A final score of 44-32 tells you who won. It does not tell you why a team that ran 39 times for 202 yards, held the ball for more than 35 minutes and converted 9 of 16 third downs still lost by 12.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills match player stats from their most recent meeting answer that question. On November 16, 2025, at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, Buffalo beat Tampa Bay 44-32 in a Week 11 shootout that featured a lead change in the fourth quarter, a running back who scored three touchdowns three different ways, and a quarterback who accounted for six scores.
This guide walks through every important number: quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, defense and special teams. It also includes a head-to-head comparison and the latest 2026 developments for both franchises. All game figures come from ESPN’s box score, Buccaneers.com and Bills game coverage, so you are reading verified numbers rather than estimates.
Game Snapshot: Buccaneers vs Bills at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Date | Sunday, November 16, 2025 (Week 11) |
| Venue | Highmark Stadium, Orchard Park, NY |
| Final score | Bills 44, Buccaneers 32 |
| Scoring by quarter (TB) | 3 / 17 / 6 / 6 |
| Scoring by quarter (BUF) | 7 / 14 / 10 / 13 |
| Records after the game | Bills 7-3, Buccaneers 6-4 |
The game swung back and forth. Tampa Bay led 17-14 after a 43-yard Sean Tucker run, Buffalo answered with a 52-yard screen touchdown just before halftime, and the Bucs grabbed a 32-31 lead early in the fourth quarter. Two Josh Allen rushing touchdowns then closed the door.
Why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills Match Player Stats Matter
Interconference games are rare, so every meeting between an NFC South team and an AFC East team works as a small, clean data sample. There is no division familiarity to distort the picture. You see two schemes meeting for the first time in a while, and the box score shows which one adjusted better.
This matchup was especially useful for another reason: the raw team totals pointed in two directions at once. Tampa Bay won the possession battle, the rushing battle and the third-down battle. Buffalo won the one battle that decided the game, which was explosive plays.
Quarterback Stats: Josh Allen vs Baker Mayfield
The quarterback comparison is where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills match player stats separate most clearly.
Josh Allen: Efficient Through the Air, Decisive on the Ground
Allen finished 19 of 30 for 317 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, with a passer rating of 104.4. His 10.6 yards per attempt is the number to remember. Buffalo threw fewer passes than Tampa Bay but gained almost double the passing yardage.
He also ran six times for 40 yards and three touchdowns, including a 2-yard score in the first quarter, a 5-yarder and a 9-yarder in the fourth quarter. Add the three passing touchdowns and Allen was directly responsible for six of Buffalo’s touchdowns.
The two interceptions were the only blemish, and the Bills still won the game by two scores. That says a lot about how many points the explosive plays produced.
Baker Mayfield: Steady, But Short on Big Plays
Mayfield went 16 of 28 for 173 yards (165 net of sack yardage), one touchdown and one interception, a 72.5 rating. His completion rate landed at 57.1 percent, and he averaged 6.2 yards per attempt, well under Allen’s mark.
His best moments came with his legs and his timing. He ran five times for 39 yards and a 4-yard touchdown dive in the second quarter, then threw a 28-yard wheel-route touchdown to Tucker that put Tampa Bay ahead 32-31. He was sacked once for 8 yards.
Quarterback Head-to-Head
| Stat | Josh Allen (BUF) | Baker Mayfield (TB) |
|---|---|---|
| Completions / attempts | 19 / 30 | 16 / 28 |
| Completion % | 63.3% | 57.1% |
| Passing yards | 317 | 173 |
| Yards per attempt | 10.6 | 6.2 |
| Passing TD / INT | 3 / 2 | 1 / 1 |
| Passer rating | 104.4 | 72.5 |
| Rushing | 6 for 40, 3 TD | 5 for 39, 1 TD |
| Sacks taken | 0 | 1 |
Allen won the efficiency and explosiveness categories by a wide margin. Mayfield was competitive as a runner, but the passing gap was the largest single difference in the box score.
Running Back Stats: Sean Tucker, Rachaad White and James Cook
The ground game is where the Buccaneers did their best work, and where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills match player stats tell a story the final score hides.
Sean Tucker: Three Touchdowns, 140 Scrimmage Yards
Tucker was the best player on the field for Tampa Bay. He carried 19 times for 106 yards (5.6 per carry) and two touchdowns, including a 43-yard run behind pulling linemen Tristan Wirfs and Michael Jordan, and a 6-yard score in the third quarter.
