"Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield gathered his teammates at Lumen Field last Sunday and asked, "Are you ready?" as rookie wide receiver Tez Johnson studied his teammates' faces. "It was calm, poise, [there was] no panic," Johnson said. Then, he studied his quarterback's face. Mayfield had to get the Bucs into field goal range for flu-stricken kicker Chase McLaughlin. "I was just like, 'He is smiling right now,'" Johnson said to himself."
"In 17 breathtaking seconds, Mayfield had taken a broken play and turned it into an 11-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Sterling Shepard to tie the score 35-35 against the Seattle Seahawks. Then, two plays later, Bucs linebacker Lavonte David intercepted a pass on a hitch route from quarterback Sam Darnold that ricocheted off the helmet of defensive lineman Logan Hall, giving Tampa Bay the ball at the Seattle 35-yard line."
"I felt like that position of the game, we'd just tied it up, we didn't win it yet, so there was still business to be handled."
Baker Mayfield rallied the Buccaneers late at Lumen Field, calming teammates and directing a final sequence that produced a game-tying 11-yard touchdown to Sterling Shepard and set up a winning field goal. Rookie Tez Johnson noted the team's poise and Mayfield's composure, and Shepard emphasized that tying the game did not feel like winning. Lavonte David's interception off Logan Hall's ricochet returned possession to the Bucs at Seattle's 35, leading to a drive to the 20 and a kneel to set up Chase McLaughlin's 39-yard kick for a 38-35 victory. The win continued a pattern of dramatic comebacks.
Read at ESPN.com
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