If you didn’t have a rooting interest in either the Seattle Seahawks or Tampa Bay Buccaneers , Sunday afternoon’s battle at Lumen Field was a thriller.
Buccaneers 38, Seahawks 35: Recap | Instant Reaction | Box score
Two teams with two stout defenses turned a potential low-scoring affair into a shootout between two quarterbacks who, coincidentally, once spent time on the same roster in Carolina.
In the end, it was Baker Mayfield who outdueled his former teammate Sam Darnold. Or was it Darnold who outdueled himself by throwing a late interception? Or, wait, was the fight lost when Seattle’s defense couldn’t stop the Bucs from returning blow for blow?
Turns out a surprising game left some confusing takeaways. Here’s the good and bad of each.
Darnold’s stellar outing ended with heartbreak, but should leave you feeling encouraged.
Darnold technically didn’t make the pass that mattered most, which I suppose you could say for any pass that’s intercepted with less than a minute remaining from your own 38-yard line. But he made a lot of passes that really mattered, and that’s encouraging for a Seahawks offense that entered the season with the expectation that Darnold would be a lesser version of his 2024 self.
Darnold’s final line (28 for 34, 341 yards, four touchdowns, one interception) isn’t going to reflect the bit of luck he got away with in the fourth, nor the brilliance from a few of his shots.
A pass nearly tipped for what would’ve been a pick six took another bounce into the air and fell into the waiting arms of Cooper Kupp. There’s some luck for you. But a 53-yarder to a sprinting Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who had a defender on his hip? Evading pressure on fourth down to toss a touchdown to rookie Tory Horton? Those were clutch plays, and there were more from the offense in the second half, and it deserves a fair share of credit even with a loss.
Made it look easy. 😤 Darnold to JSN for 53 yards.
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— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 5, 2025
That's how you answer on fourth. 😮💨
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— Seattle Seahawks (@Seahawks) October 5, 2025
It really makes the final pick a shame.
“At the end of the day I’ve gotta protect the football in that situation,” Darnold told reporters after the game, doling out credit to the Bucs’ defense.
He felt he should’ve changed the protection pre-snap.
“That was bad quarterback play on that last snap.”
The Bucs were short a few defenders of their own, including a starting and a backup cornerback. They kept a lid on Seattle’s offense through most of the first half but allowed 311 yards from the Seahawks in the second half alone.
“Just crushing,” Kupp said of the loss, a line that perfectly summed up the feeling of fans leaving the stadium to waltz next door to T-Mobile Field with prayers that the Mariners could save their season. It’s been a tough weekend for Seattle sports.
The Seahawks defense isn’t as bad as their numbers Sunday, but injuries adding up could change that.
On to the more confusing and concerning part of the day.
The Seahawks were a top scoring defense in the second half of last season. Through four weeks this year they were even better, ranking third in points allowed behind Denver and Houston. They’ve been one of the better defenses against the run and in the red zone this year (46%). That’s a good chunk of time to establish some fairly reliable trends.
Sunday might’ve been their worst performance yet under coach Mike Macdonald. Mayfield and the Bucs marched down the field over and over, racking up 426 net yards, 38 points, and going over 60% on both third down and in the red zone.
How big a factor are injuries here? The Seahawks entered the day without starting safety Julian Love — a leader on that side of the ball — and starting corner Devon Witherspoon. The defensive line was missing DeMarcus Lawrence. But no matter, the Bucs were without wide receiver Mike Evans and running back Bucky Irving, so all’s fair, right?
Easier to say when you’re only short three defenders. The Bucs attacked early, adding just a pair of field goals to start the game but otherwise moving far more easily than previous opponents against this group. By the end of the game the defense was being torched far too frequently. The Bucs didn’t need Irving after all — turns out 56 rushing yards won’t do you in when Mayfield can pass for 370.
I don’t think the defense Macdonald rolled out Week 1 is this bad. And we know that — they’ve proven to be a stellar unit so far. But the defense they might have to roll out if these injuries are more concerning? That’s a pretty massive question mark.
Three key questions for Seattle Seahawks as calendar turns to October