Baker Mayfield had a throw that hit the ground that might have saved the game for the Bucs in win over Falcons

It wasn't pretty for a good part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 23-20 win against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday afternoon inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But Tampa Bay did just enough to eke out a win when Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo missed a field goal with two seconds remaining. The Bucs escaped with a crucial division road win over a team that had their number last season.

For Baker Mayfield, who didn't log any preseason action, the stats weren't gorgeous. He completed 17 of 32 attempts for 167 yards, but he did have three touchdowns and no interceptions.

But it was what wasn't in the stat sheets that perhaps meant the difference between a win and a loss on Sunday afternoon.

Mayfield's escape from a potential sack and throwaway on final drive avoided potential disaster

With the Bucs trailing 20-17 with a little more than two minutes left after Atlanta went on a 92-yard touchdown drive to take the lead, Tampa Bay got to midfield with around a minute and a half left. On second and 9, Atlanta had a free rusher running right at Mayfield after a miscommunication as to who was picking up the rusher off the edge. Baker fought his way out of the sack, scooted to his right, and fired a pass incomplete in the direction of TE Cade Otton right before he got hit again.

Those kinds of moments don't show up on stat sheets on ESPN. They don't show up in the highlight reels, either.

But make no mistake; that was the kind of play that, had Mayfield been sacked for a six- or seven-yard loss, would have put Tampa Bay in around third and 15, and suddenly, the task becomes much tougher.

Instead, Mayfield completed a 10-yard pass on third and 9 to Sterling Shepard, and the drive continued. Two plays later, he lobbed a perfect pass to Emeka Egbuka in the end zone for his second touchdown of the game. Atlanta got down to the Tampa Bay 26, but the defense, with Vita Vea leading the way up front, held, and Koo's kick sailed wide right from 44 yards out.

It wasn't always pretty, but it was enough to escape with a massive win to start the season. And if not for Mayfield's Houdini act on a near-sack, it might not have happened.