Buccaneers Rookie\u00a0Touchdowns in NFL Debut, 2023-26<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Sept. 10,\u00a02023: WR Trey Palmer,\u00a07-yard TD reception vs. Minnesota<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Sept. 8, 2024: WR Jalen McMillan, 32-yard TD reception vs. Washington<\/p>\n
\u2022\u00a0Sept. 7, 2025: WR Emeka Egbuka, 30- and 25-yard TD receptions vs. Atlanta<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sept. 13, 2026: LB Josiah Trotter, 38-yard interception return vs. Cincinnati<\/p>\n
Trotter had an eventful NFL debut, also leading the Buccaneers with 10 tackles and recording the team’s only sack of the day. Trotter thus became the first player in NFL history with a pick-six and a sack in his first NFL game. Again excluding the 1987 strike games, Trotter is the first player in Buccaneers franchise history to score on an interception return in his first NFL game. The last time any player in the NFL did so in his league debut was Detroit safety Brian Branch on Sept. 7, 2023. The only two players in the past 10 years to rack up a sack, an interception and at least five tackles in their first NFL games are Trotter and eight-time Pro Bowler T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Trotter’s 10 tackles were the most by a Buccaneer rookiemaking his NFL debut since that statistic began being officially tracked in 1995.<\/p>\n
Trotter’s interception was one of six pass breakups for the Buccaneers’ defense. Also notching passes defensed were cornerbacks Zyon McCollum (2), Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish as well as safety Tykee Smith. McCollum’s first pass breakup came on a third-down Burrow target of wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, ending the Bengals’ first possession in a three-and-out. He later caught up to wide receiver Tee Higgins on what was initially ruled a 33-yard catch down the middle of the field, getting an arm in at the last second to dislodge the ball as Higgins fell to the turf. Chase and Higgins were limited to a combined five catches for 71 yards, including just two grabs for 12 yards for Chase. That is tied for the second-lowest receiving yardage total for Chase in his 79 career games.<\/p>\n
On offense, quarterback Baker Mayfield faced significant pressure in the pocket but managed to complete 23 of 28 passes for 216 yards while also running five times for 30 yards and a touchdown. It was the 12th rushing touchdown of Mayfield’s career and his sixth since joining the Buccaneers in 2023. He finished the game with a passer rating of 98.8, though his three lost fumbles were obviously a big factor in the six-point loss.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0the process, Mayfield moved up\u00a0several\u00a0spots on the Buccaneers’ all-time completions chart,\u00a0passing Trent Dilfer and Vinny Testaverde\u00a0and\u00a0closing in on Josh Freeman for third place.<\/p>\n
Most Pass Completions, Buccaneers History<\/p>\n
1. Jameis Winston, 2015-19: 1,563<\/p>\n
2. Tom Brady, 2020-22: 1,376<\/p>\n
3. Josh Freeman,\u00a02009-13: 1,144<\/p>\n
4. Baker Mayfield, 2023-26: 1,137<\/p>\n
5. Vinny Testaverde, 1987-92: 1,126<\/p>\n
Mayfield targeted second-year receiver Emeka Egbuka six times, resulting in five catches for a team-leading 63 yards. Paired with his impressive rookie output, that gives Egbuka 1,001 receiving yards in his first 18 NFL games and makes him the second player from the NFL’s 2025 draft class to pass the 1,000-yard career mark.<\/p>\n
Most Receiving Yards, 2025 NFL Draft Selections<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0Tetairoa McMillan, Panthers:\u00a01,089<\/p>\n
2. Emeka Egbuka, Buccaneers: 1,001<\/p>\n
3. Tyler Warren, Colts: 830<\/p>\n
4. Harold Fannin, Browns: 752<\/p>\n
5. Luther Burden, Bears: 715<\/p>\n
Rookie\u00a0wide receiver\u00a0Ted Hurst made his NFL debut on Sunday and\u00a0caught\u00a0three passes for\u00a036yards, all on three consecutive plays in the fourth quarter. Hurst is the sixth player in team history with at least three catches and\u00a035\u00a0receiving yards in his first career game.<\/p>\n
Mayfield’s most targeted player\u00a0was running back\u00a0Bucky Irving, who caught all seven passes thrown his way for\u00a048\u00a0yards while also rushing eight times for\u00a045\u00a0yards and a touchdown.\u00a0With an average of 5.6 yards per tote, Irving has now surpassed a 5.5-yard average in nine of his\u00a0first 28 NFL games. Since he entered the NFL as a fourth-round draft pick in 2024, Irving has\u00a0the seventh-most games with a per-carry average of 5.5 or better among all players.<\/p>\n
Most Games with Per-Carry Rushing Average of 5.5 or Better, 2024-26<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0Derrick Henry, Ravens:\u00a018<\/p>\n
2. Jahmyr Gibbs, Lions:\u00a014<\/p>\n
3. Saquon Barkley, Eagles:\u00a011<\/p>\n
4t. De’Von Achane, Dolphins:\u00a010<\/p>\n
4t. James Cook, Bills:\u00a010<\/p>\n
4t. Bijan Robinson, Falcons:\u00a010<\/p>\n
7. Bucky Irving, Buccaneers: 9<\/p>\n
In addition to the touchdowns scored by Trotter, Mayfield and Irving, the Buccaneers got nine points from kicker Chase McLaughlin, who hit field goals of 34 and 51 yards and made all three of his extra point attempts. McLaughlin, who entered the game as the most accurate kicker in NFL history on attempts of 50-plus yards, 27 of 31 in that category since joining the Buccaneers in 2023.<\/p>\n
Highest Field Goal Success Rate, 50-Plus Yards, NFL History\u00a0(minimum\u00a025\u00a0attempts)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Buccaneers Rookie\u00a0Touchdowns in NFL Debut, 2023-26 \u2022\u00a0Sept. 10,\u00a02023: WR Trey Palmer,\u00a07-yard TD reception vs. Minnesota \u2022\u00a0Sept. 8, 2024:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":399600,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[159025,589,135,137,136,156864],"class_list":["post-399599","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-data-crunch","tag-featured","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-week-1-2026-bengals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399599","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=399599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/399599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/399600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=399599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=399599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=399599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}