Despite Sam Darnold putting on a mini masterclass (if we ignore that interception), the Buccaneers somehow escaped with a 38–35 win over the Seahawks. A shootout that racked up near 900 yards of combined offense and enough chaos to give Todd Bowles nightmares. Sure, the Bucs are now sitting pretty at 4–1, but if you think this was a clean win, Lavonte David has a different opinion.

“All 11 guys out there on the field were p—-d off because we were in that situation,” he said. “We shot ourselves in the foot throughout the whole game. We weren’t making plays. They were capitalizing on things we were doing.”

He’s not wrong. The Bucs struggled to pressure Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, who slipped away from Haason Reddick on a crucial fourth-and-2 play that set up Seattle’s late lead. Tampa Bay couldn’t bring him down once, and Darnold made them pay by completing over 82% of his throws.

The defense was also shorthanded, missing key cornerbacks Jamel Dean and Benjamin Morrison. Still, when it mattered most, David came through, snagging an interception after the ball deflected off Logan Hall’s helmet with under a minute left. The veteran linebacker made the sliding grab with 58 seconds to go, setting up Chase McLaughlin’s precise 39-yard field goal as time expired. It wasn’t flawless, but after last week’s loss to the Eagles, this was the bounce-back win the Bucs needed.

The game started off looking like a comfortable Bucs win: 13–0 early, defense flying around, and they looked like a well-oiled machine. But then the wheels fell off. Seattle punched back to take a 14–13 lead early in the third thanks to a 5-yard run from Zach Charbonnet. The Bucs regained control at 28–21, but then watched it slip away again as Darnold threw two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the Seahawks ahead 35–28.

As frustrated as David was, he knew how difficult it was to hold your ground when the momentum was completely against you. And he credited his teammates for grinding out a win at the end.

“It was a moment to rise. Somebody had to rise, and everybody had that attitude. That’s what I love about this football team. Guys, know the game’s not over until the game is over. Today I was able to be the one who made the play,” he said. And what a play it was.

That interception from David and Baker Mayfield‘s heroics is what led the Bucs to victory tonight.

Baker Mayfield bails out Bucs defense

Now, let’s be real: Sam Darnold was fantastic outside of the turnover. He threw for 341 yards, four touchdowns, and finished with a 95.8 QB rating. Easily his best outing of the season. But Baker Mayfield was playing differently.

He went 29-for-33 (that’s an absurd 87.9% completion rate), the best completion rate by any quarterback so far this season in a single game. He also threw for 379 yards and two scores, and finished with an impressive 134.7 passer rating. When the defense was clearly having a rough day, Mayfield’s carrying the game job was very much needed.

The defense had its worst defensive performance of the year, as they recorded no sacks for the first time this season and just two quarterback hits. And let’s be honest: Tampa can’t keep winning games by asking Baker to drop 35-plus every week, and even rush for 15 yards. Eventually, the defense has to step up as the season progresses.

Because next week? They’re facing the 49ers, and that’s not a team you want to have a scoring contest with. Outscoring them isn’t a sustainable game plan, especially with the way Mac Jones is showing up right now. It’s going to be a close battle between Jones and Mayfield, and hopefully, the defense can bail Mayfield out next week.