Jenna Laine, ESPN Employees Author
TAMPA, Fla. — Contemporary out of the damage tent and attempting to carry a four-point lead over the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield lowered his shoulder and hurled himself into cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
It was the Bucs’ franchise QB attempting to set the tone as operating again Bucky Irving took the handoff for a 31-yard acquire. Mayfield would go on to seek out tight finish Cade Otton 5 performs later for an 8-yard landing.
On the play the place he received damage, Mayfield spun and ducked his method out of would-be sacks by cornerback Alontae Taylor, however he fell on his abdomen after his foot was caught behind by defensive finish Carl Granderson.
The NFL’s landing chief by the primary six weeks of the season could have gotten the wind knocked out of him on that play, however he bounced again similar to Tampa has all season — by accidents, losses and adversity.
Now, the Bucs (4-2) are set for a giant check on “Monday Night time Soccer” (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+) once they host the Baltimore Ravens (4-2), however to this point, their calling playing cards have been their multiplicity on offense with coordinator Liam Coen’s fixed motions and shifts, plus aggression on protection with coach Todd Bowles’ elaborate blitz packages.
On a deeper degree, their identification has been their “resiliency,” in response to Bowles.
Whereas he joked Thursday about Mayfield sounding a like a “Rocky” film when his identify was talked about with a few of the league’s greatest scramblers — together with Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson — the notion was spot on. Mayfield averages 6.5 yards per carry when leaving the pocket, fifth most within the league amongst quarterbacks with 20 or extra rushes coming into Week 7.
As an entire, Mayfield leads a gaggle that has proven it has been fairly powerful to rattle, and the group embodies the scrappiness of their QB and the center of their coach.
Two main hurricanes affected the Tampa Bay area in a span of 14 days, with the second forcing a team-wide evacuation that despatched 300 members of the group and their households with 30 pets to New Orleans. Receiver Mike Evans stated the Bucs had been enjoying for one thing “greater,” and, in per week the place they needed to observe at Tulane College, they had been in a position to come away with a 51-27 win over the Saints.
“It was form of bizarre,” left sort out Tristan Wirfs stated. “I imply we discovered on like Sunday evening or Monday, like, ‘Yeah, we’re leaving Tuesday.’ We’re like, ‘What do you imply?’ So simply that fast turnaround, like, ‘Pack your stuff up, pack your households up. We’re going.'”
WHETHER OR NOT all that set the tone for a chaotic second quarter is up for debate — as some Bucs gamers say the Saints had been frightening them — it definitely did not assist their circumstances in an important sport the place falling to 0-2 within the NFC South could be lower than ultimate.
“I imply, it is sudden change. That is a part of soccer, that is a part of life,” Bowles stated. “Issues are going to occur to you every day that you will must make changes to, and you are going to must hold your composure while you’re doing them.”
After leaping out to a 17-0 lead, issues unraveled rapidly. Mayfield threw three interceptions — two off of tipped passes — and Rashid Shaheed returned a Jake Camarda punt 54 yards for a landing. In addition they racked up seven penalties in these quarter-hour, as chants of “Who dat! Who dat!” engulfed the Caesars Superdome as they headed to the locker room down 27-24.
“[Bowles] principally informed us, ‘Simply hold your composure. They cannot beat us,'” defensive again Tavierre Thomas stated.
Mayfield added, “It comes all the way down to guys with the ability to hit the reset button, realizing it is a tight sport and saying, ‘Hey, if we simply do our job, we will be alright.’ Having that mindset of ‘one play at a time.'”
Bowles’ demeanor resonated along with his teaching employees and gamers, and he made technical changes to squeeze the pocket so quarterback Spencer Rattler may not escape on bootlegs.
They stopped dropping their exterior linebackers into protection. They usually began operating the ball extra whereas persevering with to depend on their display sport.
“I imply should you see our coach on the sideline, he just about the identical the entire sport,” Irving stated. “It’s at all times nice to have a coach that stays calm and picked up throughout them instances.”
Cornerback Zyon McCollum, who missed a sort out on KhaDarel Hodge’s game-winning 45-yard landing in time beyond regulation towards the Falcons in Week 5, notched an important interception within the fourth quarter. Bowles had supported McCollum after the Atlanta loss, saying he performed it accurately, going for the ball regardless of lacking the sort out. His uplifting cool carried over.
“It is all the pieces,” McCollum stated of that help. “If I haven’t got my confidence, if I am not enjoying assured. I am a very totally different participant.”
IT’S WITH THAT similar steadiness and resilience that the Bucs have managed to drag off main wins towards the Washington Commanders, Detroit Lions and Philadelphia Eagles this season, regardless of not being at full energy for any a type of video games.
Towards Washington, they had been pressured to depend on backup security/nickelback Christian Izien as an out of doors cornerback after McCollum, Bryce Corridor and Josh Hayes all exited the sport with accidents. The final time Izien performed exterior cornerback? His sophomore yr of highschool. He then spent the subsequent 4 video games subbing for All-Professional security Antoine Winfield Jr. (foot).
They had been additionally with out beginning proper sort out Luke Goedeke for 4 video games after he suffered a concussion in Week 1, with Mayfield taking 5 sacks towards the Lions however coming away with a 20-16 win. By that sport’s finish, they had been with out defensive sort out Vita Vea, who suffered a sprained MCL, along with defensive sort out Calijah Kancey, their 2023 first-round draft choose, who had missed 5 video games with a calf damage. They needed to depend on backup Greg Gaines and observe squad callup C.J. Brewer.
They’ve gotten sudden contributions from defensive lineman Logan Corridor, who sacked Kirk Cousins twice in Week 5 and has three sacks this season after lacking the opener with a foot damage.
Sean Tucker, their third-string operating again whose profession was stifled by a coronary heart situation found on the NFL mix in 2023, had a profession day towards the Saints — dashing for 136 yards and a landing and receiving for 56 yards and one other rating in his first prolonged motion with Rachaad White out due to a foot damage.
His counterpart, Irving, a 2024 fourth-round draft choose, at the moment leads the group with 328 dashing yards and is averaging 5.7 yards per carry.
“You have gotta alter. You must alter,” Bowles stated of accidents. “And guys make the group for a purpose. You have gotta know why they’ve made your group and put them in place to make performs. All people’s coping with that and everyone’s adjusting in another way. We like the place we’re proper now.”
Bowles’ protection will likely be examined by the Ravens, who lead the league with 453.7 yards per sport. Baltimore is the one group to attain extra touchdowns than the Bucs (20) on offense at 21, and Jackson has been the catalyst as he continues to make a case to repeat because the NFL’s MVP.
“First, you have to pray,” move sport coordinator/inside linebackers coach Larry Foote stated. “You have simply received to hope. You have to hope and you have to want. It is going to take a gaggle effort — even the [safeties]. All people goes to must be accountable for him. On the finish of the day, when he drops again and decides to run, it may be a problem. When he does get tackled, it is a shoe-string sort out — that is when the prayers are going to be wanted.”
If the Bucs can escape with a win, they’d be 5-2 heading right into a rematch with the Falcons (4-3) in Week 8 and an opportunity for redemption with first place within the division on the road.
