The Tampa Bay Buccaneers need to bounce back in a big way against a tough opponent in Week 11. After a loss to the best team in the AFC East, the New England Patriots, they now battle the team behind them in the standings, the Buffalo Bills.

While they may be in second place, they remain a Super Bowl contender, and with a win, the Bucs can join them in that conversation.

The Bucs are inching towards being healthy for Week 11 as Chris Godwin Jr. and Bucky Irving continue to work towards a return. Meanwhile, the Bills come into this game with something to prove, which means having all hands on deck would go a long way.

With that in mind, here is our live blog for the Bucs’ big Week 11 matchup.

The Bucs’ last-ditch effort to climb back into the game ends as Baker Mayfield is strip-sacked by Bills DT DaQuan Jones. The ball is recovered by Buffalo, making any comeback all but impossible. While the Bills go three-and-out on the following drive, it cost the Bucs their remaining timeouts and left them less than a minute down two scores. Todd Bowles opts instead to let the clock run out rather than risk any further injuries. Tampa Bay falls to 6-4 and face the Rams in Los Angeles next week.

Josh Allen records a hat trick of his own, scoring on a nine-yard run and making it a two-score game 44-32. With just 2:35 left in regulation, the Bucs have a very limited window to stay in the game. They need two touchdowns and with just two timeouts left, they can no longer rely on Sean Tucker to grind out yards on the ground.

After Buffalo retakes the lead, the Bucs go three and out, forcing the first punt since early in the third quarter. Tampa Bay is running low on time to get back ahead of Buffalo before time expires. The Bucs defense will need to force its own stop to keep the game within reach.

Josh Allen scores his fifth touchdown of the game on a five-yard keeper. Allen then misses on the two-point try, putting Buffalo ahead 37-32. Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Bucs and Bills are closing in on 700 combined yards of offense. With nine lead changes up to this point, the game could rest on whatever team holds the ball last.

The Bucs retake the lead once again on the legs of Sean Tucker, who finds the endzone on a 28-yard pass from Baker Mayfield. It is Tucker’s third touchdown of the game, a personal record. He accounted for 37 of the Bucs’ 62 yards on the drive. Tampa Bay attempted another two-point conversion, but again failed as WR Sterling Shepard was not able to come down in bounds with a Mayfield fade pass. The Bucs lead 32-31 early in the fourth quarter.

Baker Mayfield commits Tampa Bay’s first turnover of the game, throwing an interception to Bills S Cole Bishop, who returns the ball to Tampa Bay’s 25-yard line. The Bills score on the next play with Josh Allen finding James Cook for a 25-yard touchdown pass. The Bills regain the lead 31-26.

After another long kick return by Ray Davis, the Bucs are able to hold Buffalo to a field goal. The Bills now trail Tampa Bay 24-26 with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Taking advantage of the Bills’ third turnover of the game, the Bucs score off a six-yard Sean Tucker touchdown run. The seven-play drive saw Tampa Bay run it five times for 35 of the drive’s 43 yards. The Bucs attempted a two-point conversion to make it a three-point game, but a Baker Mayfield scramble came up short. Tampa Bay is now up 26-21 halfway through the third quarter.

After going three-and-out on their first offensive drive of the second half, the Bucs immediately get the ball back after Josh Hayes knocks the ball out of Mecole Hardman’s hands on the punt return. WR Ryan Miller gets the fumble recovery, and the Bucs are back on offensive in Bills territory.

Tampa Bay is having serious problems covering kickoffs against the Bills, allowing an average of 43.8 return yards including a 61-yard return that set up Buffalo’s first touchdown. Surrendering nearly half the field to start each drive is putting pressure on a Bucs defense that is mostly holding up outside of two big plays.

With just 36 seconds on the clock, the Bucs drive 58 yards to the Buffalo six-yard line and end the first half with a successful 24-yard field goal by Chase McLaughlin. Tampa Bay had a number of close calls assisted by Bills miscues along the way. After an Emeka Egbuka reception came down inbounds with 10 seconds remaining, Bills defensive end Javon Solomon draws a delay of game penalty when he knocks the ball out of Egbuka’s hands following the play. Then, the Bills block McLaughlin’s first field goal attempt, but Alec Anderson is called for holding, allowing McLaughlin to successfully attempt another kick.

Tampa Bay’s explosive play defense continues to be missing in action. Bills RB Ty Johnson rips off a 52-yard touchdown after a short pass from Josh Allen. The score again flips the lead to Buffalo 21-17. The Bucs get the ball back with two timeouts and 36 seconds left in the half.

