Two pairs of former teammates showed out in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.
Former Panthers quarterbacks Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold were both dealing to former Ohio State receivers Emeka Egbuka and Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
But in the end, the Buccaneers were able to get a needed turnover late in the fourth quarter and used it to set up another walk-off field goal, defeating the Seahawks 38-35.
The Seahawks used an eight-play, 99-yard drive to go ahead 35-28 with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter, as Darnold evaded a sack on fourth-and-2 in Tampa Bay territory to hit Tory Horton with a 21-yard touchdown.
But the Buccaneers were able to tie the game with Mayfield’s 11-yard TD pass to Sterling Shepard with 1:08 on the clock.
Armed with three timeouts, the Seahawks had plenty of time to get down the field and set up a last-second field goal. But on the second play of the possession, Darnold’s pass ricocheted off a defender’s helmet at the line of scrimmage and went right to the hands of veteran linebacker Lavonte David.
That set up Tampa Bay at the Seattle 35-yard line, though the Seahawks still had three timeouts. But that became a moot point once Rachaad White converted third-and-7 with a 12-yard run to put the Bucs on the Seattle 20.
After a kneel down, Chase McLaughlin nailed his 39-yard field goal to put the game away.
Mayfield got the better of Darnold in the QB duel, but Darnold still performed well for much of the contest. Mayfield finished 29-of-33 for 379 yards with two touchdowns. He also had 15 yards rushing.
Darnold finished 28-of-34 for 341 yards with four touchdowns and an interception.
Egbuka caught all seven of his targets for 163 yards with a touchdown, including a 57-yard bomb that set up a separate TD.
Smith-Njigba caught eight passes on nine targets for 132 yards with a touchdown. He had a 53-yard deep catch that set up a TD.
Another Seattle giveaway was part of the difference, as Jalen Milroe fumbled a pitch to running back Kenneth Walker during the second quarter. That turnover led to a Tampa Bay touchdown, with White scoring his first of two rushing TDs.
Tampa Bay finished the contest with 426 total yards, 25 first downs, and 7-of-11 on third down.
Seattle tallied 463 yards, 27 first downs, and was 6-of-9 on third down.
Now at 4-1, the Bucs will host the fellow 4-1 49ers next Sunday afternoon.
The 3-2 Seahawks will be on the road to play the Jaguars in Week 6.
