2024 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season

The 2024 season was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 49th in the National Football League (NFL), their eleventh under the leadership of general manager Jason Licht, their 27th playing their home games at Raymond James Stadium and their third under head coach Todd Bowles. They entered the season as the three-time defending NFC South champions. After winning the division and leading the team to the Divisional Round of the playoffs one year earlier, Baker Mayfield signed a three-year contract extension to continue as starting quarterback.
The Buccaneers started off the season 3–1, with wins against playoff-bound teams Washington, Detroit, and Philadelphia. However, they lost five of their next six games to slide to 4–6. The mid-season slump saw two overtime losses, a last-second loss to the 49ers, but most troublesome, a season sweep by division rival Atlanta, along with a season-ending injury to wide receiver Chris Godwin. The team rebounded after their bye week, winning six out of their final seven games to finish 10–7. Tampa Bay improved on their 9–8 record from 2023 and won the NFC South for a franchise-best fourth consecutive season following a victory against the New Orleans Saints to close out the regular season. The Buccaneers lost in the Wild Card playoff game at home in a rematch to the Washington Commanders by a score of 23–20 following a field goal by kicker Zane Gonzalez as time expired. This was their first playoff loss to the Commanders since their 2005 season also at home, where the Commanders were then known as the Redskins.
Despite missing three games due to a hamstring injury, wide receiver Mike Evans finished the regular season with 1,004 receiving yards. Evans tied the NFL record held by Jerry Rice for most consecutive seasons with 1,000+ receiving yards (11), as well as extending his own current record for most such seasons consecutively from the start of a career.
The 2024 Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense ranked near the top of the NFL in most categories, and set some new franchise records. They became the first team in NFL history to have an overall pass completion percentage of 70% and average 5+ yards per carry in rushing. In his second season as starting quarterback, Baker Mayfield threw 41 touchdown passes, second-best in team history behind only Tom Brady in 2021 (43). Mayfield ranked third overall in the league in total passing yards (4,500), tied for second in touchdown passes (41), and tied for second in pass completions (407). For quarterbacks who played in all 17 regular season games, he ranked second in completion percentage (71.4%), and fourth in passer rating (106.8). He also had 378 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Mayfield's completion percentage and passer rating were franchise records. Mayfield became the tenth different quarterback in NFL history to throw for 4,500+ yards and throw 40+ touchdowns in a single season.
The Buccaneers offense ranked third overall in the league in total yards (6,792), third in passing yards (4,257), fourth in rushing yards (2,536), and fourth in total points scored (502). The season was highlighted by wide receiver Mike Evans tying the NFL record held by Jerry Rice for most consecutive seasons with 1,000+ receiving yards (11), as well as extending his own current NFL record for most such seasons consecutively from the start of a career. Running back Bucky Irving became the first Tampa Bay rookie to rush for 1,000+ yards since Doug Martin in 2012. Irving ranked 10th overall in the league with 1,122 yards, the best among rookies, and also had 8 rushing touchdowns. The total team rushing yards was a franchise record, breaking the one held by the Ricky Bell-led 1979 team. The Buccaneers were the best in the league in Third Down conversions (50.9%), and ranked 4th in red zone offense with a 65.7% touchdown rate.
In Week 4, they snapped a then league-worst 23-game streak without an opening drive touchdown, and went on to score touchdowns on the opening drives of eight games. Tampa Bay outscored their opponents by a margin of 502–385, falling just short of the team record of 511 total points scored. A strong second-half team throughout the season, Tampa Bay outscored their opponents 247–135 in the second half of games, and 152–70 in the fourth quarter alone. In three overtime games, however (tied for the most in a single season in franchise history), they were only 1–2.
The Tampa Bay defense however, was only average, ranking 18th in the league giving up 341.8 yards/game and 16th in points allowed per game (22.6). The defense managed only 7 interceptions and 18 total takeaways, resulting in a season turnover margin of -5.
