SEATTLE (AP) — Lavonte David slid toward the middle of the field in anticipation as Buccaneers teammate Antoine Winfield Jr. pressured Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold. After a deflection off defensive end Logan Hall’s helmet, David found himself in the right spot to intercept Darnold with 58 seconds left.
His pick set up Chase McLaughlin’s 39-yard field goal as time expired, and Tampa Bay escaped with a thrilling 38-35 win over Seattle on Sunday.
“Got a good read, and was able to make it to a good spot to read the quarterback,” David said. “When I (saw) the ball coming in the air, I had to have it.”
Baker Mayfield tied it for the Bucs (4-1) by throwing an 11-yard touchdown pass to Sterling Shepard with 1:08 remaining. That left time for Darnold and the Seahawks (3-2), but David made one of the few standout defensive plays in a game dominated by offense as the teams combined for 889 yards.
In a duel between quarterbacks who struggled with the teams that drafted them, then spent a season together in Carolina before reviving their careers elsewhere, Mayfield and Darnold combined to throw for 720 yards with just 10 incompletions.
Mayfield finished 29 of 33 for 379 yards and two touchdowns, and his 87.9% completion percentage was the highest by any quarterback in a game this season. The Bucs needed every one of those successful throws to bounce back from last week’s loss to Philadelphia.
“He was sharp,” Tampa Bay coach Todd Bowles said. “Baker doesn’t try to have two subpar games in a row. He was still (ticked) from last week.”
Darnold was 28 of 34 for 341 yards with four TDs and the one costly interception while throwing off his back foot toward the middle of the field.
“At the end of the day,” Darnold said, “I got to protect the football in that situation and can’t give them a short field to put the game away like that.”
Tampa Bay took over at the Seattle 36. Rachaad White ran three times for 15 yards to get the Bucs well within McLaughlin’s range, Mayfield took a knee to run the clock down, and McLaughlin ended it with his third field goal of the day.
Entering the afternoon, Seattle’s defense had allowed the third-fewest points in the NFL. But without injured regulars DeMarcus Lawrence, Julian Love and Devon Witherspoon, the Seahawks struggled to slow down the Bucs, who converted 7 of 11 third downs.
“I have to do better with our defensive game plan and execution and how we call it,” coach Mike Macdonald said. “When you put up a performance like that, it means that I didn’t prepare them well enough. It hurts. It stings.”
Tampa Bay led 13-0 late in the second quarter thanks to two field goals by McLaughlin and one of two rushing TDs by White, but Seattle went ahead 14-13 early in the third on a 5-yard TD run by Zach Charbonnet.
The Bucs pushed back ahead 28-21 near the end of the period. Darnold threw two TD passes in the fourth quarter, the second a 21-yarder to Tory Horton that gave Seattle a 35-28 lead.
“Sam was great. Played a tremendous football game,” Macdonald said. “Thought we were going to have a chance to win the game there at the end.”
Instead, Tampa Bay became the first team in NFL history with four wins by three points or fewer in its first five games.
“I think this was the fourth two-minute drive that we’ve had this year out of five games,” wide receiver Emeka Egbuka said. “NFL is down to the wire a lot of the time. So, you have to have someone at quarterback that has that capability, and Baker has that for sure.”
**Buckeyes Have a Big Day**
Two receivers out of Ohio State were the main beneficiaries of the high-level quarterback play. Egbuka had seven catches for 163 yards and a touchdown while Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba finished with eight receptions for 132 yards and a score.
Mayfield, in his eighth season, said he’s never seen a rookie who’s more prepared than Egbuka.
“He’s well-rounded, and not just in football but in life,” Mayfield said. “I think he’s grounded, and I think he’s genuine in everything he does. He’s intentional, and you just don’t see that often.”
Egbuka leads all rookies with 445 receiving yards.
**Barner Breaks Out**
Seahawks tight end AJ Barner has four touchdown catches this year, matching his total from last season. Barner, in his second year out of Michigan, caught all seven passes thrown to him, including two for TDs.
The Seahawks released veteran Noah Fant in the offseason, clearing the way for Barner to break out.
“I am able to get open, get an opportunity, and I feel like Seattle’s a great fit for me,” Barner said.
**Sick Kicker McLaughlin**
McLaughlin, who went 3 of 3 on field goals, was on the Bucs’ injury report Saturday with an illness.
“He probably needs to be ill more often,” Bowles said. “It wasn’t quite the Michael Jordan flu game, but give Chase McLaughlin his flu game here in Seattle. He did a heck of a job.”
**Injuries**
– **Buccaneers:** RB Josh Williams was evaluated for a concussion in the third quarter and did not return.
– **Seahawks:** LB Derick Hall sustained an oblique injury and CB Riq Woolen was evaluated for a concussion, forcing both out of the game.
**Up Next**
– **Buccaneers:** Host San Francisco next Sunday.
– **Seahawks:** Visit Jacksonville next Sunday.
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