TAMPA -- Jalen McMillan made one mistake Sunday, but it didn't cost his team.

He caught a screen pass and scampered 29 yards for the final touchdown in the Bucs' 28-13 win over the Raiders.

That's right. The Bucs rookie should have stopped short of the goal line. Hit the dirt.

The Raiders were out of timeouts, and there was only 1:56 remaining in the game when he crossed the goal line.

On the other hand, who can worry about the clock when everyone is wondering what time McMillan will finally arrive?

Remember this game when you trace the career arc of the Bucs' third-round pick from Washington.

McMillan finished with four catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns, matching or exceeding career highs.

Until Sunday, he hadn't been in the end zone since Week 1 against the Commanders. And McMillan hadn't had more than 35 yards receiving in a game all season.

"It's just the work that I put in," McMillan said of his performance Sunday. "Just coming in as a rookie. I watch Chris (Godwin) and Mike (Evans) put in work and just try to model every day, how I approach every day after them. It's a process, and not everything is going to be perfect, but at the end of the day, you just have to count your wins, and today was a win. So I'm just excited."

The Bucs penciled McMillan in as their third receiver after training camp. But he struggled a bit early in the season and didn't seem to have the same chemistry with quarterback Baker Mayfield that he had demonstrated shortly after arriving at One Buc Place.

Since the season-ending dislocated ankle injury sustained by Godwin, veteran Sterling Shepard has emerged as the No. 2 wideout behind Evans.

But McMillan kept showing up in the end zone against the Raiders.

His first TD reception capped the opening drive, an 85-yard march in 12 plays.

Mayfield pump-faked a screen pass in McMillan's direction. Cornerback Jack Jones bit on it, and McMillan beat the Raiders safety to the end zone, catching a 15-yard pass for a TD to give the Bucs a 7-0 lead.

"We pumped that screen, and we knew that 18 (Jones) was always driving on routes like that, so that's what we did," McMillan said. "We just schemed it up pretty well."

Mayfield has been high on McMillan since he arrived in the offseason.

"I'm really proud of J-Mac," Mayfield said. "For his process, to continually get better. To take it week by week and try to learn as much as he can from guys in that room and continue to get better. And use his physical skills that he got drafted that high with. Yeah, really proud of him."

Head coach Todd Bowles made it clear that McMillan never got down on himself, even when he struggled with drops early in the season.

"Jalen never lacks confidence," Bowles said. I wish he'd gone down on that last play and not scored. He's confident no matter what."

McMillan was at a loss to describe why he was so productive against the Raiders.

"The ball found me," he said. "God does things that we don't understand, and we just embark on them, so I just took the lead, and whenever the ball came my way, I caught it."

As for remembering to slide short of the end zone to let the Bucs run the clock out on the Raiders? Does McMillan believe he made a mistake there?