After two wins on the road to open the season, the Bucs returned to Raymond James Stadium Sunday afternoon for their 2025 home opener. And what an occasion it was. The 0-2 Jets were in town, and while they largely felt secondary to everything else that went on in front of the Tampa Bay faithful for much of the day, they managed to create some drama late.

With the Bucs debuting their 1976 throwback uniforms, decking out the stadium in orange, red and white, painting the field in an old-school manner and inviting fans to don their own orange and white gear to celebrate the franchise’s 50th season, there was a lively feel to the home opener before the game even kicked off.

It didn’t hurt the vibes inside Raymond James Stadium that every in-game break featured a different Buccaneer legend pumping up the crowd on the video board. Steve Spurrier, the franchise’s first quarterback, was the “Captain of the Krewe” for this game, and even outside the halftime ceremony that featured figures from all eras of Buccaneer football, there were appearances from Jon Gruden, Ronde Barber, Warren Sapp, Hardy Nickerson, Warrick Dunn, Mike Alstott, Bruce Arians, Shaq Barrett, Ryan Jensen and Ali Marpet, all of whom received huge ovations from the crowd.

As for the game itself, it was sloppy early. The Bucs and Jets combined for 11 penalties in the first quarter, which ended in a 3-3 tie. New York would soon go up 6-3, but a Baker Mayfield-to-Mike Evans touchdown connection gave Tampa Bay a 13-6 lead. A Chase McLaughlin field goal and a Jamel Dean pick-six late in the half made it a 20-6 halftime lead.

The Bucs led 23-6 going into the fourth quarter, but there was no quit in the Jets. They rallied back to get within 23-13, then 26-20 before chaos ensued. McLaughlin was in position to hit his fifth field goal of the day, which would make it a nine-point game with under two minutes to go. Instead, the kick was blocked by Will McDonald IV, who took it back for a 50-yard scoop-and-score. Folk then hit the PAT, giving New York an improbable 27-26 lead with 1:49 to go.

But for the third time in three games, Baker Mayfield had an answer in him. Even without Mike Evans, who left in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury, Mayfield got the offense in position to win the game late. A 28-yard pass to Emeka Egbuka and a 20-yarder to Sterling Shepard was enough to set up McLaughlin for redemption, a 36-yard field goal at the buzzer to win the game 29-27.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Sunday afternoon’s victory at Ray Jay, which gave the Bucs their first 3-0 start since 2005:

Bucs 29, Jets 27

The Jets took the football to open the game, and with the benefit of a couple of penalties on the Bucs defense and a couple of missed sacks by Lavonte David, they got in field goal range for former Buc Nick Folk, who drilled one from 38 yards out to give the visitors an early 3-0 lead.

The ensuing possession for the Bucs offense was nothing short of a comedy of errors. Whether you want to assign blame to the makeshift offensive line (and receivers) for committing penalties or the officiating crew for being flag-happy, it was tough sledding for Baker Mayfield and Co. on their first possession.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

Two holding penalties on Luke Haggard, as well as holds by Graham Barton, Ryan Miller and Mike Evans put Tampa Bay behind the sticks at various points in the drive. A defensive pass interference penalty called on Sauce Gardner did erase a 3rd & 29 at one point, but the penalties were ultimately too much to overcome and the Bucs had to settle for a field goal try. Chase McLaughlin booted one from 54 yards out, though, tying the game at 3-3.

The Jets got the ball moving with some tempo on their second possession, with Tyrod Taylor continuing to get the ball out just in the nick of time with blitzers closing in on him. But the drive eventually stalled again, leaving Folk to hit a 42-yard field goal to give New York a 6-3 lead.

Mayfield and the Bucs offense had a response, this time without constant holding penalties. The big play that got the drive going was an unbelievable one-handed 30-yard catch by Emeka Egbuka over Sauce Gardner. Another Egbuka catch kept things going, then Sterling Shepard got in on the action with a 16-yard catch on 3rd & 8 followed by a 24-yard catch and run down to the 5-yard line.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

One play later, Mayfield connected with Mike Evans for his first touchdown catch of the season, a 5-yarder to get the Bucs’ their first lead of the day. With the PAT, it was a 10-6 advantage with 11:15 left in the second quarter.

The defense kept the momentum going, with Haason Reddick meeting Braelon Allen in the backfield for a tackle for loss on a 4th & 1 inside Jets territory. But an Elijah Klein holding penalty kept the Tampa Bay offense from taking advantage of the good field position, leading to Riley Dixon’s first punt of the afternoon.

