It was a homecoming for Bucs rookie wide receiver Emeka Egbuka Sunday afternoon – and the product of Tacoma Wash. did not disappoint the large group of family and friends that showed up at the Seahawks’ Lumen Field to cheer him on.
As for his impact, let’s just say it was ceaseless in Seattle.
In addition to playing a key role in Tampa Bay’s wild 38-35 victory, Egbuka became the first Buc ever to score a touchdown five times in his first five games. And he wrapped his hands around some impressive NFL history in the process. He became the first rookie in the league with at least 25 catches, 400 receiving yards and five touchdowns in the first five career games.
What’s more, the team’s No. 1 draft pick also emerged as one of four players over the last half century with 20 catches, 300-plus receiving yards and five touchdown receptions through their first five games – joining Ja’Marr Chase (2021), Roy Williams (2004) and Randy Moss (1998).
Among his many highlights was a 57-yard catch of a Baker Mayfield bomb, made while falling backward to the ground just shy of the endzone. That third-quarter gem set up tailback Rachaad White’s second touchdown.
And, of course, their was Egbuka’s own touchdown reception earlier in the quarter. On third and 10 from Seattle’s 15, he ran a precision route up the middle, beat cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett, and hauled in Mayfield’s dart – following that up by catching the two-point conversion to put the Bucs ahead 21-14.
But as valuable as Egbuka has been to the offense, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told the media on Monday that the former Ohio State star is equally impressive as a person. What stands out most to him?
“Just humble, willingness to learn, very good teammate, very smart guy, class act,” Bowles said. “He’s as sharp off the field, if not sharper, than he is on it. As a person, (he’s) easy to talk to. His thirst for knowledge of the game is unbelievable. He’s just a great guy to be around.”
But Bowles didn’t reserve all his praise for his first-year phenom, whose stellar play has helped make up for the absence of All-Pro Mike Evans, recovering from a hamstring injury. He also gave high marks to White, who took on the lead running back role with Bucky Irving out of action with a foot and shoulder injury.
“I thought Rachaad had an excellent game,” he said. “He played tough all day long, whether it was blocking, running the ball or catching the football. He did a heck of a job. He saw the holes and took advantage. He was a physical runner for the most part. And then he had some great catches on the side as well, and some screenplays, and he played a tough ballgame.”
Asked how White has handled taking on a different role with the emergence of Irving, Bowles replied, “I don’t think he’s taken on a different role. … We still see him as a lead back, so we just have two of them now. Obviously, he’s played a couple of years now. He does his job. He’s very professional. He’s a great teammate in the locker room and a great team player. He knows how to play the game very well, and we count on him a lot.”
And, of course, there was the man behind the fourth last-minute comeback win of the season, Mayfield. “He’s been great,” Bowles said. “The closer it gets, the more his competitiveness comes out. He understands what he’s doing in two minutes. There’s no panic, so there’s no panic with everybody else. He really breathes life into everybody who’s out on the field and they get the job done.”
The one area of concern is the defense, which was unable to contain quarterback Sam Darnold and Co., which only was stopped by Lavonte David’s clutch, tipped interception with 58 seconds left and the score tied 35-35. Take away that play – setting up Chase McLaughlin’s 39-yard game-winning field goal – it might have been a different outcome.
With the 4-1 San Francisco 49ers coming to town this Sunday, followed by a Monday Night Football road game against 4-1 Detroit, the defense will need to tighten up.
“Sam Darnold played a good game, No. 1,” he said. “No.2, fundamentally sound, we were not. We’ve got to be a lot better fundamentally. When you look at the tape, we’ve got to be better than that. And we’ve been better earlier in the year. We’ve just got to get back to basics.”
Here’s the rest of what Bowles touched on Monday:
(On winning tightly contested games this season)
“Well, it’s been good to close them out. You don’t ever want to play games that close, but early in the year, all these games are going to be tough and they’re going to be one-score games. Like you said, last year, we didn’t pull them out. This year, we’ve been finding a way to win. That shows attention to detail and resiliency on our part.”