Draft trades
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Baker Mayfield threw for 289 yards and four touchdown passes as Tampa Bay defeated Washington 37–20. The Buccaneers won on opening day for the fourth consecutive season, the longest such streak in franchise history. Mike Evans caught two of the touchdown passes, while rookie Jalen McMillan caught his first touchdown in his first career NFL game. Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels led all rushers on the day with 88 yards and two touchdowns, but the Buccaneers defense for the most part stymied the Commanders offense throughout the game.
Tampa Bay visited Detroit in a rematch of the previous season's Divisional round playoff game. Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Chris Godwin in the first half. Mayfield then scored on an 11-yard designed quarterback run in the third quarter. The Buccaneers defeated the Lions 20–16, and started the season 2–0 for the fourth consecutive season.
Aidan Hutchinson compiled 41⁄2 sacks for the Lions, and Mayfield threw one interception. But miscues by the Lions ruined their chances to win. With less than 10 seconds left and counting in the first half, the Lions were trying to spike the ball to set up a field goal attempt. However, the kicking unit had come out onto the field prematurely, and the Lions were penalized for too many men on the field. The drive came up empty. During the fourth quarter, Detroit was in Tampa Bay territory three times, but all three drives failed to produce any points.
Denver jumped out to a 17–0 lead in the first half, and defeated Tampa Bay 26–7. The Buccaneers offense turned the ball over twice, and turned the ball over on down two more times.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes, and ran for another touchdown, as Tampa Bay soundly defeated Philadelphia in a rematch of the previous season's Wild Card matchup. Mike Evans caught a 2-yard touchdown pass on the opening drive, and became the all-time scoring leader in franchise history. The Buccaneers built a 24–0 lead midway though the second quarter, then took a 24–7 lead into halftime. The Tampa Bay defense forced two turnovers, and sacked Jalen Hurts six times.
This was Tom Brady's first visit back to Tampa Bay, this time as a commentator. Brady played the final 3 seasons of his career with the Buccaneers, as their quarterback from 2020 to 2022.
Tampa Bay faced Atlanta in an offensive shootout on Thursday Night Football. Kirk Cousins threw for 509 yards, but the Buccaneers still clung to a 30–27 lead at the two-minute warning. Lavonte David intercepted Cousins with 1:44 left in regulation. However, the Atlanta defense forced a three-and-out, and got the ball back with 1:14 left on the clock. Younghoe Koo kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired to send the game to overtime. The Buccaneers defense failed to stop the Falcons on the opening drive of overtime, and Cousins found KhaDarel Hodge for a 45-yard touchdown on the fourth play, winning the game for Atlanta, 36–30.
Tampa Bay faced rival New Orleans, just three days after Hurricane Milton made landfall just south of the Tampa Bay area. The team evacuated their headquarters in Tampa on Tuesday, and spent most of the week in New Orleans. They practiced at Tulane in preparations for the game. With Saints quarterback Derek Carr out with an oblique injury, rookie Spencer Rattler made his first career NFL start for New Orleans.
The Buccaneers jumped out to a 17–0 lead in the first quarter. However, the Saints stormed into the lead scoring 20 unanswered points. After three interceptions and a punt return touchdown, the Saints took a 27–24 lead into halftime. After the wild first half, Tampa Bay took over the game in the second half. The Buccaneers pulled away for a 51–27 victory, shutting out the Saints in the second half. Rattler was intercepted twice, and Baker Mayfield rebounded to finish with 325 yards and 4 touchdown passes.
Tampa Bay racked up a franchise record 594 net offensive yards, and their 51 points was the second-highest total in team history. The Buccaneers became the fifth team in NFL history to achieve 300+ yards passing and 275+ yards rushing in the same game. After the game, the players dedicated their performance to "everyone back home" recovering from the storm.
On the opening drive, Mike Evans caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield. As a result, Evans became the 11th player in NFL history with 100 career touchdown receptions. Evans, however, left the game early in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw five touchdown passes, as the Ravens defeated the Buccaneers 41–31. Down by 10 points in the final minute, wide receiver Chris Godwin was lost for the season, after suffering a dislocated ankle.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield threw two interceptions, and a fumble on the opening drive by Rachaad White cost Tampa Bay dearly, as they fell to Atlanta 31–26. The Falcons swept the season series, and took over sole possession of first place in the NFC South. With 6 seconds left in regulation, Mayfield's Hail Mary pass to the endzone was caught by Rakim Jarrett – but out of bounds – as time expired.