The two offenses then traded three-and-outs until the Bucs defense finally came up with its first takeaway of the season. On 3rd & 7 at the New York 41, Antoine Winfield Jr. came in on a blitz, dipped under the guard and got to Taylor for a sack-fumble, with Vita Vea coming up with the recovery at the 33. That set the offense up with good field position, which only got better thanks to a facemask penalty on Micheal Clemons just before the two-minute warning.

Mayfield and the offense couldn’t advance the ball any more than that, which meant settling for a 33-yard McLaughlin field goal to make it a 13-6 lead with 1:43 to go before halftime.

Bucs ILBs Lavonte David and SirVocea Dennis – Photo by: USA Today

A SirVocea Dennis pass breakup on a blitz and a third-down sack by Jacob Parrish quickly stopped the Jets’ next drive, but the Bucs offense went three-and-out again to give the ball right back.

From there, the Bucs defense took it upon itself to add to the lead, with Jamel Dean jumping a Taylor pass intended for Garrett Wilson and taking it the other way for a 55-yard pick six. That gave the Bucs a 20-6 lead heading into the locker room.

Out of halftime, Tampa Bay went to work on the clock, with Bucky Irving running for 16 yards, Mayfield converting a 3rd & 9 with a 10-yard run and Mike Evans bringing in a 14-yard catch. An 11-yard Emeka Egbuka catch on 3rd & 9 kept the drive going into the red zone, but the offense stalled out at the 10. Nonetheless, Chase McLaughlin hit a 28-yard field goal to make the lead 23-6 and cap off a 16-play, 67-yard drive that took 9:09 off the clock.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

The Jets failed to cut into the deficit on their next drive, and the Bucs took their 23-6 lead into the fourth quarter.

New York finally found some success on offense early in the fourth, taking over at its own 20 and methodically going down the field into the red zone before Taylor connected with Wilson for an 11-yard touchdown. With the PAT, the Jets got within 23-13 with 10:12 to go.

The Bucs offense got moving on its next drive, with Mayfield hitting Shepard for 20 yards, Irving running for 11 and Mayfield finding Evans for another eight as the clock ticked under seven minutes. But the drive eventually stalled, with Evans heading to the locker room with a hamstring injury at the end of the drive. Still, Chase McLaughlin nailed a 55-yard field goal to make it a 13-point game at 26-13 with 6:13 left.

Yaya Diaby and Lavonte David came up with sacks on the next Jets drive, but that didn’t stop Taylor and his offense from getting into Bucs territory. And sure enough, with 3:40 to go, New York made it a one-score game as Taylor found Allen Lazard for a 4-yard touchdown. It initially looked like Lazard didn’t complete the catch, but after a review, the touchdown surprisingly stood as called. And with Folk’s PAT, the Jets were within 26-20.

Things were really only just getting started there. A 33-yard run by Mayfield sparked Tampa Bay’s ensuing possession, but misses on second and third down would eventually set McLaughlin up for a field goal. Another successful kick would make it a two-possession game, essentially ending things right there.

Instead, Will McDonald IV blocked the kick and returned it for a touchdown, and suddenly the Bucs were trailing for the first time since it was 6-3.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

But there was too much time on the clock for Baker Mayfield. He got the next drive going with a 28-yard pass to Egbuka, then a 20-yard catch and run by Sterling Shepard set up a manageable field goal try to win the game. And sure enough, McLaughlin nailed it, giving the Bucs a more-dramatic-than-it-should’ve-been 29-27 win over the Jets.

Baker Mayfield didn’t finish with a stat line that would impress anybody, but he once again played turnover-free football and came through in the clutch. He went 19-of-29 for 233 yards and a touchdown, plus he ran for 44 yards on four carries. Mike Evans caught four passes for 33 yards and a touchdown, while Emeka Egbuka caught six passes for 85 yards. Sterling Shepard was a huge contributor, too, catching four of his five targets for 80 yards.

The run game continued to struggle behind the banged-up offensive line, with Bucky Irving being held to 2.6 yards per carry and Rachaad White getting just 2.4 per carry.

Bucs NCB Jacob Parrish and Jets QB Tyrod Taylor – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Tampa Bay defense allowed some yardage late, but it created two takeaways and finished with four sacks, with one each for Antoine Winfield Jr., Jacob Parrish, Yaya Diaby and Lavonte David.

And of course, it was Chase McLaughlin who earned some redemption early in the game and late. He hit his first four field goals, which was encouraging after the misses in Weeks 1 and 2. Then, after the late block could’ve cost Tampa Bay the win, he came right back and hit the game-winner with no time left.

The Bucs (3-0) will look to stay undefeated next Sunday when the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles (3-0) visit Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m.