Photo Courtesy: “Raymond James Stadium as seen from the air near Tampa International Airport,” by Devin Morris, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers win their first home game of the season, 29-27, against the New York Jets. They are now 3-0 in the NFC South, which hasn’t been done since 2005.

TAMPA, Fla. — It was a slow start for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first quarter, receiving seven penalties, making it hard for them to score until near the end with a 54-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin to tie it 3-3. Fans started firing up at the beginning of the second quarter, when Emeka Egbuka made an impressive one-handed, 22-yard catch. 

On X, formerly Twitter, @WeaponIQ stated that Egbuka is an early favorite for the Offensive Rookie of the Year (OROY) award due to his contributions to the team.

“Buccaneers found their next WR1 whenever Mike Evans decides to hang it up,” he said.

The first touchdown, not only for the Bucs but in the game itself, was by Mike Evans, a wide receiver — this caused them to be in the lead, 10-6, in the second quarter. The game remained consistent until it got near the end of the quarter, when Bucs safety Antoine Winfield sacked the New York Jets quarterback for a fumble and a Bucs recovery. They kept that momentum going at the end of the quarter when cornerback Jamel Dean made a pick-6, which then turned into a touchdown.

On X, @tonefeebox said that the Bucs defense is playing well and needs to turn that energy up.

“The Bucs Defense is doing their Job well, and they should keep playing like this in all 4 Quarters of the Game. They are stepping up the pressure on that O-Line.” 

The defense has really shown what it can do in this game by demonstrating stamina and grit, making quarterback sacks into touchdowns, and helping them widen their lead against the Jets. 

In the fourth quarter, Evans sustains a hamstring injury. With him now out until further evaluation, this leaves the team with many key players unable to play due to injury. Not only that, but rookie players are going to be depended on more to carry the team, which shouldn’t be a problem with how the rookies have been proving themselves.  

@The_Brit07 said the team is losing more players to injury.

“The injury bug continues,” she said on X.

Another commented to let Evans rest and give the other players a chance to continue to prove themselves as valuable players on the team.

“Godwin and Egbuka for the next week, let Evans rest,” @Mitche2600 said on X.

With the game nearing the end and the Bucs up 26-20, they try for a three-point field goal — but get blocked, and possession goes back to the Jets after the fumble recovery led to a touchdown and field goal — this gives the Jets and 27-26 lead.

However, the Jets’ play was against the rules, though it wasn’t called by the refs. According to Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, players can’t block a field goal “unless the leaping player was in a stationary position within one yard of the line of scrimmage when the ball was snapped.”

One commented on X, saying that there are good and bad sides to this rule.

“This K Ball Rule that was introducted [sic] is really a double edged sword in my view,” @JesseKrill1. “You get long distance field goals with relative ease, but at the same time, an equal chance of it being blocked.”

That didn’t matter, though, because with three seconds left in the game, McLaughlin kicked a 36-yard field goal to clinch the game, 29-27.

The Buccaneers will host the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m. EDT.