Baker Mayfield leads undefeated Buccaneers to another thrilling victory, 29-27 over winless Jets

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Baker Mayfield led the Buccaneers to another thrilling finish, ensuring Tampa Bay's best start in 20 years.

Chase McLaughlin kicked a 36-yard field goal as time expired and the undefeated Bucs rallied Sunday for a 29-27 victory over the New York Jets and the team's first 3-0 start since 2005.

Mayfield, who has resurrected his career since signing with Tampa Bay to compete for Tom Brady's old job two years ago, has produced the decisive points in the final minute of each of the come-from-behind victories for the four-time defending NFC South champions.

This win also gave Todd Bowles a victory over the team for which he coached from 2015-18.

“I loved it. It was also their defensive coordinator (who) cut me in Carolina,” Mayfield said, referring to the Jets' Steve Wilks who was the Panthers' interim head coach in 2022. “So, a lot of stuff was personal today.”

Tampa Bay started 2-0 under Bowles each of the past three seasons, but couldn't remain unbeaten through three games.

“Three-and-0 is important,” Bowles said. “It's important to win in this league. A lot of teams be crying because they lost close games. We lost some last year. We're winning them this year, so we're extremely happy about that.”

Tampa Bay became the first team in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to win in the final minute of the fourth quarter in each of its first three games. The Buccaneers are also the third team since the NFL merger in 1970 to get a winning score in the final minute of regulation in three consecutive games at any point in a season, joining Pittsburgh (2017) and the New York Giants (1994).

The Buccaneers weathered 14 penalties and overcame a late surge by the Jets (0-3), who erased a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter to take the lead before Mayfield set up McLaughlin's fifth field goal of the game with completions of 28 yards to Emeka Egbuka and 20 to Sterling Shepard.

McLaughlin's winning kick came less than two minutes after Will McDonald blocked his 43-yard attempt and returned it 50 yards for a touchdown to put the Jets ahead 27-26 with 1:49 remaining.

“The confidence the team had in me was really reassuring. ... Just like Todd said after the game, it doesn't matter how you get a win,” McLaughlin said. “We're 3-0 and that's all that matters.”

McLaughlin also made field goals of 54, 33, 28 and 55 yards, and Mike Evans had a 5-yard TD catch before leaving with a hamstring injury. The defense did its part, too, with Jamel Dean returning an interception of Tyrod Taylor in the first half 55 yards for a TD. Antoine Winfield Jr. forced a fumble with one of the team's four sacks.

Taylor started in place of the injured Justin Fields, who sat out with a concussion, and rallied New York with TD passes of 11 yards to Garrett Wilson and 4 to Allen Lazard.

With the Bucs clinging to a 26-20 lead and looking to put the game out of reach, McDonald leaped over the middle of Tampa Bay's line to block McLaughlin's potential clinching kick and chased down the loose ball and continued to the end zone.

“There's no such thing as moral victories when it comes to us. I'm looking forward to our next challenge,” Jets first-year coach Aaron Glenn said. “We're going to go to work next week, look at the things we need to fix, and we're going to hone in on that.”

Tampa Bay is unbeaten through three games for only the fifth time in the franchise's 50-season history. The team wore its original white creamsicle uniforms in the home opener and welcomed more than 100 former Buccaneers, including Steve Spurrier and Hall of Famers Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp and Ronde Barber, back to Raymond James Stadium.

The Jets, meanwhile, have started 0-3 for the third time in six years. Glenn joined Robert Saleh (2021), Adam Gase (2019) and Lou Holtz (1976) as the only coaches to begin their tenures with the Jets 0-3.

Taylor said 0-3 doesn't “sit well” with the Jets.

“But there's a lot of good we've done up to this point,” he said. "I'm proud of the guys in the locker room for the way they stick together. No one has wavered. It's going to change.”

Taylor was 26 of 36 for 197 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Wilson finished with 10 receptions for 84 yards.

Mayfield finished 19 of 29 for 233 yards, one touchdown and zero interceptions. He was sacked once and was Tampa Bay's second-leading rusher with 44 yards on four attempts.

“Resilient group,” Mayfield said of what the 3-0 start says about the Bucs.

“We stick together. The whole team, when one part or phase of it is a little down, others have to step it up and be there for you,” the Tampa Bay quarterback added. “That's what this team is all about. We support each other no matter what.”

Jets CB Sauce Gardner left in the second half to be evaluated for a head injury, but returned late in the game after passing the concussion protocol. ... LB Quincy Williams injured a shoulder in the first half and didn't return.

Buccaneers: DL Logan Hall (groin) left in the second quarter. ... S Christian Izien (quad) sat out the second half.

Jets: Return to Florida to face the winless Miami Dolphins next Monday night.