In a rematch of Super Bowl LV, Tampa Bay faced Kansas City on Monday Night Football. Quarterback Baker Mayfield found Ryan Miller for a 1-yard touchdown pass with 27 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 24–24. The game went to overtime, and Kansas City won with a touchdown on their first possession.
Quarterback Baker Mayfield was held to just 116 yards passing, however, he drove the Buccaneers to a game-tying field goal with 41 seconds remaining in regulation. With the score tied 20–20, 49ers kicker Jake Moody – who had missed three field goals on the day – kicked a 44-yard field goal as time expired. San Francisco won 23–20, and Tampa Bay lost their fourth straight.
After their bye week, Tampa Bay traveled to the New York Giants. The Giants had released Daniel Jones during the week, and Tommy DeVito started for them at quarterback. The Buccaneers dominated the Giants, stretching out to a 30–0 lead after three quarters, and finished with a 30–7 victory. Baker Mayfield threw for 294 yards, and ran for a touchdown, as the Tampa Bay offense racked up 450 total yards. The Buccaneers defense sacked DeVito four times, forced one turnover (fumble), plus two turnovers on downs. The win snapped a four-game losing streak for Tampa Bay.
After missing three games with a hamstring injury, Mike Evans was back in the starting lineup. Evans caught 5 passes for 68 yards.
With 30 seconds left in regulation, Bryce Young found Adam Thielen for a 25-yard touchdown pass, giving Carolina a 23–20 lead. Baker Mayfield then drove the Buccaneers to the Carolina 34-yard line with 3 seconds left. Chase McLaughlin kicked a 51-yard field goal as time expired to tie the score and send the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, Adam Thielen made a spectacular one-handed catch from Bryce Young, advancing the Panthers to the Tampa Bay 34-yard line. One play later, however, Chuba Hubbard was stripped of the ball by Anthony Nelson, and it was recovered by Buccaneers linebacker YaYa Diaby. Mayfield drove the Buccaneers down to the Carolina 12, and McLaughlin kicked a 30-yard field goal to win the game.
Coupled with an Atlanta loss against the Chargers, the Falcons and Buccaneers were now tied for the lead in the NFC South at 6–6. The Falcons remained ahead, however, based on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
After two consecutive wins following their bye week, the Buccaneers were tied with the Falcons atop the NFC South at 6–6, entering a home matchup against the 2–10 Raiders. Baker Mayfield threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter, one to Jalen McMillan and the next to Rachaad White, opening up a 14–0 lead. However, Mayfield struggled in the second quarter, turning over the ball three times (two interceptions and one lost fumble). The Raiders scored 10 unanswered points and threatened to take the lead at the start of the third period, when they put together an 18-play drive that took up over ten minutes, only to end in an Aidan O'Connell interception inside the red zone.
The Buccaneers clung to a 14–10 lead early in the fourth quarter. With 11:03 left in regulation, facing a 3rd and 9 at their own 24-yard line, Mayfield and Mike Evans connected for a big play. Evans hurdled one defender, and dragged another down to the Las Vegas 44 for a gain of 32 yards. That drive was capped off by a Rachaad White 3-yard touchdown run, giving Tampa Bay an 11-point lead. The Raiders made it a one-possession game again after a 27-yard field goal, but Mayfield wiped away any hope for a Raiders comeback when he found Jalen McMillan who high-stepped untouched into the end zone on the first play after the two-minute warning. Mayfield threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns and was picked twice. White had 17 carries for 90 yards and a score. With Atlanta's loss at Minnesota, the Buccaneers took sole possession of first place in the NFC South at 7–6, one game ahead of the Falcons.
