ఎమెకా ఎగ్బుకా మళ్ళీ చేస్తుంది, బుక్కనీర్స్ కోసం అద్భుతమైన రూకీ సీజన్ను కొనసాగిస్తుంది
Another week, another wild, last-minute win for the Buccaneers, who took down the Seahawks, 38-35, on Sunday. Just as incredibly, it was also another huge game for rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka, who has done more in his first five NFL games than any other rookie receiver in NFL history.
“He’s kind of one-of-one,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said after Sunday’s win at Seattle, which saw Egbuka go for 163 yards and a touchdown with seven catches on seven targets.
That he did it so close to home in his native Washington, continuing to help the Bucs survive with their best receivers injured, only added to the legend.
“Meka had a homecoming today,” coach Todd Bowles said. “He continues to amaze and compete and do the things that everybody has seen him do like he did in college, and again, he was outstanding.”
In five games, Egbuka has 25 catches for 445 yards and five touchdowns — leading the team in all three. His receiving yards and touchdown catches are more than double that of his closest teammates. Eguka leads all NFL rookies in all three stats as well.
The 2025 Bucs are the first NFL team ever to win four of their five games all by three points or less, and Egbuka has been central in all the comeback wins.
“Time and time again, it happens,” Egbuka said after the game. “I forget the saying. It’s like, one time is luck, the second time’s a fluke, the third time it’s the real deal. I think this is the fourth two-minute drive we’ve had this year, out of five games. The NFL is down to the wire a lot of the time. I’m glad to have a quarterback who has the capability, and Baker has that capability.”
Egbuka, taken 19th overall out of Ohio State, was the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Month for September, and he’s off to a strong start in October, outplaying the league’s rookie quarterbacks and running backs to become a legit Offensive Rookie of the Year front-runner. Here are Egbuka’s notable contributions in each of the Buccaneers’ first five games:
- Week 1 at Falcons: Egbuka catches two touchdowns, the latter with 59 seconds left for the lead.
- Week 2 at Texans: Egbuka catches a touchdown early as the Bucs win with six seconds left.
- Week 3 vs. Jets: Egbuka has a team-high 85 yards, including a 28-yarder to help set up game-winning kick as time expired.
- Week 4 vs. Eagles: Egbuka has 101 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown as the Bucs tried to rally from a 24-3 deficit.
- Week 5 at Seahawks: Egbuka goes for 163 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown and a 57-yard catch to the 2.
