The Seattle Seahawks had the 12th Man roaring loud in an absolutely exciting thrill ride of a game… until it wasn’t. An otherwise flawless performance from quarterback Sam Darnold, who threw for 341 yards and four touchdowns, ended in disaster as he threw a back-breaking interception late. With 63 seconds left, the Seahawks had an opportunity to march down the field to win the game in similar fashion to how they took down the Cardinals in Week 4.

Instead, Darnold threw a pick to linebacker Lavonte David. Darnold had avoided pressure the whole game, but this time, it got to him, and a pass intended for Cooper Kupp ended up with a Buccaneer. From there, Tampa was set up at Seattle’s 35-yard line, and managed to advance 14 more yards to set up the eventual game-winning kick from Chase McLaughlin… which of course went through to give the Buccaneers a 38-35 victory at Lumen Field.

When these two teams meet at this venue, the games are always bonkers. In 2013, the Seahawks clawed their way back from a 21-7 halftime deficit to win 27-24 in overtime against a winless Tampa team. In 2019, Seattle overcame another 21-7 hole to win 40-34 in overtime again. Well, apparently the third time was the charm for the Bucs, who were practically flawless on Sunday afternoon.

Tampa started the game with back to back scoring drives, but were limited to field goals. After a punt to end their third, the Bucs found the end zone on their fourth possession to create a 13-0 lead in the first half. As solid as Tampa was to begin, the Seahawks were as sloppy on their end. Seattle’s first three drives ended with a missed field goal, a punt, and a fumble.

The Seahawks finally managed to find the end zone in the final seconds in the first half, as Sam Darnold connected with Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the end zone. The momentum this created for Seattle was felt immediately to begin the second half, as the Hawks needed only four plays to move 77 yards down the field to take their first lead of the game behind the legs of Zach Charbonnet.

Seattle was up 14-13, but sadly, the defense could not maintain. This kicked off a series of back and forth scoring drives between the Buccaneers and Seahawks. Tampa immediately retook the lead and went up 21-14, and Seattle responded just as fast to make it a 21-21 game. The Bucs once again went on top 28-21 just before the start of the fourth quarter, but there were the Seahawks ready for another tie at 28-28. A rare punt was forced by Seattle’s defense – one of only two all afternoon – and the Seahawks had an opportunity to take another lead.

An opportunity they took full advantage of, as Darnold guided Seattle’s offense all the way from their own 1-yard line into the end zone. Darnold avoided a pair of sacks on 4th down, and linked up with a wide open Tory Horton to go up 35-28 in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter.

Guys, the press box was shaking after this touchdown. The 12th Man has rediscovered their roar. #Seahawkspic.twitter.com/xVSGnRxMpk

— Kole Musgrove (@KoleMusgrove23) October 5, 2025

Unfortunately, Seattle left far too much time left on the clock for the Buccaneers, who swiftly moved 70 yards in five plays to make it a 35-35 tie with 1:08 remaining in the game. Which… brings us back to where we started. After the ensuing Tampa kick off, Seattle had 63 seconds to work with to try to win it with yet another walk-off field goal.

Well, live by the walk-off road field goal, die by the walk-off road field goal.

The Seahawks are now 3-2 on the year as they blew an opportunity to keep pace with the 4-1 San Francisco 49ers. The only positive outcome for Seattle on Sunday was the fact the Arizona Cardinals squandered a 21-3 lead to eventually lose 22-21 to the previously winless Tennessee Titans at home. Arizona is now 2-3, which helps create some separation in the hyper-competitive NFC West.

Next up for the Seahawks: a road game in Jacksonville at 10:00 am Pacific. This will be no cakewalk, as the Jaguars are currently 3-1 this year, pending the outcome of a Monday Night Football showdown against the Chiefs to conclude Week 5. Jacksonville is the only team to hand the Niners a loss so far this season.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Seahawks vs Buccaneers: Seattle loses thriller 38-35 to Tampa Bay