LAS VEGAS — On the eve of the season, we highlighted rookie receiver Emeka Egbuka as a likely keen complement to veteran targets Chris Godwin and Mike Evans for Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Instead, Egbuka is an instant star. He’s the league’s fourth-ranked catcher with 445 yards. His 17.8 yards-per-catch average ranks fifth.
He’s the first NFL rookie with at least 25 receptions and 400 receiving yards, plus five touchdowns, in his first five games.
“He’s well-rounded and not just in football, in life,” Mayfield told Buccaneers.com. “He’s grounded, genuine in everything he does. He’s intentional. You just don’t see that often, and especially as a rookie, with the talent he has.”
The 6-1, 205-pound former Ohio State standout and 19th overall draft pick produced out of the gate, as his 25-yard touchdown catch from Mayfield with 64 seconds left in the opener at Atlanta clinched a 23-20 victory.
Two weeks later, Egbuka’s 28-yard reception helped set up Chase McLaughlin’s winning 36-yard field goal to beat the Jets 29-27.
On Sunday in Seattle, Egbuka snatched two late passes, for 25 and nine yards, that helped tie the Seahawks. The Bucs won 38-35 on McLaughlin’s 39-yard boot to end the game.
Godwin (ankle) and Evans (hamstring) have continued to deal with injuries, so tailback Bucky Irving (193 yards) and wideout Sterling Shepard (191) are the Bucs’ Nos. 2 and 3 receivers.
Against the Seahawks, Evans and Irving were sidelined. Still, Mayfield went 29-for-33 for 379 yards, a stellar 11.5 yards per pass, and two touchdowns. He became the first NFL quarterback with at least 375 yards and fewer than five incompletions.
We see Baker and Egbuka peppering a 49ers secondary that allowed Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to average eight yards per throw last week.
Egbuka gave the Seahawks’ secondary headaches by snatching all seven passes tossed his way for 163 yards and a TD.
“He continues to amaze and compete and do the things that everybody has seen him do,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles told reporters, “like he did in college.”
Mayfield’s 1,283 passing yards rank fourth, and his 10 touchdowns are tied for third. Most eye-opening are his 8-to-1 MVP odds at the Westgate SuperBook, which were 40-1 in the preseason, and DraftKings.
Odds subject to change.
Egbuka is the SuperBook’s -110 favorite (risk $110 to win $100) to be NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. The Bucs’ odds to win Super Bowl LX have been shaved from 30-1 to 18-1.
Still a solid return, but buyers had better move fast.
Best bet
49ERS at BUCCANEERS
Time: 3:25 p.m. Sunday.
Line: Buccaneers -3. Total: 47½.
Records (overall/ATS): 49ers 4-1/3-2; Buccaneers 4-1/3-2.
Pick: Buccaneers 32, 49ers 16.
Play: Buccaneers -3.
How Miech’s plays fared
Last week Overall
Best bet 0-1 3-2
Top 3 2-1 6-9
All plays 6-8 33-45
7-point tease 8-6 52-24-2
Top plays
TITANS at RAIDERS
Time: 3:05 p.m. Sunday.
Line: Raiders by 4½.
Total: 41½.
Records (overall/ATS): Titans 1-4/2-3; Raiders 1-4/1-4.
Outlook: The Raiders were the lone team last week to score in single digits. The only worse turnover margin than their -1.2 is the hapless Jets (-1.6). Vegas QB Geno Smith has thrown an NFL-high nine interceptions.
Pick: Titans 21, Raiders 10.
Play: Titans +4½.
PATRIOTS at SAINTS
Time: Noon Sunday.
Line: Patriots by 3½.
Total: 45½.
Records (overall/ATS): Patriots 3-2/3-2; Saints 1-4/2-3.
Outlook: Anyone who bet the Bills to not lose a game or the Saints to not win one were crushed Sunday. However, the Saints are still in the basement of one power-rating chart, at -8.4. Under their 6½-win total remains a preseason favorite bet.
Pick: Patriots 27, Saints 14.
Play: Patriots -3½.
BEARS at COMMANDERS
Time: 7:15 p.m. Monday, ABC 7.
Line: Commanders by 4½.
Total: 49½.
Records (overall/ATS): Bears 2-2/2-2; Commanders 3-2/3-2.
Outlook: The visitors play brutal defense on the highway, with the highest points per play (0.691), the second-worst yards per throw (9.2) and the most yards per rush (6.8). Washington awoke last week with the return of QB Jayden Daniels.
Pick: Commanders 23, Bears 13.
Play: Commanders -4½.
Other plays
BRONCOS vs. JETS
at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London
Time: Noon Sunday, NFL Network.
Line: Broncos by 7½. Total: 43½.
Records (overall/ATS): Broncos 3-2/2-3; Jets 0-5/2-3.
Outlook: The Jets are the first NFL team to have no takeaways in their first five games. (The Jaguars average a league-best 2.8 per tilt.) The Jets allowed 180 rushing yards to the Cowboys on Sunday, so expect a big day from JK Dobbins.