Buccaneers: Host the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13) celebrates a first down catch during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers outside linebacker Lavonte David (54) goes after New York Jets quarterback Tyrod Taylor (2) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

New York Jets defensive end Will McDonald IV (9) runs for a touchdown after blocking a field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Chase McLaughlin (4) is hugged by his teammates after scoring a field goal to win the game during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) celebrates with wide receiver Mike Evans (13) after Evans scored a touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)

A federal appeals panel on Thursday reversed a lower court decision that released former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil from an immigration jail, bringing the government one step closer to detaining and ultimately deporting the Palestinian activist.

The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals didn’t decide the key issue in Khalil’s case: whether the Trump administration’s effort to throw Khalil out of the U.S. over his campus activism and criticism of Israel is unconstitutional.

But in its 2-1 decision, the panel ruled a federal judge in New Jersey didn’t have jurisdiction to decide the matter at this time. Federal law requires the case to fully move through the immigration courts first, before Khalil can challenge the decision, they wrote.

“That scheme ensures that petitioners get just one bite at the apple — not zero or two,” the panel wrote. “But it also means that some petitioners, like Khalil, will have to wait to seek relief for allegedly unlawful government conduct.”

Thursday’s decision marked a major win for the Trump administration’s sweeping campaign to detain and deport noncitizens who joined protests against Israel.

Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security Department spokesperson, called the ruling “a vindication of the rule of law.”

In a statement, she said the department will “work to enforce his lawful removal order” and encouraged Khalil to “self-deport now before he is arrested, deported, and never given a chance to return.”

It was not clear whether the government would seek to detain Khalil, a legal permanent resident, again while his legal challenges continue.

In a statement distributed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Khalil called the appeals ruling “deeply disappointing."

“The door may have been opened for potential re-detainment down the line, but it has not closed our commitment to Palestine and to justice and accountability," he said. "I will continue to fight, through every legal avenue and with every ounce of determination, until my rights, and the rights of others like me, are fully protected.”

Baher Azmy, one of Khalil's lawyers, said the ruling was “contrary to rulings of other federal courts."

“Our legal options are by no means concluded, and we will fight with every available avenue,” he said.

The ACLU said the Trump administration cannot lawfully re-detain Khalil until the order takes formal effect, which won't happen while he can still immediately appeal.

Khalil’s lawyers can request that the panel's decision be set aside and the matter reconsidered by a larger group of judges on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, or they can go to the U.S. Supreme Court.

An outspoken leader of the pro-Palestinian movement at Columbia, Khalil was arrested last March. He then spent three months detained in a Louisiana immigration jail, missing the birth of his first child.

Federal officials have accused Khalil of leading activities “aligned to Hamas,” though they have not presented evidence to support the claim and have not accused him of criminal conduct. They also accused Khalil, 31, of failing to disclose information on his green card application.

The government justified the arrest under a seldom-used statute that allows for the expulsion of noncitizens whose beliefs are deemed to pose a threat to U.S. foreign policy interests.

In June, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that justification would likely be declared unconstitutional and ordered Khalil released.

President Donald Trump's administration appealed that ruling, arguing the deportation decision should fall to an immigration judge, rather than a federal court.

Khalil has dismissed the allegations as “baseless and ridiculous,” framing his arrest and detention as a “direct consequence of exercising my right to free speech as I advocated for a free Palestine and an end to the genocide in Gaza.”

New York City’s new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said on social media Thursday that Khalil should remain free.

“Last year’s arrest of Mahmoud Khalil was more than just a chilling act of political repression, it was an attack on all of our constitutional rights,” Mamdani wrote on X. “Now, as the crackdown on pro-Palestinian free speech continues, Mahmoud is being threatened with rearrest. Mahmoud is free — and must remain free.”

Judge Arianna Freeman dissented Thursday, writing that her colleagues were holding Khalil to the wrong legal standard. Khalil, she wrote, is raising “now-or-never claims” that can be handled at the district court level, even though his immigration case isn't complete.

Both judges who ruled against Khalil, Thomas Hardiman and Stephanos Bibas, were Republican appointees. President George W. Bush appointed Hardiman to the 3rd Circuit, while Trump appointed Bibas. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, appointed Freeman.

The two-judge majority rejected Freeman's worry that their decision would leave Khalil with no remedy for unconstitutional immigration detention, even if he later can appeal.

“But our legal system routinely forces petitioners — even those with meritorious claims — to wait to raise their arguments," the judges wrote.

The decision comes as an appeals board in the immigration court system weighs a previous order that found Khalil could be deported to Algeria, where he maintains citizenship through a distant relative, or Syria, where he was born in a refugee camp to a Palestinian family.

His attorneys have said he faces mortal danger if forced to return to either country.

Associated Press writers Larry Neumeister and Anthony Izaguirre contributed to this story.

FILE - Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil holds a news conference outside Federal Court on Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025 in Philadelphia (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)