The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense is still finding its groove over the first two weeks of the 2023 NFL season, but the team has managed to prolong drives in a way that the 2022 team wasn’t quite able to — by converting on third down.
So far in 2023, the Bucs have converted on third down almost 44% of the time, which is top ten in the league. A big part of that has been through the efforts of quarterback [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag], who is currently 20-for-23 for 201 yards and three touchdowns on third down. For head coach [autotag]Todd Bowles[/autotag], the key to this isn’t just how well the playcalling is on third down — it’s making the most of first and second down, too.
“I think if we get in third-and-manageable – I know [Mayfield]’s got some third-and-longs – if we can get in third-and-manageable, that gives us a good chance to succeed,” Bowles said. “We’ve been running it [well] enough to get in third-and-manageable positions so we’re going to try and continue that.”
Mayfield himself has obviously been a big part of those third down conversions with his passing talent, but he’s also not one to talk all about himself. Mayfield stressed that a big part of that third down success is giving his playmakers the opportunity to get across the line themselves, and he certainly has quite a few of those weapons at his disposal to make that happen.
“Obviously you want to get past the third-down marker, but [you want to give] your guys a chance to catch the ball in space and make tackles. We’ve had a few of those where they catch it short and they make plays to get the first down,” Mayfield said. “Just giving guys the opportunity, like I’ve mentioned before. We have a great skill group – really talented guys. My job is to distribute the ball to those guys and let them do all the work.”
Offensive coordinator [autotag]Dave Canales[/autotag] obviously has his hand in Tampa Bay’s third down success, but he told reporters that he’s not the only one who can take credit. He gave a particular shoutout to Bucs wide receiving coach Brad Idzik, who he says plays a big part in their third down play calling.
“Brad Idzik – he’s our third-down guru – he’s the guy that’s kind of putting all those formations together, coming up with simple answers for Baker [Mayfield], making sure we communicate it throughout,” Canales said. “He’s doing a fantastic job.”
Whether or not this type of play is sustainable is one thing, but for now, Tampa Bay’s efficiency on third down remains a big reason why it’s been able to close out games. It will be a tough task to keep up the trend against the reigning NFC champions in the Philadelphia Eagles, but the confidence is there to get a win in Raymond James Stadium and keep the team’s undefeated streak going.
[lawrence-auto-related count=5]