap by Elijah Klein killed the next drive for the Bucs offense, leading to a Riley Dixon punt that set the Titans up at their 20-yard line with 4:53 left in the first half.

Brandon Allen replaced Cam Ward to start the third Titans drive, and the Bucs defense welcomed him by forcing a three-and-out. Josh Hayes lit up Tyjae Spears for a tackle for loss on first down before Jacob Parrish came through with his second pass breakup of the night. Two plays later, Tennessee punted the ball back to Tampa Bay.

Garrett Greene returned that punt 17 yards, then a facemask penalty added 15 yards on to give the Bucs a first down at the Titans’ 49. Trask drew Josiah Bronson into a neutral zone infraction on 4th & 1 after the two-minute warning, extending the drive.

Bucs WR Garrett Greene – Photo by: USA Today

A third-down catch by Greene then kept things going from there before a couple of Devin Culp catches got the ball inside the 10 to the 5. But a third-down miss left the Bucs to settle for a 23-yard McLaughlin field goal to extend the lead to 13-7 heading into halftime.

The Titans got moving against the Bucs’ third-team defense out of halftime, with a couple of third-down conversions helping them get inside the 10-yard line. But after an Antonio Grier Jr. tackle for loss on 3rd & 2 at the 8, pressure got to Allen on fourth down and he couldn’t find a receiver, leading to a turnover on downs.

Connor Bazelak took over at quarterback for Trask to start the second half, and the offense quickly went three-and-out before punting the ball back to the Titans.

Nick Jackson, an undrafted linebacker out of Iowa, was the star of the next drive for the Buccaneer defense. He came in on a blitz to pick up the first sack of the night for Tampa Bay before later bringing in a one-handed interception off a deflection from fellow undrafted linebacker John Bullock, a Nebraska product.

Bazelak got the offense into the red zone on the ensuing possession, but a Jacob Harris fumble on a second effort inside the 15 gave the ball back over to the Titans inside the final two minutes of the third quarter. The Titans offense did nothing with the turnover, though, and the Bucs carried their six-point lead into the fourth quarter.

The offenses traded punts for much of the fourth before a 34-yard punt gave Tampa Bay good field position at the Tennessee 41-yard line. Owen Wright had two touchdown runs called back due to holding penalties by Jacob Harris and Ko Kieft, but Tampa Bay still made it a two-score game thanks to a 36-yard field goal from backup kicker Ryan Coe.

Things really swung firmly in the Bucs’ favor when J.J. Roberts tipped a pass into the hands of Tyrek Funderburk for another interception late in the fourth. On the ensuing possession, Wright ran three times, with the third carry going for a 15-yard touchdown – with no flags. That made it a 22-7 game, then a 39-yard pick-six by Roman Parodie finished off a 29-7 Bucs win.

Kyle Trask finished his night 12-of-16 for 129 yards in his one half of play, with Jalen McMillan and Emeka Egbuka shining early before Ryan Miller took over and became the offensive star of the night for Tampa Bay. The former tight end-turned-receiver out of Furman caught six of his seven targets for 66 yards (11.0 avg.). He survived a scare in the game, too, as he took a hard hit and entered concussion protocol. He would clear it, though, and even return to the game in the fourth quarter.

Bucs WR Ryan Miller – Photo by: USA Today

Rachaad White looked good early on the ground, rushing for 28 yards on six carries (4.7 avg.). But his night would end with a groin injury, and that left the team with only Sean Tucker and Owen Wright in the backfield for the rest of the night.

Tucker had a big 23-yard run and scored the Bucs’ first touchdown before finishing with 50 yards on 13 carries. Owen Wright went on to lead the team in rushing, going for 87 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries while also having two scores called back due to holding penalties. Overall, the Bucs ran for 178 yards on 41 carries, averaging 4.8 yards per carry.

Defensively, undrafted linebacker Nick Jackson quickly became the star of the night when he took down Brandon Allen for a sack before intercepting him moments later on a pass deflected by John Bullock, a fellow undrafted free agent.

Third-round pick Jacob Parrish had a nice debut with a couple of pass breakups, too, while both Shilo Sanders and J.J. Roberts made some plays late in the game on the back end of the Tampa Bay defense. Roberts dropped what should’ve been an interception, but he went on to make up for it by deflecting a pass into the hands of Tyrek Funderburk for an interception late in the fourth quarter. And then came a defensive touchdown on the defense’s third interception of the night, with undrafted rookie Roman Parodie coming through with a 39-yard pick-six.

The Bucs are back at practice Monday morning before heading up to Pittsburgh for a joint practice and a second exhibition game against the Steelers next Saturday night.