Tampa Bay overcame two turnovers in the second quarter, and routed the Chargers by the score of 40–17 to win their fourth straight game. Baker Mayfield threw for 288 yards and four touchdown passes. Mike Evans had 9 receptions for a season-high 159 yards, leaving him just 251 yards shy of his eleventh consecutive season with 1,000+ receiving yards. Evans scored two touchdowns, including a 57-yard catch-and-run early in the third quarter, which put the Buccaneers ahead – a lead which they would not surrender.
Rookie running back Bucky Irving had 15 carries for 117 yards rushing, his second-highest single-game total of the season. His 54-yarder in the third quarter was his second-longest of the season, and he ended the day just 148 yards shy of a 1,000-yard rushing season. Irving, Rachaad White, Sean Tucker, along two Mayfield scrambles, combined for 223 yards on the ground.
The Tampa Bay defense sacked Justin Herbert three times and forced two turnovers, including one interception. It was Herbert's first interception since Week 2 (snapping a streak of 357 pass attempts without throwing a pick). After leading 17–10 midway through the second quarter, the Chargers were shut out in the second half. Tampa Bay scored 30 unanswered points and cruised to victory. They maintained their one-game lead over the Falcons for first place in the NFC South.
Tampa Bay faced Dallas on Sunday Night Football. Dallas had been eliminated from playoff contention before kickoff when Washington beat Philadelphia earlier in the afternoon. Tampa Bay was attempting to win their fifth straight game and stay one game ahead of Atlanta in the NFC South, as the Falcons had won their game against the Giants earlier in the day.
Trailing 26–24, the Buccaneers got the ball back with 1:40 left in regulation. On 1st and 10 at the 26-yard line, Baker Mayfield was under pressure, and threw a shovel pass to Rachaad White. After a gain of 5 yards, White was tackled and stripped of the ball, which was then recovered by the Cowboys. Dallas took a knee to run off the clock and secured the victory. With the loss, Tampa Bay snapped their four-game winning streak and slipped to 8–7 and into a tie with Atlanta in the NFC South; the Falcons took over first place holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Mike Evans finished the day with 69 yards receiving, putting him just 182 yards shy of his eleventh consecutive 1,000+ yard season with two games remaining.
Tampa Bay routed division rival Carolina by the score of 48–14 to improve to 9–7, and stay in the hunt for a postseason berth. Baker Mayfield threw for 359 yards and five touchdown passes. Mike Evans had 8 receptions for 97 yards, and two touchdown passes. Evans improved to 915 receiving yards on the season, just 85 yards short of his eleventh consecutive 1,000+ yard season. Running back Bucky Irving had his third game with 100+ yards rushing, and became the first Tampa Bay rookie with 1,000+ yards rushing since Doug Martin in 2012.
With 5:30 left in the third quarter, Carolina faced a 4th and 10 at their own 30-yard line. As the Panthers lined up for punt, a female mallard duck landed on the field, right next to return man Trey Palmer. Seconds later, Johnny Hekker's punt was blocked by Joe Tryon-Shoyinka, then scooped up by J. J. Russell who returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. The Panthers were held to just 204 offensive yards, and were shutout in the second half.
Later in the day on Sunday Night Football, Atlanta lost to Washington in overtime, elevating Tampa Bay into sole possession of first place in the NFC South.
Tampa Bay rallied from a 16–6 halftime deficit to defeat division rival New Orleans 27–19. Tampa Bay won the NFC South division title for the fourth consecutive season (a team record), and made the playoffs for the fifth straight year (also a team record). Tampa Bay became the first team in NFL history to start 4–6 and reach the playoffs in two consecutive seasons.
On the first drive of the second half, Baker Mayfield threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Payne Durham, trimming the deficit to 16–13. But on their next drive, Mayfield threw an interception, which led to a Blake Grupe field goal. New Orleans took a 19–13 lead into the fourth quarter. With 10:49 left in regulation, facing a 4th and 8 at the New Orleans 42-yard line, Mayfield found Jalen McMillan deep downfield for a 33-yard gain. Though there was a penalty after the play, the Buccaneers still had a first down. Two plays later, Mayfield connected to McMillan for a 32-yard touchdown pass to take the lead 20–19 with 10:18 remaining. After forcing a Saints punt, Tampa Bay took over at their own 6-yard line with 7:38 left in regulation. Mayfield drove the Buccaneers 94 yards in 12 plays, the drive capped off with a 11-yard touchdown run by Bucky Irving.
