Chase McLaughlin made a 57-yard field goal to break a tie with 5:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers held on for a 20-17 win over the host Minnesota Vikings on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis.
Baker Mayfield completed 21 of 34 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in his debut for Tampa Bay (1-0), which played its first game since Tom Brady’s retirement. Mike Evans and Trey Palmer had one touchdown catch apiece.
Kirk Cousins completed 33 of 44 passes for 344 yards, two touchdowns and one interception for Minnesota (0-1). Justin Jefferson had nine catches for a game-high 150 yards, and Jordan Addison had a touchdown catch in his NFL debut.
The Vikings committed three turnovers while the Buccaneers had none.
The score was tied at halftime before Tampa Bay took a 17-10 lead with 6:01 left in the third quarter. Mayfield fired a 7-yard touchdown pass to Palmer, a rookie sixth-round pick from Nebraska who scored on his first NFL reception.
The Vikings tied the score at 17-17 with 13:37 to go in the fourth quarter. Cousins zipped a short pass to Alexander Mattison, who powered past a defender on his way to the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown.
Tampa Bay opened the scoring with a 36-yard field goal from McLaughlin late in the first quarter. The Buccaneers’ defense set up the score when cornerback Antonio Winfield Jr. sacked Cousins, forced a fumble and pounced on the ball at the Vikings’ 18-yard line.
Minnesota pulled ahead 7-3 on a 39-yard touchdown strike from Cousins to Addison with 11:15 remaining in the second quarter. Addison became the seventh rookie in franchise history to score a touchdown in Week 1.
A 25-yard field goal by Greg Joseph increased the Vikings’ lead to 10-3 with 5:41 left in the first half.
Tampa Bay pulled even at 10-10 with 1:09 to go before halftime. Evans sneaked behind the Vikings’ secondary, and Mayfield found him with a pass over the middle for a 28-yard touchdown.
–Field Level Media
