For the first time in team history, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have won 4 consecutive opening day matchups. With their 37-20 victory over the Washington Commanders at Raymond James Stadium Sunday, the Bucs season opener win tied a record for the second longest opening day winning streak. We’ll have to wait until next season to see the streak gets extended to snap the tie with the Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins.
Bucs Season Opener Standouts
Baker Mayfield was cool, calm and collected. He had an impressive day with 289 yards. Mayfield completed 24 of 30 passes and threw no interceptions. He ended the day with a passer rating of 146.4. Mike Evans was a beast scoring two touchdowns.
After the great start, now the Bucs head to Detroit to take on the Lions Sunday at 1pm. The Lions are coming off a win too. They beat the LA Rams 26-20 at Ford Field.
Injuries
The big downside of Sunday’s win for the Bucs… injuries. The defense was especially hit hard. The Bucs secondary was almost wiped out by the end of the game Sunday.
Logan Hall and Calijah Kancey were already out. There were early exits with cornerback Zyon McCollum, Bryce Hall and Josh Hayes. Greg Auman tweeted that Hall dislocated his ankle and fractured his fibula. A rough debut for sure in the Bucs season opener. Another point of concern… Antoine Winfield Jr. was in a boot after the game, according to the Pewter Report.
Looking Ahead
After Sunday’s matchup with the Lions, the Bucs return to Raymond James Stadium September 22 to face the Denver Broncos. Then there’s one more home game against the Philadelphia Eagles September 29 before the team heads to Atlanta to take on the Falcons for a Thursday Night Football matchup. After that we take on the Saints, which was the only other team in the NFC South to get a win in Week 1 of the new NFL season.
