‘He’s the Real Deal’: Emeka Egbuka Sparks Buccaneers in Memorable Debut Win

Greg Auman

NFL Reporter

ATLANTA — As wild of an NFL debut as Sunday was for him, Emeka Egbuka was not surprised.

The first-round rookie from Ohio State had two touchdown catches in the Buccaneers’ comeback win over the Falcons, including the go-ahead score in the final minute. He became just the second rookie in the franchise’s 50-year history to catch two touchdowns in Week 1.

“When it comes to Sunday, we just let it rip, everything we’ve been training for,” Egbuka said. “So, it’s nothing we haven’t done before in practice. This is just the first time the world’s seen it.”

Count the world impressed. The Bucs needed Egbuka more than they realized when they drafted him in April. Not only was Chris Godwin still sidelined by the ankle injury he sustained last October, but Jalen McMillan will likely miss the first half of the season with a severe neck sprain. That thrust Egbuka into his first game as the Bucs’ second receiver opposite Mike Evans.

You could argue that Baker Mayfield’s two best throws were his touchdowns to Egbuka. The first came in the second quarter when the Bucs trailed 7-3, and Mayfield threaded a pass between two defenders for a go-ahead touchdown. When the Falcons took an 18-play, 91-yard drive to retake the lead with 2:17 left, Mayfield turned to the rookie again, finding him down the middle for a 30-yard touchdown with 59 seconds left, giving the Bucs the lead for good.

“The way he carries himself – I told you guys. It wasn’t a front,” Mayfield said. “You saw it live today in person. He’s the real deal. True professional. Doesn’t play like a rookie, doesn’t act like a rookie. His head is never spinning. He made some unbelievable catches and plays today for us. Obviously, we’ll continue to lean on him, and hopefully some more coverage goes to him and Mike gets the ball again.”

Baker Mayfield on Buccaneers’ win over Falcons – ‘Starting out 1-0 feels great’ | NFL on FOX

Baker Mayfield spoke on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 23-20 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Egbuka has drawn consistent praise from coaches and teammates since the Bucs took him 19th overall in April, and he stepped up to make two huge catches in helping the Buccaneers escape with a key divisional win.

“He’s as advertised and then some,” tackle Luke Goedeke said. “I mean, two touchdowns today in his first regular-season game. Hats off to him. He does everything right. He catches the ball, he blocks in the run game. I have a lot of respect for him already.”

And even though Sunday was Egbuka’s NFL debut, you could argue it’s the third most important game he’s played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He won a national championship on that field with Ohio State in January, and he caught a touchdown there as a sophomore in 2022 when Ohio State lost to Georgia in a College Football Playoff semifinal.

“For him, this is nothing,” coach Todd Bowles joked. “They play a lot bigger games in the Big House, a lot more people than in Atlanta or Tampa. So, this was a routine game for him. He’s up for the task. He’s everything we’ve talked about since he got here. He plays with so much poise.”

After getting hyped up throughout training camp, Emeka Egbuka’s second touchdown of the game was enough to beat the Falcons. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Egbuka left Ohio State as the Buckeyes’ all-time leading receiver, and Sunday marked another return to his college dominance. He’d worn No. 9 for the Bucs in preseason because backup quarterback Kyle Trask had No. 2, but when Trask was among the Bucs’ final cuts, Egbuka was able to return to what he wore with the Buckeyes.

Egbuka is the Bucs’ No. 2 for the immediate future, with at least a few weeks before Godwin can return healthy after his long absence. His second touchdown Sunday was the biggest, because it provided the margin of victory. Atlanta had all the momentum in taking a three-point lead with two minutes left, but he said the approach on offense wasn’t aiming for a tying field goal, but victory.

“There’s no guarantee if you go into overtime that you’re going to get the ball first or get the ball second, but there is a guarantee, if you score a touchdown, that you’ll be winning,” Egbuka said of the Bucs’ mentality before their final touchdown drive. “So, our defense ended up having a drive where they took it down the field, but ultimately, they didn’t make the field goal, so we still won.”

Greg Auman is an NFL Reporter for FOX Sports. He previously spent a decade covering the Buccaneers for the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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