Editor’s Note: The Piece was published with the wrong stats being attributed to Baker Mayfield’s passing numbers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 1–0 to start the 2025 season after a hard-fought 23–20 road win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. It wasn’t always pretty, but it was enough, and for a young Bucs team looking to set the tone in the NFC South, a win in Week 1 is exactly what they needed.
Here’s a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Sunday’s narrow victory in Atlanta.
The Good: Haason Reddick Makes an Immediate Impact
If there was any question about what Haason Reddick still had left in the tank, he answered it quickly. The veteran edge rusher, making his Buccaneers debut, was a force off the edge, recording a sack, a QB Hit, a tackle for loss, and a key third-down stop in the fourth quarter that helped shift momentum.
The Bad: Where do we begin?
While the Bucs walked away with the win, the offense left plenty on the field.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield was solid but unspectacular, completing 17 of 32 passes for 167 yards and one touchdown. He missed several open throws, and the red zone efficiency (1-for-3) continues to be a concern carried over from last season. The run game was also nonexistent, as both Bucky Irving and Rachaad White combined for only 16 carries and 51 yards. The Bucs did go with a revamped offensive line alignment right before kickoff, but the Falcons’ defense also honed in on the Bucs’ run game and forced Baker Mayfield to make plays with his arm.
The Ugly: SirVocea Dennis’ First Half, Chase McLaughlin kicks
SirVocea Dennis’s first game back from a shoulder injury that ended his 2024 season was rough, at least in the first half. Dennis missed multiple tackles and lost Bijan Robinson off the line of scrimmage for a huge gain, and lost Kyle Pitts when squared up with him, when a tackle would have forced him short of a first down. However, Dennis did have a better second half with a tackle for loss and multiple other run stops.
McLaughlin, on the other hand, had an uncharacteristic day, missing both a 44-yard field goal and an extra point. The extra point would have all but sealed the game, forcing the Falcons to go more than 80 yards with 59 seconds left. Instead, the missed extra point opened the door for Atlanta to at least tie the game, and if not for a missed kick from Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo, the Bucs would have ended up in OT, again, with Atlanta.
This article originally appeared on Bucs Wire: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from Buccaneers Week 1 win over the Falcons
Reporting by Ashlie Abrahams, Buccaneers Wire / Bucs Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
