After the Atlanta Falcons were blown out earlier by the Minnesota Vikings, 42-21, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had the opportunity to not only stretch their win streak to three games, but they also could take the division lead in the NFC South. The Buccaneers had to handle business at home against the lowly Las Vegas Raiders. They did just that, crushing the Raiders 28-13 and improving to 7-6 this season.
Heading into the game, Tampa Bay was 6-6 after two straight wins over the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers. On the other hand, Las Vegas had dropped eight games in a row, having not won a game since the end of September against the Cleveland Browns.
The Buccaneers started off the game hot, scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter. The first touchdown was a 15-yard pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield to wide receiver Jalen McMillan to make it 7-0. The second was another touchdown from Mayfield, this time from a five-yard pass to running back Rachaad White to up the lead to 14-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Tampa Bay’s defense did their part too, shutting down the Las Vegas offense by forcing two punts and a fumble from Raiders’ quarterback Aidan O’Connell. However, the Buccaneers’ offense couldn’t keep any of their four drives going in the second quarter. Mayfield threw two interceptions and fumbled once after being sacked. Tampa Bay was also forced to punt once.
Las Vegas somewhat took advantage of Tampa Bay’s miscues. Early in the second quarter, the Raiders turned a Buccaneers’ fumble into a touchdown after O’Connell ran the ball into the end zone from one-yard out to cut the lead to 14-7. Then later in the quarter, the Raiders added three more points to the board after Daniel Carlson hit a 25-yard field goal, making the score 14-10 Tampa Bay as the game headed to halftime.
Points were hard to come by in the third quarter for both teams. Las Vegas started with the ball and pushed all the way to the Tampa Bay 10-yard line. The Raiders were unable to capitalize on the opportunity to take the lead as O’Connell threw an interception to safety Tykee Smith as the Buccaneers held the Raiders out of the end zone.
The teams then traded punts for the rest of the third quarter and the start of the fourth quarter. On one of those drives, O’Connell was hit late by defensive lineman Calijah Kancey and injured. He was carted off the field, and it was later revealed that he suffered a bone bruise in his knee. Desmond Ridder entered the game in relief for Las Vegas.
Mayfield finally was able to get the offense moving after a 32-yard reception from wide receiver Mike Evans. Just two plays later, running back Sean Tucker took full advantage of one of his three carries by ripping off a 34-yard run to the Raiders’ three-yard line. White reached the end zone on the next play, his second touchdown of the day, and extended the Buccaneers’ lead to 21-10.
On their next drive, Las Vegas tried to mount a comeback. Over the next five minutes, the Raiders pushed the ball down the field and they were able to get within 10 yards of the goal line. But, the Raiders were forced to settle for three as Carlson nailed a 27-yard field goal to make the score 21-13.
Tampa Bay was able to force Las Vegas to use all three of their timeouts before the two-minute warning. Mayfield then fired a strike to McMillan as the Raiders sent an all out blitz. McMillan was able to take it 29-yards for a touchdown, his second of the game, and the Buccaneers finished off the Raiders, 28-13.
However, Tampa Bay suffered a significant injury against Las Vegas. Safety Antoine Winfield Jr. will miss some time with a knee sprain. The secondary has suffered a lot of injuries to key players, so the team will look to continue overcoming those injuries with Winfield Jr. out for the time being.
The Buccaneers lead the NFC South by a game, but the Falcons have the tiebreaker as they swept the Buccaneers this season. Tampa Bay has a two-game road trip next on the schedule with games against the Los Angeles Chargers and the Dallas Cowboys. The Buccaneers are in full control of their own destiny to repeat as division champions and return to the playoffs, but they will have to stave off the Falcons by continuing to win.
