TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are off to their worst start in over a decade after falling 23-19 to the Cleveland Browns in their home opener Sunday at Raymond James Stadium.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers home opener loss
The backstory:
The Bucs built a 16-6 lead in the third quarter, but Cleveland came alive in the second half and scored 17 of the game’s final 20 points.
Deshaun Watson helped lead the comeback, throwing two touchdown passes. He finished 24 of 30 for 238 yards.
The Bucs had opportunities to build a bigger lead but repeatedly stalled in the red zone.
Tampa Bay settled for four field goals, including a 59-yarder from Chase McLaughlin, repeatedly leaving critical points on the field.
Raymond James Stadium red zone stall
By the numbers:
Baker Mayfield finished 21 of 34 for 182 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Mayfield’s touchdown came in the third quarter when he escaped pressure and found Emeka Egbuka for a 5-yard score.
But the Bucs could not consistently finish drives.
Mayfield said the missed opportunities in the red zone ultimately came back to haunt Tampa Bay.
"It’s just unfortunate… not making the plays all day in the red zone. It was the same story, ended up with field goals instead of touchdowns down there. Obviously, negative plays and just not getting enough completions down there came back to bite us in the end."
Lightning delay and final drive
Dig deeper:
The Bucs appeared to have a chance to pull off a late comeback after Cleveland took a 23-19 lead with less than four minutes remaining.
Tampa Bay was driving into Browns territory when lightning forced another delay with about two minutes left.
The stoppage lasted more than two hours.
When the teams finally returned to the field, the Bucs had the ball on the 28-yard line.
The drive felt like a summary of the entire game: a costly penalty, missed connections between Mayfield and his receivers, and an inability to cross the goal line.
On the final play, Mayfield’s pass intended for Egbuka in the end zone fell incomplete.
The Bucs walked away without a touchdown on their final possession.
Postgame reaction on red zone struggles
What they're saying:
Mayfield said the loss was especially frustrating because the Bucs showed they were capable of moving the ball but continued to make mistakes at critical moments.
"Frustrated because it’s close. You know, you can feel it. You can see it. We’re moving the ball at times and then just shooting ourselves in the foot," Mayfield said. "That makes it more frustrating when you’re right there. Our group is more than capable of handling stuff like this, but we got to really [take a] self-critical look at the tape, get stuff fixed and just can’t keep making the same mistakes over and over."
Offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs also acknowledged the disappointment of losing the home opener.
"I don’t know. I don’t wanna say anything bad. It’s just, I don’t know, it’s not a fun feeling. Especially losing the home opener, like, to the Browns," Wirfs said.
Upcoming Tampa Bay schedule
What's next:
The Bucs will try to get their season back on track next week when they host the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota enters the matchup 2-0.
The Bucs will then host the Green Bay Packers (1-1) before traveling to Texas to face the Dallas Cowboys (1-1).
The Source: The Associated Press provided additional game details, statistics and information about the lightning delay. The quotes from Baker Mayfield and Tristan Wirfs were gathered from Buccaneers’ postgame interviews.