He then caught two passes for 34 yards, one of them the 28-yard fourth-quarter touchdown. That gave him roughly 140 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in a single game. Tampa Bay’s 136 rushing yards in the first half were its most in an opening half since October 2016.
Rachaad White: The Supporting Runner
White added 10 carries for 51 yards, a 5.1-yard average. His 12-yard run on the opening possession showed the early plan, but Tampa Bay stalled and settled for a field goal on that first scoring chance. Combined with Mayfield’s 39 yards, the Bucs rushed for 202 yards at 5.2 per carry.
James Cook: Quiet Rushing Day, Big Moment
Cook had a modest day on the ground, 16 carries for 48 yards, a 3.0 average. His biggest play came through the air: a 25-yard touchdown catch from Allen in the third quarter that gave Buffalo a 31-26 lead. Ty Johnson, a backup, did more damage in space with a 52-yard catch-and-run touchdown late in the second quarter.
The lesson is that Buffalo did not need its lead back to run well. Its quarterback and receivers carried the offense, and the ground game contributed more through touchdowns than through yardage.
Running Back Head-to-Head
| Stat | Tampa Bay | Buffalo |
|---|---|---|
| Team rushing yards | 202 | 97 |
| Rushing attempts | 39 | 23 |
| Yards per rush | 5.2 | 4.2 |
| Lead rusher | Sean Tucker, 19-106, 2 TD | James Cook, 16-48 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 3 | 3 |
| Rushing first downs | 13 | 4 |
Receiver Stats: Who Caught the Big Ones
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills match player stats at receiver show a team that spread the ball around against a team that found one open target at the right time.
Buffalo’s Pass Catchers
Tyrell Shavers led all receivers with four catches for 90 yards and a 43-yard touchdown. That play came after the Bucs rushed three and Allen escaped the pocket, then found Shavers on the scramble drill. Buffalo’s passing game created 13 first downs, more than double Tampa Bay’s six through the air.
Ty Johnson’s 52-yard touchdown and Cook’s 25-yard score were the other two touchdown receptions. Three different players caught Allen’s three touchdown passes, and none of the three plays was a long, slow-developing drive. Each of them was a short-to-medium throw that resulted in significant gains.
Tampa Bay’s Pass Catchers
ESPN credited Sterling Shepard with the team lead in receiving yards for Tampa Bay, with four catches for 54 yards. Tez Johnson caught two passes in the game, and Cade Otton and others handled the underneath work. Tucker’s 34 yards on two receptions, including the touchdown, made him a legitimate part of the passing game too.
Because Tampa Bay’s pass attack averaged only 5.7 yards per pass play, it relied on short completions and the run game. That plan kept the Bucs on the field for 35:07 but did not produce enough explosive plays to keep pace.
Defensive Stats: Tackles, Sacks and Turnovers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills match player stats on defense are lopsided in an interesting way. Both teams gave up large chunks of yardage, and neither generated much pass-rush production.
Buffalo Defense
DaQuan Jones recorded the Bills’ only sack. Safety Jordan Poyer led all players with 15 tackles, seven of them solo, a number that reflects how often Tampa Bay’s runners reached the second level. Buffalo also intercepted Mayfield once and recovered a fumble, but it gave the ball away three times itself.
Tampa Bay Defense
The Buccaneers did not record a sack, and Allen was never taken down. Antoine Winfield Jr. led the defense with six tackles, four of them solo. The biggest problem was explosive plays: Shavers’ 43-yard touchdown and Johnson’s 52-yard screen both came against Tampa Bay’s coverage, and the Bills averaged 7.8 yards per play.
Turnovers
Buffalo turned the ball over three times (two interceptions and a lost fumble) against two for Tampa Bay (one interception and a lost fumble). Normally that margin favors the team with fewer giveaways. It did not in this game because the Bucs were unable to stop Buffalo’s offense from scoring scores on quick drives.
Special Teams Stats That Changed the Field
Special teams decided more of this game than the box score first suggests.
Tampa Bay’s kickoff coverage allowed returns of 61, 29, 44, 41 and 44 yards, according to game recaps. Those returns gave Buffalo a short field repeatedly and helped it score on drives that covered very little ground. Chase McLaughlin kicked field goals of 23 and 24 yards for the Bucs, and Matt Prater hit a 39-yarder for Buffalo.