Josh Allen throws his second pick of the day, with SirVocea Dennis coming down with the pass deflected by Tykee Smith. This is the second multi-interception game of the year for Allen. The pick sets up the Bucs at their own 32-yard line with the first half nearing a close.

The lead swings again on a 43-yard touchdown run by Bucs RB Sean Tucker. On first down at Buffalo’s 43-yard line, Tucker exploits a path to the endzone paved by some big Tristan Wirfs blocks. The Bills rush defense has been particularly vulnerable,

Josh Allen finds WR Tyrell Shavers in the endzone with a 43-yard touchdown pass, giving Buffalo back the lead 14-10. The Bucs rushed three, forcing Allen to find time but also allowing Shaver to run wide open into the end zone for the big play. The Bucs defense has been vulnerable to explosive plays recently, giving up three touchdowns of over 50 yards to New England last week.

Baker Mayfield revives his shake-and-bake ways, finding the endzone with a four-yard run on fourth-and-inches. On the Bucs’ 69-yard touchdown drive, Mayfield gained his first rush yards since Week 6, tallying 23 yards with his legs. The Bucs now lead 10-7 with the Bills offense back on the field.

The Bucs quickly lose the lead after a two-yard Josh Allen rush touchdown. After surrendering a 61-yard kick return to Mecole Hardman, the Bucs defense failed to stop the Buffalo offense in their own territory. The Bills successfully converted a fourth down on the drive after Tykee Smith nearly came up with another interception of Josh Allen.

The Bucs get the ball right back from Josh Allen. The Bills quarterback, facing an unblocked blitz from SirVocea Dennis, throws an errant pass that gets picked by rookie cornerback Jacob Parrish. The Bucs offense get the ball inside Buffalo’s 10-yard line. However, the Bills defense make a stand and force the Bucs to kick a field goal, putting them up 3-0.

Todd Bowles’ red challenge flag makes an early appearance. The Bucs are contending that Tez Johnson completed a catch on 3rd-and-eight for a successful conversion. However, it was ruled that he failed to complete the catch. The referees upheld their call after the review, and the Bucs punt it to Buffalo on their opening drive.

The Bills won the coin toss and deferred to the second half. Baker Mayfield and the Bucs offense take the field to start the game. Against the Patriots last week, the Bucs offense started hot with an opening drive touchdown but struggled to move the ball for the rest of the half.

The Bucs are donning their red and pewter uniform combination for today’s game in Buffalo.

The Bucs will be without several starters again this week. Despite rejoining practices, Bucky Irving and Chris Godwin will not suit up against the Bills, nor will Ben Bredeson and Haason Reddick. The healthy scratches today are backup defensive tackle C.J. Brewer and backup offensive lineman Elijah Klein. Klein was active for Tampa Bay’s first eight games but has not been on the active game day roster since the bye. The Bucs will now go with some combination of Michael Jordan, Dan Feeney and Luke Haggard at the guard positions while Ben Bredeson is out.

Bucs regular-season schedule 2025

Below is Tampa Bay’s regular-season schedule.

Week 1: W, 30-27 over the Atlanta Falcons (1-0)Week 2: W, 20-19 over the Houston Texans (2-0)Week 3: W, 29-27 over the New York Jets (3-0)Week 4: L, 31-25 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles (3-1)Week 5: W, 38-35 over the Seattle Seahawks (4-1)Week 6: W, 30-19 over the San Francisco 49ers (5-1)Week 7: L, 24-9 loss to the Detroit Lions (5-2)Week 8: W, 23-3 win over the New Orleans Saints (6-2)Week 9: BYE WeekWeek 10: L, 28-23 loss to the New England Patriots (6-3)Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 16, at Buffalo Bills, 1:00 P.M., CBSWeek 12: Sunday, Nov. 23, at Los Angeles Rams, 8:20 P.M., NBCWeek 13: Sunday, Nov. 30, Arizona Cardinals, 1:00 P.M., FOXWeek 14: Sunday, Dec. 7, New Orleans Saints, 1:00 P.M., CBSWeek 15: Thursday, Dec. 11, Atlanta Falcons, 8:15 P.M., Amazon PrimeWeek 16: Sunday, Dec. 21, at Carolina Panthers, 4:30 P.M., FOXWeek 17: Sunday, Dec. 28, at Miami Dolphins, 1:00 P.M., FOXWeek 18: Sunday, Jan. 4, Carolina Panthers, Time TBA, Channel TBA