Monday, 4 a.m.
Once again, they are on top of the NFC South Division.
Once again, you wonder if they can stay there.
Oh, if you saw the start — and the finish of the Bucs’ 28-13 victory over Las Vegas Sunday, you’d think they could. But if you saw the middle — the time when the Bucs forgot how to play football — you probably still have some doubts.
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The Falcons have a chance to pull back into a tie on Sunday. The Bucs will be an underdog in a game at the Los Angeles Chargers. Atlanta will play at Oakland, which is on its third quarterback of the season.
“Like I’m telling these guys, you know, just because we’re in first, it’s one thing,” Bucs’ coach Todd Bowles said. “To stay in first is a whole [other] deal. We got four weeks to play. We’re happy to be playing meaningful football in December. We understand what that means, we have to go out every week and try to squeeze out these games but it feels good.”
The Bucs’ scored 14 points in the first period, and 14 in the fourth to dispel the Raiders. But in between, they had two interceptions, a fumble, four sacks and repeated wasted opportunities, to let the hapless Raiders back into the game. The Bucs had just 37 net yards in the second period. They had 41 in the third period.
“It doesn’t have to be pretty,” quarterback Baker Mayfield said. “Obviously, there are a lot of things that I would personally like to have back, but it’s a resilient group. We play for each other. Guys step up when other people are down and that’s what football is all about– it teaches you life lessons.”
Bowles had a prime suspect to the Bucs’ dip.
“Turnovers didn’t help,” Bowles said. “We shot ourselves in the foot in a couple penalties right there and they stoned us at the line of scrimmage a couple times as well. We didn’t play well overall. It’s hard to win a game when you turn it over three times but those guys stuck with it, made some plays in the second half and we got it done. It’s not always going to be pretty, but as long as you can win them, it doesn’t matter how you get them.”
It was only big plays in the fourth period — a 32-yard reception by Mike Evans, a 34-yard run by Sean Tucker and a 44-yard reception by Cade Otton — that allowed the Bucs to pull away.
Rookie sensation Bucky Irving was a non-factor due to injury. He carried just four times for three yards.
Rachaad White, however, ran for 90 yards.
“He played a tough, gritty ballgame,” Bowles said. “Rachaad played a tough, gritty ballgame. He got some tough yards running the ball, he caught the ball well, he blocked well, he played a very tough ballgame for us.”
It was a brutal game for quarterback Baker Mayfield, despite the 295 yards and three scores he threw for. All three Bucs’ turnovers were on him. The Raiders pulled within 14-10 in the second period.
“We were talking about starting fast and our guys did that. Everybody was on the same page executing [and] then we just hit a lull there,” Mayfield said. Obviously, having an interception on a screen is not ideal – the guy made a good play, but I’ve got to try to get it over him or dirt the ball. You’ve just got to avoid those [as it’s] giving the defense a short field to have to deal with. Then, they caught us in zero pressure, and I’ve just got to hold onto the football when it comes to the fumble. And the last one… I wasn’t able to get all that I wanted on that seam throw to Cade [Otton]. It would have had to have been a real tight back shoulder [throw], so all in all, it probably would have been a better check down. I’ll have to look back at it and see if Rachaad [White] was open or not – I bet he was. [It’s] just taking care of the ball. I think, by far, I was probably the worst player on offense, but the guys stepped up when we needed to, and they executed.”
It was the third straight win for Tampa Bay.
The Bucs’ defense had some bad moments, but in the end, they allowed just one touchdown.
“It was good, especially with a lot of guys being out and those guys coming in and playing and playing with confidence,” Bowles said. “Lavonte [David], Vita [Vea], and all of those guys instilling confidence in those guys while they were out there. Tykee [Smith] back was a big plus for us but again, [Kaevon] Merriweather, ‘Izzy’ (Christian Izien) and Tavierre [Thomas] played well.”
The Bucs are at the Chargers at 4:05 p.m. Sunday.