(On improving in late-game situations compared to last season)
“Well, you learn from last year. Experience is one thing, resiliency is another, practice is another. Coach [Tom] Moore says it all the time: you prepare hard, you practice hard, you play hard. And we go by the three P’s, as judged by Coach Moore. We try to cover all that stuff, as everybody else does as well, but they’re really focused towards the end of the ball game, and they understand what they have to do.”
(On how much he considered going for two after the late touchdown to WR Sterling Shepard in Week 5)
“We talked about it. We ended up going for one. Lavonte [David] made a heck of a play, and it worked out for us, but we did talk about it.”
(On his decision to send a blitz that resulted in an interception from Seattle QB Sam Darnold towards the end of the game)
“We hadn’t called it all game, so obviously, they had a set [and] we thought it’d be open. When they sent four guys out, we thought we had a shot at it. Lavonte [David] just made a heck of a play. ‘Win’ (Antoine Winfield Jr.) Winfield is one of our best blitzers, so we sent him off the edge as well, and it worked out for both of them. ‘Win’ got the pressure on the quarterback and it actually bounced off or skimmed Logan [Hall]’s helmet, and ‘Tay’ (Lavonte David) made a heck of a play coming up with the catch.”
(On Kindle Vildor and Jacob Parrish stepping in at cornerback due to injuries)
“I thought that was a lot on Parrish’s plate, but I thought he handled it well. He had a [pass interference] call I thought was very good coverage in that respect, but to go outside and inside is not easy, especially with the game plan. Vildor has a lot of experience on the outside, so he understands the game very well and we trust him out there to play. So, it was probably more on Parrish’s plate, but I thought he did a very good job.”
(On if the increased volume of downfield pass attempts this season has been by design)
“It was intentional lately. We started out throwing a lot of quick game, and with the linemen down, we were trying to get the ball out quick. So, we’re trying to get back to what we do and get the ball downfield a little more and try to get some chunk plays.”
(On his assessment of the pass rush against the Seattle Seahawks)
“I thought the ball was coming out quick. It was a tough team to play because they max [protect] seven [or] eight guys a lot, and then he gets the ball out quick when they don’t. He played a very good ball game. It was a shootout. We haven’t been in one of those in a while. So, we were fighting for everything because he was playing so well and they had a receiver making some plays as well. But, we got a little bit of pressure at the end and we did enough to win the game.”
(On WR Sterling Shepard’s contributions)
“[He is] very underrated – one of our most underrated players, but one of our best players. He knows what to do, how to do it. He’s very tough. He can play inside, he can play outside. He’s done a great job blocking this year as well. He finds the open spots, and him and Baker [Mayfield] have a connection that way. He kept us in the game.”
(On which fundamentals and techniques he’s referring to in terms of getting back to basics)
“All of the technique.”
(On whether he can grade on a curve due to the team’s numerous injuries)
“We never grade on a curve. We tell it like it is.”
(On if he can provide any injury updates on RB Bucky Irving, WR Mike Evans, CB Jamel Dean, CB Benjamin Morrison or S Christian Izien)
“[It is] a little early, so we’ll wait until the report comes in and see where they’re at.”
(On RB Bucky Irving’s shoulder injury and when he was aware of it)
“I was aware of it pretty soon. As soon as he hurt it, I was aware of it. It’s day by day right now, so we’re still trying to see how he heals and see how he handles it and kind of go from there.”
(On how he approaches game planning while not knowing who will play at quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers)
“We’ve seen them both on tape obviously, but we try to attack the scheme and see what kind of scheme they’re playing as opposed to which quarterback is playing. Obviously, they have their favorite plays between the two. [We’ve] just got to do our homework.”
(On WR Chris Godwin Jr.’s health status after he was seen limping on the field)
“I’m pretty sure he was sore. Playing only in his second game right now, I’m pretty sure he was sore. [We’re] still waiting for the injury report to come out.”
(On if there were any other injuries during the game that he’s aware of)
“Not at this time, no.”