TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) — Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie linebacker Josiah Trotter made NFL history in Sunday's season-opening loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, recording a sack and a pick-six in his first career game, a combination no rookie had ever achieved in an NFL debut.
The Bucs fell 33-27 to the Bengals while losing four fumbles, but Trotter stood out as a bright spot in the defeat.
Trotter first sacked Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, the team's only sack of the game, before intercepting Burrow and returning the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. The pick-six marked the first time a Bucs' player had ever scored a touchdown on an interception in his first NFL game.
Trotter credited film study and practice for the play.
"Just film studying and trusting it. We had one like that in practice. They completed it. I just told myself, 'Trust it.' I trusted my eyes. Tried to execute my job," Trotter said.
Cornerback Zyon McCollum said Trotter had seen the play before.
"He read it perfectly. It was a play he had gotten in practice. He was a little bit late on it. He told me afterwards, that he was late on it in practice. He was going to make sure he wasn't late for it in a game and he wasn't," McCollum said.
Trotter's touchdown cut the Bengals' lead to just one score, and quarterback Baker Mayfield said he felt the momentum shift.
"Absolutely, at that point the tide is kind of turning. You can kind of feel the momentum shift, and we've been really excited about what Trott's been doing throughout practice and offseason training camp," Mayfield said.
Despite the historic performance, Trotter kept his focus on the team's result.
"Whenever you're making plays in general you're helping your team. At the end of the day it feels good, it wasn't enough to win the game. I have to continue to try to make more plays," Trotter said.
"He handles himself so well and you can tell he's a rookie in terms of his child-like nature, like a giddiness about him. He's definitely joyful when he's out there on the field. He's a thinker, he's really smart," McCollum said.
Trotter also finished with a team-high 11 tackles.
Tampa Bay hosts the Cleveland Browns in its home opener in Week 2 on Sunday.
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