Pick: Broncos 27, Jets 3.
Play: Broncos -7½.
CARDINALS at COLTS
Time: Noon Sunday.
Line: Colts by 7. Total: 46½.
Records (overall/ATS): Cardinals 2-3/2-3; Colts 4-1/4-1.
Outlook: The visitors flailed at home against the woeful Titans. Now, the Cards head into the home of the league’s most efficient team. Indy owns a point-per-play (PPP) margin of 0.241, a stout 0.343 over their last three tilts.
Pick: Colts 31, Cardinals 10.
Play: Colts -7.
BROWNS at STEELERS
Time: Noon Sunday, CBS 2.
Line: Steelers by 5½. Total: 37½.
Records (overall/ATS): Browns 1-4/2-3; Steelers 3-1/2-2.
Outlook: The Browns’ Dillon Gabriel era began last week, when the crafty lefty threw two TD passes and wasn’t picked off. Pittsburgh’s pass defense is flimsier than Minnesota’s and worse at home than on the road.
Pick: Browns 20, Steelers 13.
Play: Browns +5½.
COWBOYS at PANTHERS
Time: Noon Sunday, Fox 32.
Line: Cowboys by 3. Total: 49½.
Records (overall/ATS): Cowboys 2-2-1/3-2; Panthers 2-3/3-2.
Outlook: Do the Cowboys have what it takes to win consecutive road games? Unfortunately for them, the Panthers got a nifty-timed home tuneup last week against the Dolphins. This is a classic wrong-team-favored scenario.
Pick: Panthers 26, Cowboys 21.
Play: Panthers +3 .
RAMS at RAVENS
Time: Noon Sunday.
Line: Rams by 7½. Total: 44½.
Records (overall/ATS): Rams 3-2/3-2; Ravens 1-4/1-4.
Outlook: The Ravens mustered just 207 offensive yards Sunday, their lowest output since recording 186 in early 2017. If QB Lamar Jackson (hamstring) still can’t go, they’re considering Tyler Huntley, who’s 5-9 in 14 NFL starts.
Pick: Rams 31, Ravens 13.
Play: Rams -7½.
SEAHAWKS at JAGUARS
Time: Noon Sunday.
Line: Jaguars -1½. Total: 47½.
Records (overall/ATS): Seahawks 3-2/3-2; Jaguars 4-1/4-1.
Outlook: Following a triumph in San Francisco with a win over the Chiefs, with last-second heroics, has nearly vaulted the Jaguars into elite status. RB Travis Etienne Jr. is fourth in the NFL in rushing (443 yards) and has fumbled only once in three years.
Pick: Jaguars 34, Seahawks 13.
Play: Jaguars -1½.
CHARGERS at DOLPHINS
Time: Noon Sunday.
Line: Chargers by 4½. Total: 44½.
Records (overall/ATS): Chargers 3-2/2-2-1; Dolphins 1-4/2-3.
Outlook: The Chargers have committed 10 turnovers over the last three weeks. They must eliminate that sloppiness against a spiraling Fins defense that has yielded 333, 360, 404 and 418 yards, respectively, in their last four games.
Pick: Chargers 30, Dolphins 20.
Play: Chargers -4½.
BENGALS at PACKERS
Time: 3:25 p.m. Sunday, CBS 2.
Line: Packers by 14. Total: 44½.
Records (overall/ATS): Bengals 2-3/1-4; Packers 2-1-1/2-2.
Outlook: Jake Browning’s three picks Sunday forced the Bengals to grab Joe Flacco, 40, from the Browns. “The Statue” beat the Packers three weeks ago. Cleveland owns the superior “D,” but Cincy still gets a backdoor cover.
Pick: Packers 26, Bengals 17.
Play: Bengals +14.
LIONS at CHIEFS
Time: 7:20 p.m. Sunday, NBC 5.
Line: Chiefs by 2½. Total: 53½.
Records (overall/ATS): Lions 4-1/4-1; Chiefs 2-3/2-3.
Outlook: In several preseason pieces, we predicted a return to earth, a “regression to the mean” in gambling terms, for the Chiefs, whose luck factor in recent seasons has been ridiculous. Alas, they had 13 penalties (109 yards) last week.
Pick: Lions 28, Chiefs 17.
Play: Lions +2½.
BILLS at FALCONS
Time: 6:15 p.m. Monday, ESPN.
Line: Bills by 4½. Total: 49½.
Records (overall/ATS): Bills 4-1/2-3; Falcons 2-2/2-2.
Outlook: Bills QB Josh Allen is fifth with a 108.4 QB rating, but we’ve been impressed by RB James Cook, whose 450 yards are second in the NFL. In the Bills’ last six tilts indoors, the games have averaged 61.3 points.
Pick: Bills 31, Falcons 27. Play: Over 49½.
Byes: Texans, Vikings.