After dropping their 2026 season opener on the road last week, the Bucs returned to Raymond James Stadium for their home opener Sunday afternoon in search of win No. 1 on the year. The 0-1 Cleveland Browns, led by new head coach and former Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Todd Monken, were in town for the occasion.

The Bucs came in as 8-point favorites, but there wasn’t a time in this game when it looked like that should’ve been the case. They managed just three field goals in the first half and only took a 9-6 lead into halftime. Then, after the offense finally found the end zone to extend the advantage to 16-6 in the third quarter, it was the defense’s turn for a letdown. The Browns scored 10 straight points to tie the game heading into the fourth quarter.

The Bucs took a 19-16 fourth-quarter lead on another McLaughlin field goal, but Deshaun Watson and the Browns offense worked their way down the field again and took their first lead of the game at 23-19 with 3:51 to go. And just as Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay offense got across the Cleveland 30 at the two-minute warning, lightning struck, rain poured down and the game went into a weather delay.

After a delay of 2 hours and 12 minutes, the Bucs reached the red zone only for a holding penalty, a dropped touchdown by Ted Hurst III and a fourth-down miss by Mayfield to end the ball game.

Browns 23, Bucs 19.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Sunday’s complete disaster for the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium.

Browns 23, Bucs 19

The Browns went three-and-out on their first possession thanks in large part to a Yaya Diaby tackle for loss, and after a facemask flag on the punt and an encroachment penalty on the defense, the Bucs offense went to work from their own 41-yard line.

Tampa Bay’s opening drive wasn’t a long one, but a 12-yard run by Chris Godwin Jr. and a 9-yard catch by Cade Otton proved to be enough to create the game’s first points. That’s because Chase McLaughlin came on and drilled a 59-yard field goal, giving the Bucs an early 3-0 lead. That was McLaughlin’s 13th field goal from 50+ yards since the beginning of the 2025 season, which is an NFL-best.

Bucs K Chase McLaughlin – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

The Browns managed to respond quickly, thanks mostly to a 21-yard catch and run by Harold Fannin Jr. into Buccaneer territory. A eventual 4th-&-1 try never came to be due to a false start, but a 50-yard field goal by Andre Szmyt evened the game at 3-3 halfway through the first.

A 38-yard run by Bucky Irving gave the Bucs offense some life early on its next possession, but another failure on third down soon led to another McLaughlin field goal, this one from 45 yards. With that, Tampa Bay went up 6-3 with 4:02 left in the first.

The Browns went nowhere on their next possession, but it wasn’t long before they had a chance to take their first lead of the day thanks to a Baker Mayfield pass that was intercepted by Myles Harden and returned to the Bucs’ 28. Then, just prior to a crucial 3rd & 11 at the Tampa Bay 13, the first quarter came to an end with the home team leading 6-3.

The second quarter opened with David Walker’s first career sack, which forced the Browns into another field goal try. Szmyt connected again, tying the game at 6-all early in the second.

Bucs OLB David Walker and Browns QB Deshaun Watson – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Mayfield and the Buccaneer offense continued to struggle on their next possession, leading to Riley Dixon’s first punt of the season – a 55-yarder for a touchback.

An A’Shawn Robinson sack stopped the Browns’ next drive before it had a chance to get going, giving the Bucs a chance to finally get something done offensively after taking over at their own 44. But they got nothing yet again after another third-down conversion was wiped out by a holding call – this time on Graham Barton – and a third-down sack.

Thankfully for Tampa Bay, the defense continued to stand tall. On its next possession, Cleveland made a gamble to go for it on 4th & 1 from its own 34, and Elijah Roberts helped make the stop on Quinshon Judkins to get the ball back to Mayfield and the offense in plus-territory.

But it was more of the same from Mayfield and his side of the ball. The Bucs got into the red zone for the first time all day, but they stalled again from there. That left them to settle for a third Chase McLaughlin field goal and a 9-6 lead heading into halftime.

Out of the break, the Buccaneer offense suddenly came alive. Its opening drive got going with a 24-yard completion from Mayfield to Godwin and a 14-yard run by Irving, then a 9-yard pass from Mayfield to Otton got the ball into the red zone again.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

Mayfield’s escapability was on display on the next two plays, as he avoided a third-down sack and scrambled 9 yards for a first down to the 5, then avoided heavy pressure again on the next play before throwing to a wide-open (but falling) Emeka Egbuka for a touchdown. That made it a 16-6 in favor of the Bucs with 9:33 left in the third.

The Browns put together an impressive response, though, picking up their first third-down conversion of the day on their way down to the red zone. But after a Tykee Smith tackle for loss and a pass breakup in the corner of the end zone by Benjamin Morrison, the visitors had to settle for another Szmyt field goal to get back within a touchdown at the 3:45 mark in the third quarter.

After Mayfield misfired on two deep balls and Tampa Bay was forced to punt again, the Browns got themselves right back in it. Watson hit Denzel Boston over the middle of the field for a sizable gain that turned into more. Alex Anzalone missed a tackle and Tykee Smith and Antoine Winfield Jr. collided, allowing Boston to break free for a 55-yard game-tying touchdown.

Browns WR Denzel Boston and Bucs CB Zyon McCollum – Photo by: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The game remained knotted at 16 into the fourth quarter. Mayfield finally managed to connect on a deep ball, finding Tez Johnson for 49 yards to the Cleveland 21. But after a near-interception in the end zone on an eventual third down, the Bucs had to settle for three once again, with McLaughlin making a 31-yard field goal to give them a 19-16 lead with 9:58 to go.

Watson and the Browns offense went to work in response, though, killing more than six minutes off the clock and driving deep into Bucs territory. From there, Watson found a wide-open Blake Whiteheart for a 17-yard touchdown to give Cleveland a 23-19 lead with 3:51 left in the game.

A 49-yard kick return by Kameron Johnson helped spark things for the home team, and then the offense got moving and made it across midfield. But just after reaching the 28-yard line, the two-minute warning hit – and so did some weather. The game entered a lightning delay at 3:59 p.m.

Bucs – Browns weather alert – Photo by: IMAGN Images via Reuters Connect

After a delay of 2 hours, 12 minutes, the Bucs and Browns got back at it with two minutes left in the game and the ball at the 28. A couple of runs by Irving moved the chains to the 20, then Mayfield found Hurst for 7 yards to the 13. But after a holding call on Graham Barton, Hurst dropped the potential game-winning touchdown and Mayfield scrambled for just a 2-yard gain to bring up 4th & 10 with 22 seconds left. And on that fourth down, Mayfield overthrew Egbuka and that was that.

So, more than five hours after the game kicked off, it came to the end with the Browns victorious over the Bucs by a score of 23-19.

Against his former team, Baker Mayfield was off from start to finish. He ended the day 21-of-34 for 182 yards, a touchdown and an interception. On the other side, Deshaun Watson was 24-of-30 for 238 yards, two touchdowns and no turnovers.

Tampa Bay is now 0-2 for the first time since 2014.

The Bucs will continue their three-game homestand at Raymond James Stadium next Sunday, hosting the Minnesota Vikings (2-0). Kickoff is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.