Vikings 23, Buccaneers 16: Price From 86, Then the Sacks

September 27, 2026 - Tampa - Myles Price went left, found the sideline, and nobody laid a hand on him for 86 yards. The celebration cost Minnesota 15. Will Reichard still drilled the extra point from 48. It was 10-0, and the Buccaneers were already playing from a hole they never fully climbed out of.

The Minnesota Vikings beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-16 at Raymond James Stadium and left 3-0. Tampa Bay fell to 0-3 for the first time since 2014. Kyler Murray threw a 41-yard score to Jordan Addison. Baker Mayfield threw a 40-yarder to Ted Hurst III, took six sacks, and left late with a dislocated thumb on his throwing hand. Isaiah Rodgers, in a homecoming, picked off the last heave.

10-0, 10-10, then Addison

Reichard opened from 54. Price's return made it 10-0. Mayfield went five plays and 80 yards and hit Hurst from 40. 10-7. Chase McLaughlin tied it from 28 at 5:33 of the second.

Murray needed four plays and 73 yards. Addison hauled in the 41-yarder with 4:11 left in the half. 17-10. Addison finished with five catches for 90. Justin Jefferson had two for 32. Aaron Jones ran 17 times for 58 and caught five for 34. Murray was 15 of 29 for 168, one score, and one pick.

Vita Vea batted a pass in the third. A'Shawn Robinson intercepted it at the Minnesota 22. The Buccaneers still settled for McLaughlin from 38. 17-13. Chris Godwin had an 85-yard touchdown come back for holding, per Tampa Bay's takeaways. The red zone kept turning into kicks. McLaughlin from 54 at 9:02 of the fourth. 17-16.

Reichard answered from 56 with 3:10 left. 20-16. Then from 43 with 33 seconds to go. 23-16. He was 3-for-3 on field goals and 2-for-2 on extra points, one of those extras from 48 after the flag.

Six sacks, two picks, a thumb

Minnesota recorded six sacks, 12 quarterback hits, and seven passes defensed, per the Vikings. Eric Wilson and Kyle Van Noy each had 1.5 sacks. Blake Cashman had 1.0. Andrew Van Ginkel, Dallas Turner, Ivan Pace Jr., and Josh Metellus split the rest. Van Ginkel intercepted Mayfield after the scramble ended with Mayfield's right hand hitting Cashman's arm. Van Ginkel reeled in his first pick of 2026.

Mayfield finished 17 of 34 for 217 yards, the Hurst touchdown, and that interception. His rating was 67.9. Tampa Bay ran for 57 yards. Bucky Irving had 15 carries for 46. Emeka Egbuka caught five for 62. Cade Otton had three for 56. The Buccaneers were 2 of 17 on third down and 0 of 2 on fourth. Eight penalties for 81 yards. Jalen McMillan left with a knee injury and did not return.

Jalon Daniels came in after the thumb. Nine-yard run. Two incompletions. On fourth-and-1 from the Tampa Bay 40, he threw deep. Rodgers, who had bought 43 tickets for the homecoming, intercepted it at the Minnesota 3. That was the game.

Minnesota had 230 yards. Tampa Bay had 243. Neither offense looked like a 3-0 club or a Super Bowl hangover. The difference was a punt return, a pass rush, and a kicker who treated 50-plus as routine. Kevin O'Connell's group left Florida unbeaten. Todd Bowles' group left with an 0-3 start and a quarterback in a splint.

AthX Engine on a six-sack afternoon

AthX Engine NFL scoring already has the Week 3 lines in. Wilson's 1.5 sacks land at 49.00, the top total in this game. Rodgers is 46.00. Reichard is 35.00. Cashman is 34.50. Van Noy is 33.00. Addison is 31.00. Minnesota's team line is 65.50.

Fantasy points measure the box. Price is what traders will pay for a Vikings front that lived in the pocket, and for a Buccaneers offense that kicked field goals after a pick at the 22. They move together. They are not the same number.

Track Reichard, Jones, Mayfield, Jefferson, and both clubs on the marketplace. Minnesota visits New Orleans on Oct. 11. Tampa Bay visits Dallas on Thursday night.

*Sources: ESPN game page, Buccaneers.com recap, Buccaneers takeaways, Vikings.com observations. AthX Engine Week 3 lines scored from nflverse weekly stats (CC-BY 4.0). Information only; not financial advice.*