The Bucs Proved They Could Win the Other Way
Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Week 1 saw the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prove they could be dominant when more things break their way than don’t. They certainly played the right opponent in the punchless Washington Commanders. Baker Mayfield was in rhythm, turning in a top-3 performance for his entire career. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Bucky Irving were on top of their game. You have to give the defense credit for hanging in despite a ton of injuries, but other than that, Tampa made things look easy.
Week 2 couldn’t have been more different. Instead of playing a 4-13 team, they faced a Detroit Lions squad that A) had beaten them twice in 2023, B) bounced them in the playoffs, and C) came into the season with Super Bowl aspirations. And nothing came easy on Sunday.
Aidan Hutchinson tormented Mayfield and the Bucs offensive line all game, registering 4.5 sacks, another four tackles for loss, and even forcing two fumbles. In addition to getting constantly harrassed, Mayfield threw a pick to give the Lions the ball in Tampa territory with just under two minutes left in the first half. The Buccaneers turned a 13-7 lead into a 13-16 deficit in the third quarter, giving fans ample time to think, Here we go again.
There was one thing the two games had in common: The Bucs demonstrated toughness in securing the “W.”
Last week the hero was Mayfield and Liam Coen’s new-look offense. Sunday saw the Bucs step up with a defense that may have bent, but utterly refused to break against an offense that did nothing but shatter teams in the red zone last season. The Lions were second only to the San Francisco 49ers in 2023, converting 66.7% of their red zone trips into touchdowns last season.
Detroit took seven trips inside the red zone. They averaged less than a field goal’s worth of points per drive. The Lions went just 2-for-7 on third-and-fourth-down conversions in the red zone. This included a turnover on downs at Tampa’s 11-yard line with a minute remaining.
TURNOVER ON DOWNS
📺: #TBvsDET on FOX pic.twitter.com/J7RlqgHEZH
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) September 15, 2024
The way the Bucs’ offense “rewarded” them was by giving the ball back to Detroit via a punt, with the Lions starting in Tampa territory with 31 seconds of clock to play with. The defense fended off that last advance, too.
“It was tough, it was gritty, it took a lot of guys, it took a lot of effort,” Todd Bowles said about his defense’s performance. “They understood the assignment, they carried it out. They made some great underneath tackles to save us some touchdowns and have them kick field goals.”
You could look at the sacks, fumbles, and interception and conclude Mayfield had a tough day. There were miscues, but like the team as a whole, Mayfield turned in a praise-worthy performance in the end. When Detroit went scored their go-ahead touchdown on the next drive, the former No. 1 overall struck back by capping off a touchdown drive with back-to-back 11-yard scrambles.
The passing game wasn’t there for him? Fine. He found a way to put the team on his back.
“He had the wherewithal. He knows when to get down, he knows when the pocket’s clean to throw, and he knows when to run,” Bowles described the quarterback’s afternoon. “He’s got a great feel for that.”
So does Coen, who called the scramble play that Mayfield scored on. “That was a designed play,” confirmed Bowles.
The result was a hard-won road victory, and arguably, a bigger statement game than the offense’s coming-out party last week.
“For it to come down to critical moments in a really tight ballgame with everybody stepping up is so big,” Mayfield glowed in his postgame presser. “Building chemistry, building this resiliency, and the culture that we want… this is a huge win for us.”
The team rest of the team knows what this game means, too. “You know, this was a statement, but this was just the start,” declared safety Jordan Whitehead, whose 11 tackles led a unit missing star Antoine Winfield Jr. and more on Sunday. “We needed a good test, we needed one of these to see what we’re really made of.”
Well, they passed. Tampa showed they can win the easy way, or win games the other way, and in doing so, the Bucs showed that they are for real in 2024.
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