The Good, Bad and Ugly From Buccaneers' 23-16 Loss to the Vikings

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers found themselves in a deep hole heading into this Week 3 matchup against the undefeated Minnesota Vikings.

To make matters worse, the winless Bucs were without their top two draft picks in Rueben Bain Jr. and Josiah Trotter, both of whom were dealing with injuries following last week's embarrassing home opener where Tampa Bay was outplayed in every way by the Cleveland Browns.

The Vikings had free agent acquisition Kyler Murray back under center for this one, creating a unique matchup between two former Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks with the Oklahoma Sooners. Neither Mayfield or Murray was doing any Heisman poses on this day, though, as both offenses struggled in a big way.

When it was all said and done, the Buccaneers fell 23-16 to the Vikings, and fall to 0-3 on the season. Let's take a closer look at a game that had some good, plenty of bad and a whole lot of ugly.

Good

David Walker Continues to Impress

While starting edge rushers Yaya Diaby and Rueben Bain should have 'missing' posters hanging up around the city of Tampa, rotational edge rusher David Walker continues to produce despite limited opportunities. With Bain out of the lineup on Sunday, we knew Walker would get some more reps, and it didn't take long for him to take advantage as the second-year player (who missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL) provided a key sack for the second week in a row.

With five minutes left in the game and the Bucs trailing by a single point, Walker's relentless pressure led to a key sack for the Bucs, which forced the Vikings into a second-and-15 situation. So far this season, Walker has been the Bucs' best edge rusher. Whether that's a credit to Walker, an indictment of the others or a combination of both is open to interpretation.

5️⃣1️⃣ with the sack 💪

📺: #MINvsTB on FOX pic.twitter.com/5Oq0EvwQcb
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 27, 2026

Career First for Hurst

Ted Hurst announces his arrival. Mayfield connected with Hurst for a 40-yard TD. Hurst snuck up the seam of the Vikings' defense with little resistance for his first NFL TD. Mayfield delivered a nicely timed ball to hit Hurst in stride for what was also his first TD pass of the season.

Ted Hurst III's first career TD 🗣️@MINvsTB on FOX/FOX One
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/vwmtGgBFFi
— NFL (@NFL) September 27, 2026

Anzalone Finally Makes a Play

Alex Anzalone finally made a positive play as a member of the Buccaneers when he sacked Kyler Murray on third down at the start of the second quarter, forcing the Vikings to punt the ball away. Although the play could be categorized as a 'coverage sack', and the play wasn't necessarily reflective of an exceptional individual play made by Anzalone, the result was still a sack on 3rd down, which ultimately got the ball back for his team.

Bad

Aug 16, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers center Graham Barton (62) exits the field after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bucs Offensive Line

The Buccaneers' offensive line has been a massive disappointment so far this season. Although the tackle duo of Wirfs and Goedeke seem to have settled into a more consistent rhythm of late, the interior remains a complete disaster. Numerous penalties committed by the likes of Cody Mauch, Graham Barton and Luke Goedeke were costly (we'll get to that), but the rate at which the pocket was collapsing around Mayfield seemingly any time he dropped back to pass was truly alarming.

Will the Real Chris Godwin Please Stand Up?

It pains me to type this out, but Chris Godwin Jr. looks like a shell of his former self. After numerous injury-plagued seasons, Godwin finally had a healthy offseason heading into 2026, and many expected the 30-year-old receiver to have a career renaissance this season with Mike Evans no longer in the picture.

Unfortunately, that has not been the case. Godwin has been a non-factor through the first three weeks of the NFL season and his lack of targets, separation and overall impact is cause for concern — especially when he's being paid $22 million per year.

Although Godwin did haul in what appeared to be an 86-yard TD reception to give the Bucs the lead late in the third quarter, that play was negated by a penalty. When it was all said and done, Godwin finished this game with just 25 receiving yards on 3 receptions.

Jalen McMillan Hurt... Again

Jalen McMillan, who has been working his way back to full health, was injured on the Bucs' first offensive possession in the game when he attempted to make a catch on third down. McMillan, who landed awkwardly on the play and appeared to suffer a knee or lowe-leg injury, could be seen gingerly making his way to the locker room to be assessed. He did not return to the game.

Bucs WR Jalen McMillan is headed to the locker room. pic.twitter.com/OwxApLccrR
— Logan B. Robinson (@LogansTwitty) September 27, 2026

MacMillan has been very solid when healthy for the Bucs, but his lack of availability has becoming a real concern.

Special Teams

The Bucs' special teams unit gave up an 86-yard punt return TD to Miles Price, who set a franchise record for kickoff return yards in 2025. This was also the third-longest punt return TD in Vikings' history. It looked pretty easy for Price, who knifed through the Bucs' punt coverage squad untouched.

What an embarrassment here by the Bucs. https://t.co/lJM6Jyi6iV
— NFL Philosophy (@NFLosophy) September 27, 2026

Slow Start

The Buccaneers were down 10-0 just over six minutes into this football game. For a team that should have been extremely hungry to prove themselves, the Bucs came out flat in this game while the Vikings came ready to play. Although the Buccaneers did manage to even the game in the second quarter, digging a deep hole early in the game is not a sustainable way to survive in the NFL. Especially against quality opponents.

Ugly

Sep 27, 2026; Tampa, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) looks on during warmups prior to the game against the Minnesota Vikings at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Both Offenses

The battle of the former Oklahoma Heisman quarterbacks didn't provide the fireworks that the Sooners' faithful would have liked to see. Both the Vikings and Buccaneers offenses really struggled in this game. At one point, with over 13 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, there had been a total of 17 punts and just 14 first downs between the two teams. Gross.

Mayfield-Egbuka Connection

Following the departure of Mike Evans, everyone assumed that Emeka Egbuka would step up as Mayfield's top target after a very promising rookie season. Although it's been obvious that the Buccaneers are trying to target Egbuka as much as they can, it's now becoming equally as clear that he and Mayfield have some serious chemistry issues going on.

The timing between the talented quarterback-WR duo has been off all season, and in this game against the Vikings, it was a glaring issue. On numerous occasions, it appeared as though Egbuka was the primary target on a particular play, and despite creating just enough separation to make the catch, the completion was rarely made. Multiple times, Mayfield appeared frustrated — either with himself or Egbuka — for the inability to connect on key plays.

Costly Penalties

When the game was tied 10-10 in the 2nd quarter, the Buccaneers were driving deep into Minnesota territory. That was until both Cody Mauch and Graham Barton were flagged for holding on consecutive plays, squandering what was otherwise a promising drive for the Buccaneers' offense at a key moment.

Later in the game, another hold on Mauch was all but forgotten when Mayfield connected with Chris Godwin Jr. for an 86-yard TD reception. That was until the play was negated because of a hold by RT Luke Goedeke. In the fourth quarter, TE Payne Durham got in on the action when his holding penalty cost the Buccaneers a 15-yard first-down scramble by Mayfield.

Baker Mayfield Injured on Final Throw of the Game

The final throw of the game for Baker Mayfield was an incomplete pass on 4th-and-13. It was a last-ditch effort for the Buccaneers to extend a game that they really had no business being in based on how they played. However, things quickly went from bad to worse when viewers realized that Mayfield was down on the field in serious pain after the play. As it turns out, Mayfield appeared to injure the thumb on his throwing hand.

The Mayfield injury on a failed fourth-and-long situation was an ugly ending to what was a terribly ugly football game.

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