Star left tackle Tristan Wirfs caught his first NFL touchdown pass and Bucky Irving had a touchdown run to help the Tampa Bay Buccaneers post a 20-17 victory over the visiting Arizona Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.
Baker Mayfield completed 18 of 28 passes for 194 yards and one touchdown while playing through a left shoulder injury to help Tampa Bay (7-5) end a three-game slide. Irving rushed for 61 yards and a score on 17 carries in his return from a seven-game absence due to foot and shoulder injuries.
Jacoby Brissett completed 29 of 40 passes for 301 yards and two touchdowns against one interception for the Cardinals (3-9), who have lost four straight games and nine of their past 10.
Arizona’s Trey McBride caught eight passes for 82 yards and one touchdown. McBride has caught at least five passes in 14 straight games, breaking the club record set by Larry Fitzgerald. Bam Knight had 98 scrimmage yards (62 rushing, 36 receiving) and caught a scoring pass for the Cardinals.
The Buccaneers took a 17-3 lead when Irving scored on a 13-yard run with 3:56 left in the third quarter. Arizona answered with Brissett’s 15-yard pass to Knight with 31 seconds remaining in the period. The Cardinals later went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 39-yard line, and Tampa Bay’s Anthony Nelson stopped Knight for no gain with 10:39 left in the game.
The Buccaneers cashed in with Chase McLaughlin’s 57-yard field goal to take a 20-10 lead with 8:58 remaining.
Arizona moved within three when Brissett tossed a 15-yard scoring pass to McBride with 4:58 left. The Cardinals got the ball back on their own 9 with 1:49 left but failed to convert a fourth-and-2 with 52 seconds left, and the Buccaneers ran out the clock.
Tampa Bay got on the board with McLaughlin’s 25-yard field goal with 8:02 left in the second quarter. Later in the period, Wirfs was on the left end of the line and floated into the end zone and was backpedaling when he caught a 2-yard scoring pass from Mayfield to make it 10-0 with 1:36 remaining.
Chad Ryland kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired in the half to leave Arizona down 10-3.
Ryland was wide right on a 43-yard attempt with 7:46 left in the third.
