Buccaneers ride 2 TD catches by rookie Egbuka to dramatic 23-20 win over Penix, Falcons

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ATLANTA (AP) — Another visit to Mercedes-Benz Stadium produced more lasting memories for Emeka Egbuka.

Only eight months after helping Ohio State win a national championship by beating Notre Dame, Egbuka grabbed the spotlight in his return to Atlanta for his NFL regular-season debut.

Egbuka caught two touchdown passes, including a go-ahead 25-yarder with 59 seconds remaining, and Tampa Bay recovered after losing the lead on a marathon drive by Atlanta to beat the Falcons 23-20 in a dramatic opening game Sunday.

“You can’t get much of a better ball than that,” Egbuka said about Baker Mayfield's touchdown pass in the final minute. “... Obviously, it feels great to be able to help my team win.”

Egbuka, the first-round pick, had four catches for 67 yards.

“He's everything we thought since he's been here,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. “He played with so much poise and Baker (Mayfield) played with so much poise.”

Mayfield said his adjustment with Egbuka as another top play-maker for the Buccaneers has progressed “extremely quickly.”

“Just the way he carries himself,” Mayfield said. “... As you guys saw today, he's the real deal.”

Following Mayfield's 25-yard pass to Egbuka, Chase McLaughlin's missed extra point gave the Falcons an opening to force overtime with a field goal.

Michael Penix Jr., who capped an 18-play drive by scoring on a 4-yard run for a 20-17 lead with 2:17 remaining, moved the Falcons into field goal position in the final minute. Younghoe Koo was wide right on the 44-yarder, and his attempt wasn't close.

“He missed it,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “I’m not going to sit here and pretend I can tell you about the technique and what happened with that miss. But we got to make those kicks. Those are very makeable kicks. We’ve got to lock in and get that done.”

Koo was not present when the locker room was open for reporters.

Egbuka said the Buccaneer's last-minute answer to losing the lead proves “that we're resilient, that we play as a team.”

Mayfield completed 17 of 32 passes for 167 yards with three touchdowns.

The Falcons had two calls overturned with successful challenges while the Buccaneers' defense was called for two personal fouls on roughing- the-passer calls on the Falcons' marathon drive, which covered 91 yards and lasted 8 minutes, 46 seconds.

“It felt like an eternity,” Mayfield said about the long wait on the sideline for the offense to have another opportunity.

On fourth down from the 4, Penix pump-faked and then took off on a run. Tampa Bay's Calijah Kancey held Penix's legs as the quarterback reached across the goal line before losing possession of the ball. A review confirmed the officials' call on the field that Penix scored before losing the ball.

Atlanta successfully challenged an incompletion to tight end Kyle Pitts and a call that Penix was down before reaching the first-down marker on another fourth-down run inside the 5. Following that challenge, the Falcons had a first down at the 1 but needed four downs before Penix scored with 2:17 remaining.

Vita Vea and Greg Gaines had roughing-the-passer penalties to extend Atlanta's drive.

Mayfield and the Buccaneers answered quickly.

“I mean, we were looking to go down and score,” Mayfield said of the decisive touchdown drive. “It wasn’t about getting a field goal to tie it.”

Fourth-down conversions provided key plays as the first half, which ended with a 10-10 tie.

The Buccaneers converted a fourth-and-1 play when Mayfield found Mike Evans on a 6-yard pass, keeping a drive alive which ended with Chase McLaughlin's 48-yard field goal early in the second period.

Bijan Robinson was stopped on a fourth-and-1 run at the Tampa Bay 47, setting up the Buccaneers for Mayfield's 30-yard touchdown pass to Egbuka.

Penix, entering his first full season as Atlanta’s starter, completed 27 of 42 passes for 298 yards with one touchdown.

“I told him after the game he's going to be a problem in this league for a long time,” Mayfield said.

Robinson had six catches for 100 yards, including a 50-yard scoring catch on Atlanta’s opening possession. Despite his success as a receiver out of the backfield, Robinson and the Falcons couldn’t establish a consistent running game.

Robinson had 12 carries for only 24 yards as the Tampa Bay defense held the Falcons to 69 yards rushing.

“We've got to be better in all aspects,” Penix said. "Not just rushing but me as well in different situation where I could have given my guys a better chance at the ball.”

Buccaneers: CB Benjamin Morrison (hamstring) was inactive.

Falcons: WR Jamal Agnew was listed as questionable with a groin injury in the second quarter. WR Darnell Mooney (shoulder) was held out after being considered a game-time decision. Yet another receiver, Drake London, left the game with a shoulder injury.

Buccaneers: Visit Houston on Sept. 15 in a Monday night game.

Falcons: Visit Minnesota next Sunday night.

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