Two Tampa Bay two-point conversion attempts also failed. Each one cost the Bucs a chance to build a cushion that would have changed Buffalo’s late decisions.
Team Stats Head-to-Head Comparison
The table below puts the key team numbers side by side.
| Category | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Buffalo Bills |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 367 | 414 |
| Total plays | 68 | 53 |
| Yards per play | 5.4 | 7.8 |
| Passing yards | 165 | 317 |
| Rushing yards | 202 | 97 |
| First downs | 21 | 19 |
| Third-down conversions | 9 of 16 | 6 of 11 |
| Fourth-down conversions | 1 of 1 | 1 of 2 |
| Red-zone efficiency | 2 of 4 | 3 of 4 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 3 |
| Penalties | 2 for 30 yards | 7 for 45 yards |
| Time of possession | 35:07 | 24:53 |
Tampa Bay led in plays, first downs, third-down success, rushing and time of possession. Buffalo led in the category that actually moves the scoreboard: yards per play, by a margin of more than two full yards. One more number backs this up. The Bills scored six touchdowns on 11 drives, while the Bucs managed three touchdowns and two field goals from scrimmage across 13 drives.
Player Production Head-to-Head
| Role | Tampa Bay Player | Line | Buffalo Player | Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Baker Mayfield | 173 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT | Josh Allen | 317 yds, 3 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing leader | Sean Tucker | 19-106, 2 TD | James Cook | 16-48 |
| Receiving leader | Sterling Shepard | 4 rec, 54 yds | Tyrell Shavers | 4 rec, 90 yds, 1 TD |
| Tackles leader | Antoine Winfield Jr. | 6 | Jordan Poyer | 15 |
| Sacks | None | 0 | DaQuan Jones | 1 |
Series History: Why These Meetings Are Rare
The Buccaneers and Bills play in different conferences, so the matchup only comes around on the NFL’s interconference rotation. Buffalo’s win in 2025 also carried a small historical note: according to local game coverage before kickoff, the Bills had never previously won two straight games against Tampa Bay. This makes the player statistics from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Buffalo Bills game more significant as a data point in a series that does not happen very often.
Latest Updates: Buccaneers and Bills in 2026
The most recent head-to-head is still the November 2025 game, and Tampa Bay’s published 2026 schedule does not include a Bills game, so there is no new box score to report. Here is what has changed around the matchup since then.
- Lavonte David retired. The 12-time Buccaneers captain announced his retirement after a 14-year career in Tampa Bay, closing the book on one of the franchise’s defining defensive players.
- Buccaneers 2026 start. ESPN’s standings at the time of the last check listed Tampa Bay at 1-5 in the NFC South and Buffalo at 5-1 in the AFC East. Records change every week, so confirm them on a live standings page before quoting them.
- Bucs roster changes. Linebacker Josiah Trotter made his debut in Week 1 against the Bengals, and rookie Rueben Bain Jr. is part of the new group, according to Buccaneers.com.
- Bills coaching change. Buffalo named Jim Leonhard as its new defensive coordinator, a change that will shape how the Bills defend the run-and-screen game that hurt them in this matchup.
- Baker Mayfield’s profile. Mayfield is featured on Season Three of the Netflix docuseries Quarterback, which premiered in July 2026.
Future meetings will also be shaped by those changes. Tampa Bay’s explosive-play problem on defense and its kickoff coverage are the two areas the new season will test first.
Key Takeaways From the Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills Match Player Stats
- Efficiency beat volume. Tampa Bay ran more plays, held the ball for 10 extra minutes and still lost, because Buffalo averaged 7.8 yards per play to the Bucs’ 5.4.
- Allen produced six touchdowns. Three passing and three rushing touchdowns made him the deciding factor despite two interceptions.
- Tucker was the Bucs’ best player. 140 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns is the kind of game that usually wins a close contest.
- Special teams gave Buffalo short fields. Multiple returns of 40-plus yards compounded the explosive plays on offense.
- Turnover margin did not tell the story. The Bucs won the turnover battle by one and still lost by 12.
Final Word
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Buffalo Bills match player stats show a game that was closer in the traditional categories than the final score suggests, and farther apart in the ones that matter most. Buffalo needed 53 plays to gain 414 yards. Tampa Bay needed 68 plays to gain 367. Over a full game, that difference in explosiveness produced a 12-point result.
When these teams meet again, watch the same three things: yards per play, kickoff coverage and big plays allowed. Those are the numbers that decided this one.
