Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: Jeffrey Jones/Pewter Report

The Bucs’ highly anticipated 2025 season got underway Sunday afternoon against the Falcons at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tampa Bay, the four-time defending NFC South champion, had a chance to take early control of the division against Atlanta, the biggest threat to its potential five-peat.

The Bucs came into Sunday knowing they’d be without All-Pro left tackle Tristan Wirfs and wide receiver Chris Godwin, but they announced a bit of a surprise just minutes before kickoff when general manager Jason Licht told Bucs Radio that there would be a reshuffle on the offensive line. Rather than starting Charlie Heck in Wirfs’ place as expected for months, Tampa Bay kicked center Graham Barton out to left tackle and slid Ben Bredeson from left guard to center. And in Bredeson’s place at left guard was veteran Michael Jordan, who was elevated from the practice squad Saturday.

Tampa Bay got out to a slow start, falling behind 7-0 right away before struggling to get anything going on offense. But the team picked it up eventually to take a 10-7 lead only for Atlanta to tie things up at 10 heading into halftime. A huge punt return by Kameron Johnson sparked a third-quarter scoring drive for the Bucs, then all hell broke loose in the fourth quarter.

A 91-yard drive that took 8:46 and featured several reviews and a couple of controversial calls gave the Falcons a late 20-17 lead, but the Bucs came right back with a go-ahead touchdown with 59 seconds to go. A missed PAT nearly cost the Bucs as the Falcons had a chance to tie the game late and send it to overtime, but Younghoe Koo’s kick went wide and the Bucs hung on for a 23-20 win.

Here’s a recap of all the action from Sunday’s chaotic opener in Atlanta:

Bucs 23, Falcons 20

The Falcons got things started on offense, and it didn’t take long for them to grab an early lead. After a 10-yard pass from Michael Penix Jr. to Bijan Robinson and a five-yard run by Tyler Allgeier, Penix found Robinson in the flat and the star running back did the rest, making SirVocea Dennis miss and it was off to the races for a 50-yard touchdown. The three-play, 65-yard drive gave Atlanta a quick 7-0 lead.

The bad start continued for the Bucs, with Baker Mayfield and the offense quickly going three-and-out before punting the ball away. The Buccaneer defense eventually forced a punt on the Falcons’ next possession, thanks to a third-down tackle for loss by rookie Jacob Parrish.

However, the Tampa Bay offense went three-and-out again deep in its own territory and had to punt it away again. This time, the defense forced a quick three-and-out of its own to get the ball back to Mayfield and the offense.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

The unit finally got something going on its third possession, with Mayfield finding Sterling Shepard for 10 yards on third down for the offense’s first first down of the game. Then, just as the first quarter came to an end, Tampa Bay converted a 4th & 1 at its own 36, with Mayfield finding Mike Evans to move the chains again.

The offense kept driving well into the second quarter, but a third-down miss eventually forced Todd Bowles to settle for a field goal try, which Chase McLaughlin nailed from 48 yards out to make it a 7-3 deficit. The 16-play, 61-drive took 8:07 off the clock.

The next Falcons drive started on an ominous note for the Bucs defense, as Yaya Diaby got to Penix for a sack only for it to be negated by a Jamel Dean facemask penalty. But the defense responded later in the drive, stopping Bijan Robinson for no gain on 4th & 1 to get the ball back to the offense.

It was at that point when the offense finally found more of a groove, with Mayfield finding Evans for a couple of intermediate gains before the big play, which was a 30-yard connection between Mayfield and Emeka Egbuka for the rookie’s first career touchdown. With that five-play, 52-yard scoring drive, Tampa Bay went up 10-7 with 6:53 to go in the half.

Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka – Photo by: USA Today

A couple of key conversions had the Falcons threatening to retake the lead late in the half before a big 3rd & 7 with just over a minute before the break. The Bucs defense nearly had the game’s first big takeaway, with Penix’s pass going off Vita Vea’s helmets into the waiting arms of the recently paid Zyon McCollum, only for McCollum to drop the would-be interception. So, instead of a takeaway to preserve the lead, that left Atlanta’s Younghoe Koo to tie the game at 10 with a 41-yard field goal.

