Buccaneers 43, Panthers 13: Irving, Diaby, and a Blocked Extra Point

October 25, 2026 - Charlotte - Baker Mayfield came back in a glove. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not need the arm. They needed the handoff.

The Buccaneers beat the Carolina Panthers 43-13 at Bank of America Stadium. Tampa Bay is 2-5. Carolina is 3-3. Mayfield, back after a dislocated thumb that cost him three games, completed 7 of 11 for 64 yards and one score. The Associated Press, via ESPN, listed 258 rushing yards on 49 carries. The Buccaneers and Panthers both listed 258 on the ground. nflverse player-week lines sum to 47 carries among Irving, Kenny Gainwell, Sean Tucker, Tez Johnson, and Mayfield.

"With all of these handoffs, I don't know, my thumb might be pretty sore," Mayfield told the AP.

Todd Bowles put it plainer. "When you have 49 runs, for a quarterback coming off an injury, that made the day easy for him."

14 plays, then the special teams piled on

Tampa Bay won the toss and took it. Fourteen plays, 70 yards. Bucky Irving finished from 4. The Buccaneers said he had 11 touches and 51 yards on that first drive. NFL.com put him at 47 yards and two scores on 10 carries plus a catch before the rest of the afternoon even started.

Carolina punted. Riley Dixon's next kick bounced off David Moore's chest. Ko Kieft recovered at the 18. Chase McLaughlin made 22. 10-0.

Then the protection broke. Al-Quadin Muhammad stripped Bryce Young. Calijah Kancey scooped it and scored from 32. 17-0. Young finished 14 of 27 for 163 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and five sacks. Kenny Pickett replaced him in the fourth, the Panthers wrote.

Young still had one clean shot. He hit Darren Waller from 50. 17-6. Tykee Smith blocked the extra point. Zyon McCollum ran it the other way for two. The Buccaneers called it the first blocked-PAT return for two in franchise history. Carolina said the last time it happened to them was 2015 in New Orleans. 19-6.

Irving bounced left from a yard. 26-6. McCollum intercepted Young at midfield, undercutting Jalen Coker. Mayfield rolled right and found Johnson from 14 with four seconds left in the half. The Buccaneers said it was Mayfield's 200th regular-season touchdown pass. 33-6. Tampa Bay's 33 first-half points are the third-most in club history, the notes said.

258 on the ground, and the backups still scored

McLaughlin made 44 in the third after another short field. Tucker broke 46 in the fourth. 43-6. Anthony Tyus III scored from 12 against the backups. Ryan Fitzgerald's extra point finally went through. 43-13.

Irving ran 24 times for 106 and two scores and caught one for 4. The Buccaneers said he sat the fourth. Gainwell had 14 carries for 88, left with a hip, and came back. Tucker added 7 for 52 and the 46-yarder. Chuba Hubbard managed 7 for 33 and four catches for 27 after two straight 120-yard games, NFL.com wrote. Waller had the 50-yarder on one catch. Tetairoa McMillan caught four for 40.

Yaya Diaby had three sacks after entering the week without one, NFL.com wrote. Vita Vea had one. McCollum and Smith each intercepted Young. The Buccaneers said 11 players recorded a quarterback pressure and the pass-rush pressure rate on Young was 51.5. Tampa Bay's team stats on ESPN list 322 yards, 21 first downs, 35:57 of possession, and zero turnovers. Carolina had 266 yards, 15 first downs, four turnovers, and 24:03. Chris Godwin Jr. caught four for 27. Johnson had two for 33, the 14-yard score, and a 14-yard run.

Right tackle Taylor Moton, back after blood clots in his lung, left on a cart with a left ankle and fibula injury and did not return, the AP said. Luke Kuechly received his Hall of Fame ring at halftime, hit the Keep Pounding drum before kickoff, and worked the Panthers radio broadcast. Carolina had given up 81 rushing yards in the previous two games combined, the club wrote, then 147 in the first half alone. The 258 allowed was the most since the Bears ran for 291 in the opener. The Panthers pulled starters with 10:21 left, NFL.com said. Irving sat the fourth after 3,000 career scrimmage yards as a Buccaneer, the club notes said.

Dave Canales called it turnovers in every phase. "A sack-fumble on a protection issue, a dropped punt led to points, the blocked kick. It really combined to put us in a really big hole."

Tampa Bay hosts Atlanta next Sunday. Carolina visits Green Bay on Thursday night.

AthX Engine on a 43-13 ground night

AthX Engine NFL scoring already has the Week 7 Sunday line in. Smith is 46.50, the top total in this game. Diaby is 40.50. Irving is 40.00. McCollum is 39.00. Bobby Okereke is 36.50. Vea is 32.00. McLaughlin is 26.00. Tampa Bay's team line is 119.25. Carolina's is -30.25.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Buccaneers back who just ran for 106 in Mayfield's first game back, and for a Panthers quarterback who led the league in passing yards per game and still threw two picks. They move together. They are not the same number.

Track Irving, Mayfield, Young, McLaughlin, and both clubs on the marketplace. Tampa Bay hosts Atlanta on Nov. 1. Carolina is at Green Bay on Thursday.

*Sources: AP recap (ESPN), ESPN game page, Buccaneers.com, Buccaneers recap, Panthers.com. ESPN, both clubs, AP, and nflverse agree on 43-13. AP listed 49 rushing carries; nflverse player-week rush attempts among listed Buccaneers sum to 47. AthX Engine Week 7 lines scored from nflverse weekly stats (CC-BY 4.0). Information only; not financial advice.*