The Tampa Bay Buccaneers got a little piece of team history in Sunday’s 43-13 win over the Carolina Panthers, and it came on one of the strangest plays of the day.
In the second quarter, with Carolina trying to answer a Bryce Young 50-yard touchdown pass to Darren Waller, safety Tykee Smith shot through the protection and blocked Ryan Fitzgerald’s extra point. Cornerback Zyon McCollum scooped up the loose ball and took it the other way for two points, giving Tampa Bay a first: the franchise’s first blocked extra-point return for two.
The sequence turned what could have been a routine PAT into a major swing. Instead of Carolina trimming the deficit to 17-13, the Buccaneers came away with two points of their own and stretched the lead to 19-6.
According to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, it was the first time Tampa Bay had ever turned a blocked extra-point attempt into a two-point score. The Bucs had blocked extra points before, including one by Will Gholston against Carolina in 2017, but none had ended with a return to the opposite end zone.
NFL rules allow the defense to score two points on a conversion attempt by returning a blocked kick, interception or fumble the other way, a rule that has been in place since 2015.
The play also created a three-point swing in the box score, since Carolina lost the chance to add one point while Tampa Bay picked up two. On top of that, the Panthers were flagged for sideline interference during McCollum’s return, which forced them to kick off from their own 20-yard line instead of the 35.
Tampa Bay had already moved out in front by the time the play happened, and the Buccaneers later pushed the margin to 33-6 by halftime. Still, the blocked PAT stood out as one of the game’s most unusual moments and a first for the franchise.
In Other News...
Todd Bowles Just Gave Buccaneers Fans A Bigger Coaching Debate
As the NFL heads into Week 8, the pressure meter is starting to climb for several coaches, and the Buccaneers have found their way into the conversation for reasons they would rather avoid. The recent dismissal of Colts general manager Chris Ballard has only added to the sense that front offices are not waiting until the end of the year to make hard calls, and that kind of backdrop always sharpens the focus on Tampa Bays sideline.
Todd Bowles is among the names being discussed in the latest hot-seat chatter, a reflection of how quickly the temperature can rise when results start to slip. For the Buccaneers, the concern is not just about one rough stretch but about whether the organization believes the direction is still pointing the right way, and whether the coming weeks will settle the debate or make it louder. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Suddenly Face A Trade Deadline Decision Fans Never Wanted
At 2-5, the Buccaneers have reached the kind of crossroads no contender wants to face in October. The passing game has been uneven, some of the rosters core players are getting older, and yet the NFC South is still open enough that a quick turnaround would keep Tampa Bay in the mix, even if the team is still chasing the division leader.
That is what makes the trade deadline conversation so uncomfortable around One Buccaneer Place. The Colts have already shown how far a team can go in rethinking its direction with midseason moves, and the Bucs are now weighing whether they should resist that kind of sell-off or at least consider it if the next stretch goes badly. For a team built to expect more than a rebuilding discussion, even having that debate is its own warning sign. [Read more 🡒]
Baker Mayfield Brings A Personal Grudge Into A Huge Bucs Game
Baker Mayfield heads into a pivotal Week 8 divisional game carrying more than the usual quarterback pressure. The Buccaneers are set for a matchup with Atlanta, and the storyline comes with an old Cleveland edge, with Mayfield facing the coach who once guided him early in his career. For a Tampa Bay team that needs every conference win it can get, the setting gives the game a little extra bite.
Mayfield has never been shy about how he feels about the way things ended with the Browns, and that history still hangs over his reunion with Kevin Stefanski. The personal layer does not change the standings, but it does sharpen the attention around a game that already matters plenty in the division. For Mayfield, this one is about more than just playing well, and the next chapter in that old relationship is still waiting to be written. [Read more 🡒]