The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won a wire-to-wire game against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 5 on the road, and it was a contest dominated by both offenses. In the end, it was the Buccaneers who had the most juice, and they were once again led by Baker Mayfield. This week, he had some help from Emeka Egbuka, who finished the game with seven receptions, 163 yards, and one touchdown.
It's just another week for Egbuka, who's been playing well in his rookie season and continues to impress others around him, including Mayfield, who had high praise for him after the latest win.
“He's kind of 1-of-1,” Mayfield said via Jenna Laine of ESPN. “He continues to amaze and compete and do the things that everybody has seen him do like he did in college.”
Head coach Todd Bowles even gave Egbuka his flowers for what he's been able to do so far.
“It's his mentality. It's his physical makeup. It's his willingness to work. It's his intelligence. It's his athleticism — he's just one of those guys,” Bowles said. “He has the entire makeup and the entire package, and that's hard to get, and that's hard to see in a rookie.”
Through five games, Egbuka has 25 receptions for 445 yards and five touchdowns, which is tied for second in the league.
Emeka Egbuka is having early success in rookie season
With the injuries to the receiver core, Egbuka has stepped up in a big way for the Buccaneers early in the season. When asked about the success, he gave all the glory to God.
“I don't enter any seasons of my life with too many expectations when it comes to statistics or anything really. I'm just trying to honor and glorify God, be obedient to whatever He's called me to. So, I feel like He has me in Tampa for a reason. And that purpose is bigger than football, I believe. So, just trying to use my platform to be able to impact people in any way I can and just give glory to Him when success comes my way and when it doesn't, still praise Him all the more.”
When the offense gets healthy and Egbuka keeps playing at a high level, the Buccaneers could be one of the more dangerous teams in the league.
