Buccaneers rookie wideout Emeka Egbuka caught two touchdown passes in his first game as a pro as Tampa Bay knocked off the Atlanta Falcons 23-20 on Sunday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Egbuka already had good memories inside the stadium. Just eight months ago, he helped the Ohio State Buckeyes beat Notre Dame for the national championship of 2024, and on Sunday, he picked up where he left off. His two touchdown catches included the go-ahead score with just 59 ticks left in regulation. He finished with four catches for 67 yards in his debut.

“You can’t get much of a better ball than that,” Egbuka said about Baker Mayfield’s touchdown pass in the final minute. “… Obviously, it feels great to be able to help my team win.”

Mayfield said his chemistry with Egbuka has developed “very quickly” this summer.

“Just the way he carries himself,” Mayfield said. “… As you guys saw today, he’s the real deal.”

After Egbuka’s go-ahead touchdown catch, Bucs kicker Chase McLaughlin missed the extra point, leaving the home-team Falcons just three points back. A field goal on the final drive would send the game into overtime.

Falcons’ new starting quarterback Michael Penix Jr. scored on a four-yard run with 2:17 left in the game to put Atlanta up 20-17 after an 18-play drive. He then positioned the Falcons for a game-tying field goal from 44 yards out in the final minute of the game. Younghoe Koo went wide right in an uncharacteristic miss for the place kicker. The Bucs secured victory with just one kneeldown.

“He missed it,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “I’m not going to sit here and pretend I can tell you about the technique and what happened with that miss. But we got to make those kicks. Those are very makeable kicks. We’ve got to lock in and get that done.”

Mayfield went 17-of-32 for 167 yards and three touchdown passes, while Penix, who’s entering his first full season as the Falcons’ starter, completed 27 of 42 passes fro 298 yards and one touchdown.

“I told him after the game he’s going to be a problem in this league for a long time,” Mayfield said.

The new-look Buccaneers’ defense held the Falcons’ rushing attack to just 69 yards as star back Bijan Robinson had 12 carries for only 24 yards.

“We’ve got to be better in all aspects,” Penix said. “Not just rushing but me as well in different situation where I could have given my guys a better chance at the ball.”

Up next, the Bucs visit the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football. Houston lost a 14-9 heartbreaker to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.