The half ended at 10-apiece, a pretty welcome situation for Tampa Bay given its slow start and Baker Mayfield’s shaky first-half stat line, which was 7-of-15 for 77 yards and a touchdown.

The Bucs looked to get things going offensively out of halftime, getting down into Falcons territory. But the drive eventually stalled, and what followed was a rare miss by Chase McLaughlin on a 44-yard field goal attempt.

But Todd Bowles’ defense continued to contain Penix and the Falcons offense, this time with the help of a couple of Atlanta penalties. And on the ensuing 59-yard punt by Bradley Pinion, Kameron Johnson got loose for a 54-yard return to set Tampa Bay up with great field position.

The key play on that drive came when Mayfield scrambled for 20 yards on 3rd & 6 and then two plays later, he found Bucky Irving for a 10-yard touchdown. That gave the visitors a 17-10 lead with 7:26 to go in the third.

Bucs RB Bucky Irving – Photo by: USA Today

The Falcons quickly got in position to potentially tie things up, but a crucial third-down sack by free agent signee Haason Reddick forced Raheem Morris to settle for another Koo field goal, getting Atlanta within 17-13.

Tampa Bay couldn’t add to its lead as the next drive carried into the fourth quarter, so Atlanta took back over at the 11:03 mark in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead.

A questionable roughing the passer call on Vita Vea helped the Falcons get their next drive going, then Penix converted a 3rd & 3 with a pass to Casey Washington into Bucs territory. Another roughing the passer penalty, this time on Greg Gaines, then got Atlanta inside the 25 before a completion to Kyle Pitts and a couple of Bijan Robinson runs set up 3rd & 1 at the Tampa Bay 2. A tackle for loss resulted in a fourth down.

Controversy set in from there, as Penix scrambled to his right and stretched out for the pylon before losing the ball. The initial ruling was a mess to begin with, but upon further review, the officials ruled that Penix had given himself up with the dive and was down by contact at the 1-yard line, giving Atlanta a fresh set of downs at the goal line.

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr. – Photo by: USA Today

The Bucs defense did well to stand tall and force a fourth down from the 4, but after offsetting penalties gave the Falcons another shot, Penix made an incredible effort to run for a 4-yard touchdown, giving Atlanta a 20-17 lead with 2:17 to go.

Sean Tucker returned the ensuing kickoff 35 yards to the 37, then Mayfield hit Evans for 12 yards to get near midfield at the two-minute warning.

A 3rd-&-9 conversion from Mayfield to Shepard got the Bucs to the Atlanta 40, then a roughing the passer call on Ruke Orhorhoro got Tampa Bay within field goal range. But on the next play, the Bucs took the lead as Mayfield found Egbuka for a 25-yard touchdown to get the lead back with 59 seconds to go. But McLaughlin uncharacteristically missed the PAT, which meant Atlanta had plenty of time to simply get in field goal range to send the game to overtime.

Atlanta did exactly that, getting into field goal range quickly. Antoine Winfield Jr. broke up a shot play and then Penix threw another one incomplete, which brought Younghoe Koo out for a potential game-tying field goal from 44 yards out. Todd Bowles iced him, and on the eventual kick, Koo sent the kick wide right, allowing the Bucs to hold on to a chaotic 23-20 win on opening day.

Baker Mayfield wasn’t all that sharp Sunday afternoon, but he threw three touchdowns and led the late game-winning drive, much like he did when the Bucs beat the Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in 2023.

The star of the afternoon ended up being rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, who caught four of his six targets for 67 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 25-yard touchdown with 59 seconds to go.

The Bucs defense struggled on third downs, allowing the Falcons to convert 50% of their attempts (7-of-14). Atlanta outgained Tampa Bay 358-260 and had the time of possession advantage at 35:12 to 24:48. But Todd Bowles and Co. escaped with a massive divisional win over Raheem Morris’ team anyway, which got Bowles’ record in Bucs openers to 4-0.

The Bucs (1-0) will now have a slightly longer week as they return to the field on Monday Night Football in Week 2, heading to Houston to face the Texans.