Tampa Bay took a seemingly comfortable 27–19 lead with 1:51 to go, and appeared well in position to win the game and clinch the division. However, wide receiver Mike Evans was still 5 yards shy of 1,000 receiving yards for the season. The Buccaneers defense forced a turnover on downs, and with 36 seconds left on the clock, the offense had one last chance for Evans to reach the milestone. On 1st and 10 at their own 32-yard line, Mayfield found Evans for a 9-yard gain, and Evans earned his eleventh consecutive 1,000+ yard season, tying the NFL record held by Jerry Rice.
This was the first playoff matchup between Tampa Bay and Washington since the 2020 NFC Wild Card, when the Buccaneers won 31–23 over the then-Washington Football Team, en route to their win in Super Bowl LV. The Commanders and Buccaneers met in Tampa in Week 1 of the regular season, with the Buccaneers winning 37–20. This was the fourth playoff meeting between the two teams, with the Buccaneers holding a 2–1 series lead. In addition, this was Washington's first playoff game as the Commanders.[26]
The Buccaneers opened the scoring on a Chase McLaughlin 50-yard field goal on the game's game's first possession. On the Commanders' first possession, they turned the ball over on downs after a Jayden Daniels pass to Austin Ekeler on fourth down fell incomplete from Tampa Bay's 20-yard line. After the Buccaneers punted, Washington scored on a Daniels pass to Dyami Brown to cap off a 9-minute, 17-play drive. After a successful Zane Gonzalez field goal, which made the score 10–3, Baker Mayfield led the Bucs down the field and scored on a 1-yard pass to Mike Evans, who was covered for most of the first half by rival Marshon Lattimore.[27] This tied the score at 10–10 at halftime.
Gonzalez added another field goal on the Commanders' first possession of the second half, giving Washington a temporary lead. On the next possession, the Buccaneers went ahead 17–13 on a 4-yard Mayfield pass to rookie running back Bucky Irving. The Commanders' next possession saw them drive 67 yards in 12 plays, as the game moved into the fourth quarter. They then failed on a fourth-down conversion for the second time in the game, turning the ball over on downs at the Tampa Bay 3-yard line. Three plays later, Mike Evans made a stretching reach to secure a critical first down, but the Buccaneers gave the ball right back to Washington on the next play. Mayfield committed a costly turnover, a botched handoff to rookie Jalen McMillan on a jet sweep, resulting in a fumble recovered by Bobby Wagner at the Tampa Bay 13. Four plays later, facing yet another fourth-down conversion, a 4th-and-2 at the Tampa Bay 5-yard line, D aniels's pass to Terry McLaurin gave the Commanders a 20–17 lead. On their next possession, late in the fourth quarter, Tampa Bay could not pick up a first down deep in Washington territory after Mayfield was tackled for no gain on 2nd-and-1, and Irving was tackled for a loss on a seemingly botched 3rd-and-1 running play. McLaughlin kicked a 32-yard field goal to tie the score at 20–20.
With 4:41 left in the game, playing in his first playoff game as a rookie, Daniels led the Commanders down the field in position for Zane Gonzalez to kick a 37-yard field goal. In what immediately became known as the 'Divisional Doink' game due to NBC play-by-play announcer Mike TiricTirico's, Gonzalez's kick sailed toward the right upright, hit the post, but fell through, giving the Commanders the 23–20 victory as time expired.[28][29] This was the team's first victory in the playoffs since the 2005–2006 season (coincidentally, also against the Buccaneers in Tampa) and the first under new owner, Josh Harris. For the third game this season, Washington had a no-turnover, no-punt game.[30]
Monday, January 13,