The Bucs are 7-6, there are some things that fans should keep their eyes on as we are closing in on the home stretch of the regular season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers walked into Sunday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders needing a huge win. This is not because the Raiders are in the midst of a mid-season rebuild but because a win would put this Buccaneers team over .500 for the first time since they fell to 4-4 following their second loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
While the boxscore displays what appears to be a lopsided 28-13 victory, pushing the Bucs to 7-6, there are some things that fans should keep their eyes on as we are closing in on the home stretch of the regular season. Here are five key takeaways from the Buccaneers Week 14 win.
Live and Die by Baker Mayfield
For all of the great things that Bucs QB Baker Mayfield brings to the table, there is also an erratic counterpart, ala a modern-day Brett Favre. Mayfield’s 3329 passing yards and 28 TDs are each, respectively, the third-most in the NFL. His 13 interceptions put him right behind the leader in interceptions, the Falcons’ Kirk Cousin- who has 15. You can argue that a lot of this has to do with Chris Godwin not being available, as Mayfield and Godwin had a top-tier connection.
To put into context just how good that connection was, Godwin had only played in seven games this season and was the team’s leader in receiving yards until Week 14. Godwin’s 50 receptions are currently still the second-most on the team behind TE Cade Otton’s 57. Both sides of the coin, mixed in with his personality, make Mayfield one of the most polarizing players in the league. He is both fun and frustrating to watch, oftentimes within the same game.
With a defense that is still trying to find its way and navigating injuries, the Buccaneers are a lot more reliant on its quarterback play than some other teams in the NFL.
Increased defensive-line snaps
It’s been observed week in and week out that Todd Bowles plays his defensive line with some odd rotations, namely keeping Yaya Diaby, Vita Vea, and Calijah Kancey on what appears to be snap count restrictions. Sunday’s contest saw upticks to 79% for Diaby and 70% for Vea, and a 66% snap count for Kancey. The Bucs are now a Top 10 team in total sacks with 35 on the year, and Diaby’s 52 pressures have him with the eighth-most in the NFL.
As the Buccaneers’ defense battles injuries in its secondary, it’s imperative for Bowles to continue to increase the snap counts for his best defensive linemen into pressuring quarterbacks to make quicker decisions to help his younger and less experienced set of defensive backs.
Liam Coen’s unconventional passing offensive success
Piggy-backing off of Mayfield, the carousel in the backfield, and one true, reliable target at wide receiver, the Buccaneers offense is Among the top three in yards per game at 379.2 and fifth in points per game, averaging 27.9. For all of the questions surrounding this Bucs offense, offensive coordinator Liam Coen has displayed an innate ability to generate a lot of yards and a lot of points on a regular basis. Against the Raiders, Mayfield had seven different targets, with five of those seven having more than three targets each.
Evans is always going to draw attention from opposing defenses, and Otton is toeing the line between a mid-tier and top-tier tight end. Outside of that, which receivers are stepping up? This is where Coen’s playcalling is standing out. With such a youthful and unproven wide receiver room outside of Evans, no single player needs to play with the weight on their shoulders of needing to step up and have a huge game. Jalen McMillian saw seven targets for the second time this season and logged two touchdowns against the Raiders, however he had just five total targets in the previous two games combined.
Playing in rotational roles is clearly proving successful as the Buccaneers offense continues rolling.
The defense is tightening up
Yes, they played the 25th-ranked offense, but you play who you are scheduled to play. Bowles’s defense held the Raiders to under 100 rushing yards and under 200 passing yards with a depleted linebacking group, losing Antoine Winfield without Jordan Whitehead and Mike Edwards, just to name a few.
Just a week prior, they gave up a lot more to the Carolina Panthers, but divisional games are meant to be closer and more difficult; that should not be a tell-tale sign- unless you’re allowing a quarterback to have a career day in his 13th year. Despite having three turnovers on offense, holding the Raiders offense to under 300 total yards and only 13 points is noteworthy.
Anyone can get an “A”; it’s keeping it that’s the hard part
“It’s one thing getting to first place. It’s a whole other thing staying there,” coach Bowles said after Sunday’s game, as the Buccaneers took over first place in the NFC South. It was a tale of two halves for the Buccaneers offense, but the defense, which has been a liability at times this season, remained grounded and held up their end of the deal.
With four tough games remaining on their schedule, including two division games, the Buccaneers are eyeing their fourth-straight division title, but it won’t be easy, especially not having a tiebreaker over the Falcons. The Bucs’ remaining opponents have a combined record over 21-30, while the Falcons are 15-37, with only the Washington Commanders, the only team remaining that has more than four wins through Week 14 of the season.
