Following their first defeat of the 2025 season, the 3-1 Bucs have to quickly pull themselves together and respond, as they have another big game this Sunday. This time, they’ll be on the road, heading to Seattle to take on the 3-1 Seahawks at Lumen Field.

This is a meeting of 1976 expansion teams, and with both organizations celebrating their 50th seasons in the NFL, the game will feature two of the best throwback uniforms in the league.

The Bucs will be looking for a big rebound game and a hot start against the Seahawks, as they’ve failed to start strong in each of the first four games of the season and need to start putting it together for all four quarters. Not only that, but they’ll be looking to begin October on the right foot after suffering through some tough slides in October both in 2023 and 2024. Tampa Bay is 10-4 in September under head coach Todd Bowles. But the team’s 3-10 mark in October under Bowles has been a huge problem, and it’s something that needs to be fixed in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks are coming off a mini-bye following their Thursday Night Football win over the Cardinals in Week 4. The last time they played at home, back on Sept. 21, they pummeled the Saints by a score of 44-13.

Before we dive further in our “What to Watch For” preview later this week, here’s a general preview of Sunday’s matchup between the Bucs and Seahawks in Seattle:

The Last Time…

The Bucs and Seahawks last met in 2022 in the NFL’s first-ever Germany game, and Tampa Bay pulled off a badly needed 21-16 win. Tom Brady and Co. struggled their way through the month of October before opening November with a home win over the Rams, then came the challenge of facing a 6-3 Seattle team over in Munich.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Bucs struck first early in the second quarter, with Brady finding Julio Jones for a 31-yard touchdown to cap off a 13-play, 88-yard drive that took 6:32 off the clock. Later in the quarter, Brady led the team on another 13-play drive, this one for 86 yards in 7:34. That ended with a short Leonard Fournette touchdown run to give Tampa Bay a 14-0 lead.

Bucs WR Julio Jones – Photo by: USA Today

The Seahawks got within 14-3 in the third quarter, but another long touchdown drive split between the end of the third quarter and the beginning of the fourth extended the Bucs’ lead to 21-3. This time, they went 87 yards in 11 plays and took 6:41 off the clock, with Chris Godwin catching a short touchdown pass from Brady.

Seattle got back in the game late, first scoring on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith to Tyler Lockett before a Brady interception set Smith and the Seahawks offense up with a short field that they took advantage of to get within 21-16. But Rachaad White came through in a big way on the ensuing possession, helping Tampa Bay kill the rest of the clock to take home its first-ever international victory.

Brady threw for 258 yards and two touchdowns in the game, while White had his first career 100-yard rushing game, going for 105 yards on 22 carries. White, a rookie at the time, had a big stiff arm on Quandre Diggs in the game, which earned him Good Morning Football’s “Angry Runs” scepter.

Overall, the Seahawks lead the all-time series between these two teams 9-6, but the Bucs have won two of the last three meetings. Tampa Bay has lost its last two games in Seattle, with both games going to overtime.

How The Bucs And Seahawks Are Trending

Despite last Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, the Bucs should feel pretty good about what they did in the month of September. They won two tough road games to start the season, doing so without some key starters. Then, they weathered a potential comeback from a desperate Jets team in Week 3, getting to 3-0 for the first time in 20 years. And while they lost to the Eagles in Week 4, they put together an outstanding second-half effort and threatened in a game they once trailed 31-13 in the second half.

But now comes the hard part for the Bucs, as they have fallen victim to midseason slumps in each of the last two seasons to erase strong 3-1 starts. They’ll need to avoid that kind of slump this season, though they’re face a tough gauntlet of games that started with the Eagles last week and continues with the 3-1 Seahawks in Seattle, the 3-1 49ers back home in Week 6 and the 3-1 Lions on the road in primetime after that.

There’s also the fact that Tampa Bay will be looking to avoid that midseason slump while dealing with some significant injury concerns.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

It’s a mixed bag on offense in terms of health. Baker Mayfield played through a right biceps injury last week, plus All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and four-time 1,000-yard receiver Chris Godwin Jr. made their season debuts. But Bucky Irving came out of Week 4 with an ankle/foot injury that will need monitoring heading into the weekend. He was seen in a boot and on crutches Wednesday, so it’s not looking great for his chances to suit up come Sunday. And Tampa Bay remains without right tackle Luke Goedeke and 11-time 1,000-yard receiver Mike Evans this week as well.

Things may be even more dire on defense for the Bucs. The big loss happened in Week 2 when Calijah Kancey tore his pec. He’s out for the rest of the regular season, which will have a lasting impact on the defense’s four-man pass rush. The injury bug came back to bite this side of the ball again over the last week, with Greg Gaines, Haason Reddick, Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison all coming out of Week 4 with injuries. Rashad Wisdom and Jayson Jones, brought in as potential depth at defensive tackle, also now find themselves on injured reserve.

