Todd Bowles walked out of Charlotte with the most complete win of Tampa Bay’s season and an immediate reminder for his locker room: the Buccaneers beat the division-leading Carolina Panthers 43-13 at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday, October 25, and Bowles treated it only as a start.
“It was our first division game; we’ve got five more to go,” Bowles said after the win lifted Tampa Bay to 2-5. He described the plan as keeping an explosive Carolina offense off the field by controlling the clock and finishing drives with touchdowns instead of field goals, and he summed up the afternoon as a full-team effort.
"THAT'S A BIG DUB! GO BUCS!" 🗣️
🔜 #ATLvsTB Nov. 1 @ 1 p.m. ET on FOX
🎉: @BudLight pic.twitter.com/8nJT3RJySb— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) October 25, 2026
The plan, and how it held
The Buccaneers carried it out on the ground. Tampa Bay piled up 258 rushing yards on 49 attempts, an average above five a carry. Bucky Irving had 106 yards and touchdowns from 4 yards and 1 yard on 24 carries, Kenny Gainwell added 88, and Sean Tucker broke a 46-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Baker Mayfield, back after missing three games with a thumb injury, needed only 11 passes; he completed seven for 64 yards, one of them a touchdown to Tez Johnson that made it 33-6 before halftime.
Bowles spent much of his news conference on the defense. Yaya Diaby, without a sack all season before Sunday, had three of Tampa Bay’s five. Bowles said his rushers and his secondary finally fed each other, with tight coverage buying time for the pass rush and the rush hurrying throws. He had told the line days earlier that its pressure would start to show up on the stat sheet, and on Sunday it did. “Yaya had a heck of a game,” he said.
The takeaways piled up as well. Al-Quadin Muhammad’s strip-sack set up a 32-yard fumble-return touchdown by Calijah Kancey for a 17-0 lead, and Zyon McCollum and Tykee Smith each intercepted Bryce Young, who finished with 163 passing yards. Special teams added the rarest play of the day: after Darren Waller’s 50-yard touchdown catch, Smith blocked the extra point and McCollum returned it for two points, the first such return in team history. Ko Kieft also recovered a muffed punt.
Why the margin matters
It was the third-largest road win in franchise history and the first time this season Tampa Bay had beaten a division rival. At 2-5, Bowles said the Buccaneers must take care of the remaining division games first and then win the others. He told players they could enjoy the result but would correct mistakes on Monday and needed to bring the same attitude into the next game. The full scoring summary will be in the Game Center.
What comes next
Tampa Bay hosts the Atlanta Falcons, who beat the previously unbeaten San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, at Raymond James Stadium on Sunday, November 1, at 1:00 p.m. EST. Matchup details are in the Falcons at Buccaneers Game Center. Carolina visits the Green Bay Packers on Thursday, October 29.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.