Tuesday, 4 a.m.
5 Thoughts
- He just got here, but the Bucs are already second among the list of Baker Mayfield's victories. He won one with the Rams and one with the Panthers. Even more impressive is the poise he's shown.
2. If you take away the team's Hall of Famers, I think Mike Evans is tied with Mike Alstott for the most popular Bucs player ever. Third would be Doug Williams.
3; Don't get overhyped yet. The teams the Bucs have beaten are a combined 0-4. But winning beats losing.
4. Hey, weren't you supposed to be Joe Tryon-Shoyinka? Nice of you to show up.
5. Underrated heroes? How about the rebuilt offensive line?
5 Comments
(From Todd Bowles' day-after press conference)
- (On Baker Mayfield showing his experience): "He’s been through a lot in five years – he’s been through ups and downs. He knows it’s not about him, it’s about the team. He’s been very smart with the football, obviously, for the most part – he got away with one early but he’s been very good with the football. If you don’t turn it over, you give yourself a chance – that’s important. You have to take chances, but you can’t turn it over as well and he’s been doing a great job at that.”
2. (On Mike Evans' big day): "I don’t think anything is different. We’re not comparing to last year, as far as we’re concerned in the building. We had coverages we saw and that we liked and they gave [Baker Mayfield] time to throw and he made some good connections with Mike. That really worked for us this ballgame.”
3. (On the running game): “They got better. Like I said, we’re going to do whatever we have to do to win the game. I’m not sitting here saying we’re hellbent on getting 150 yards rushing a game. We rushed it efficiently – that’s what we’re looking for, that’s what we got. We’ll break some, and some games, we may not. It helps us win ballgames and keep time of possession. It was good.”
4. (On the offense slowing down in the fourth quarter): “We didn’t execute and they made some plays. They’re going to make some plays, we’ve just got to finish ballgames. We finished the ballgame out. They had been playing great the whole game – they stalled a little bit but the defense bailed them out. They bailed the defense out some, as well, so it was a good team win.”
5. (On improving in the red zone): “We shot ourselves in the foot. It was one guy here or there – we’ve got to get better there. We can’t have [the drives turn into] three [points]. Going deeper into the season, we’ve got to get seven points there or we’re not going to be able to pull those games out if we don’t.”
Game Balls
Offense: Yes, Baker Mayfield was good again. But Mike Evans was invisible. At this rate, he'll have his 1,000 yards by Halloween.
Defense: Joe Tryon-Shoyinka had two sacks and a quarterback hurry. Could it be a breakout game?
Special teams: Jake Camarda averaged 52.8 yards per punt and hit three inside the 20.
Grades
Quarterback: Baker Mayfield still hasn't turned the ball over, and he has 490 yards in two games. Grade: A.
Receivers: Mike Evans doesn't have to argue for a raise. His play is doing it for him. Grade A.
Running backs: Say what you want. Consider the Bucs' running game, 73 yards by Rachaad White felt like a thousand. Grade: B+.
Offensive line: No sacks and 120 yards rushing. Grade: B.
Defensive line: Six sacks will lead to a lot of wins. Grade: B.
Linebackers : Not a big tackle day for either Lavonte David or Davin White. But the Bears didn't run much, either. Grade: B-.
Secondary: A couple of lapses kept the Bears closer. Grade: C.
Special teams: Camarda was a star. Grade; B.
Power Rankings
- Philadelphia
2. Dallas
3. San Francisco
4. Miami
5. Baltimore.
9. Tampa Bay
Bottom Five
32. Houston
31. Denver
30. Arizona
29. Chicago
28. Carolina
NFL Stats
Passing Yards Baker Mayfield 11
Receiving Yards Mike Evans 4
Rushing Yards Rachaad White 18
Punting Jake Camarda 2
Tackles Devin White 61