Reddick told Pewter Report’s Scott Reynolds that he was dealing with a stinger and that he hoped to play in Week 5, which would be a huge positive. The big concern is at cornerback, as Dean and Morrison both missing time would threaten the depth at the position for Tampa Bay for a second straight season.

Bucs OLB Haason Reddick Photo by: USA Today

Despite the injury woes, though, the Bucs have managed to fight through to a 3-1 start with clutch play from Mayfield, the emergence of rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka and some all-around fundamentally sound play from Todd Bowles‘ defense. A win on Sunday could go a long way for this group, as it would mean a 3-0 start on the road and set them up at 4-1 ahead of another home game at Raymond James Stadium.

On the Seahawks’ side, this is a team that saw some big changes this offseason. Out went quarterback Geno Smith and No. 1 wide receiver D.K. Metcalf and in came former Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold. The continued emergence of Jaxon Smith-Njigba was key to the team’s comfort with shipping Metcalf out of town, and the fact that Darnold has come right in and developed a great connection with the young receiver has to have Seattle’s decision-makers feeling really good right about now.

Because really, despite a big quarterback change, this Seahawks team hasn’t really skipped a beat. After blowing a late lead to lose their opener, 17-13, to the 49ers, they’ve won three straight games. They won 31-17 against the Steelers in Pittsburgh to even up their record at 1-1, then dominated the Saints, 44-13, in Week 3 before a dramatic 23-20 win in Arizona over the Cardinals on Thursday Night Football last week.

Darnold has completed 70% of his passes through four games for 905 yards and five touchdowns to two interceptions. Smith-Njigba has been his go-to target, as he leads the team by a wide margin with 34 targets, 26 catches and 402 yards. He has just one touchdown thus far, but Darnold has found other targets for his other four scores, with tight end AJ Barner and wide receiver Tory Horton bringing in two apiece.

Longtime Ram Cooper Kupp, who has proven to be a thorn in the Bucs’ side, has yet to score with his new team. However, he’s Seattle’s second-leading receiver with 15 catches on 20 targets for 162 yards (10.8 avg.).

Seahawks RB Kenneth Walker III Photo by: USA Today

The Seahawks running game has been led by Kenneth Walker III, who has averaged 4.2 yards per carry on his way to 244 yards and three touchdowns thus far. He and backfield mate Zach Charbonnet haven’t factored into the passing game all that much, but it’ll be interesting to see if that changes come Sunday afternoon against Tampa Bay.

Mike Macdonald‘s defense has continued to be a strength in 2025, as it’s holding opponents to 16.8 points per game thus far. That’s tied for the second-best mark in the league, and the 20 points Arizona scored against Seattle in Week 4 was the most of any Seahawks opponent thus far. Macdonald is getting pass rush from several players, with Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy II leading the way with 2.5 sacks each while Uchenna Nwosu has two of his own. Jarran Reed, Drake Thomas and Julian Love each have one, and Devon Witherspoon, Earnest Jones IV, Ty Okada and Josh Jobe have a half-sack each.

Seattle also has seven interceptions as a team through four games, with Jones, Derion Kendrick and Coby Bryant hauling in two each and Jobe adding one of his own. This is a dangerous defense, especially with the Seahawks’ “12th man” behind them at Lumen Field.

Here’s how the Bucs and Seahawks stack up heading into Week 5:

Bucs Offense: T-14th in scoring offense (24.3 PPG), 15th in total offense (335.8 yards per game), 15th in passing offense (211.8 yards per game), T-10th in rushing offense (124.0 yards per game)

Seahawks Offense: 6th in scoring offense (27.8 PPG), T-16th in total offense (332.3 yards per game), 13th in passing offense (221.5 yards per game), 18th in rushing offense (110.8 yards per game)

Bucs Defense: 20th in scoring defense (24.3 points allowed per game), 4th in total defense (272.8 yards allowed per game), 11th in passing defense (187.8 yards allowed per game), 5th in rushing defense (85.0 yards allowed per game)

Seahawks Defense: T-2nd in scoring defense (16.8 points allowed per game), 13th in total defense (297.0 yards allowed per game), T-17th in passing defense (207.3 yards allowed per game), 6th in rushing defense (89.8 yards allowed per game)

As of Wednesday night, the Bucs are 3.5-point underdogs, with the Over/Under set at 44.5 (per Hard Rock Bet).

Bucs at Seahawks Game Information

When: Sunday, October 5
Where: Lumen Field (Seattle, WA)
Kickoff: 4:05 p.m. ET
TV: FOX – Kevin Harlan (Play by Play), Trent Green (Analyst), Melanie Collins (Reporter)
Bucs Radio: 98Rock – Gene Deckerhoff (Play by Play), Dave Moore (Color), T.J. Rives (Reporter)
Spanish Radio: 96.1 Caliente – Martín Gramática, Santiago Gramática