The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a four-game losing streak going into their bye week, so the extra time off will include some sober reflections for players and coaches. However, go back far enough in this reflection on the 2024 season and they can find many uplifting memories, especially on offense.
Baker Mayfield is playing even better than in his resurgent 2023 campaign. Liam Coen has proven to be a creative player with good timing. Tampa Bay’s running game is the best it’s been in nearly a decade and rookie running back Bucky Irving has been a revelation escaping the tackle. Before suffering an ankle injury that ended his regular season, Chris Godwin had him on the shortlist for All-Pro recognition in the postseason. The offensive line has performed well and appears to have long-term potential for this level of play.
Of course, the big picture of the offense has to include the fact that the losses of Godwin and, for the moment, Mike Evans, appear to have sapped most of the big play potential from Coen’s offense, from less in the air. The adjustments Coen and Mayfield have made following those injuries to keep the offense humming have been impressive, but the Bucs’ numbers have declined noticeably in each of the last two games. Evans’ hoped-for return after the bye week should help, but there will likely still be some additional adjustments to come.
Again, it’s the big picture. What we really want to discuss in this space today are the moments. Milestones. The most exciting pieces. WTF moments. Rashes. The Buccaneers offense has been exciting to watch for most of the 2024 season, but when was it most exciting?
At various points throughout the 2024 calendar year, editor/reporter Brianna Dix and I have written a series of Point-Counterpoint articles, in which we share our varying answers to a variety of questions regarding the Buccaneers. We’ll do it a few more times during the bye week…the players might get a much-needed break, but we’ll still be obsessed with football.
Question of the day: What is the best offensive moment from the first 10 games of the Buccaneers’ 2024 season?
Bri, why don’t you go first? We will not duplicate answers.
Brianna Dix: Baker Mayfield Rigid Arm
This may be recency bias considering it just happened in the Buccaneers’ 23-20 loss to the 49ers, but this game – one of the craziest I’ve ever seen from the quarterback position – deserves a lot of praise.
Trailing by three with 1:57 on the clock against San Francisco, Baker Mayfield did the improbable from fourth and seventh. He came out of the pocket and stiff-armed Nick Bosa (one of the best passers in football) fell into oblivion with one arm. An arm. Bosa is known for his upper body power, but on Sunday, Mayfield imposed his will. While moving laterally towards the boundary, Mayfield threw a precise off-platform dart to Rachaad White between two defenders. Additionally, he accomplished all of the above with a toe injury that limited him in practice all week leading up to the NFC battle.
On the broadcast following the sensational play, Tom Brady emphatically declared: “That’s one of the best plays I’ve ever seen a quarterback make!”
These words from the famous GOAT perfectly sum up the seconds that stunned the spectators at Raymond James Stadium – including Bri Dix and Scott Smith in the press box. Mayfield is the ultimate competitor and, in my opinion, no play encapsulates that feeling better than that fourth down conversion. This play brought the Bucs within shooting range and gave the home team a chance to win. Many quarterbacks have the mobility to maneuver under pressure, but almost none have the ability to execute that tight window throw like Mayfield did. Making this throw in the small window before the defenders close in on White under normal conditions would be impressive. But what Mayfield accomplished by moving laterally and Bosa pinning on his other arm is incredible.
Scott, what has been your most memorable offensive moment of the 2024 season so far?
Scott Smith: Receiving Mike Evans’ 100th career touchdown
Chivalry may not be dead, but I kind of want to strangle it now. If I had chosen the first choice in this argument myself, I would have followed Baker’s piece as well. The only misfortune was that the Buccaneers ultimately lost that game, although Mayfield’s fourth-down sorcery kept the tie alive in the final minutes. If the Bucs had won the game, and assuming they stay in playoff contention the rest of the way, I think this would have been the defining moment of the season.
As for my choice, it is also lost, which dampens the moment a little. It’s also far from the most jaw-dropping play a Buccaneer has made this season. There are quite a few Bucky Irving runs that could surpass him in this regard, and Chris Godwin had some incredible third-down conversions before he got hurt. There was a time when Cade Otton – Cade Otton! – said a guy. Sean Tucker’s 36-yard catch and run in New Orleans was exhilarating. Evans himself probably had a few more impressive touchdowns, athletically speaking, earlier in the season, like his 23-yarder in Atlanta.
But we are talking memorable moments here, and I’ll definitely remember everything about the game against Baltimore in Week 7 that ended with Evans’ 100th career touchdown. Maybe he’ll talk about it in his Hall of Fame induction speech in 10 or 12 years.
I watched Evans inexorably climb his way to a place that only 10 other players in the 105 seasons of NFL history have visited, the 100-touchdown catching club. At some point this became inevitable, but that shouldn’t overshadow what an incredible feat it is. What always strikes me is when I look at the list of players with the most touchdowns in Buccaneers history. Godwin, a great, great player, is second on this list…with 39. I mean, come on.
Evans got hurt later in that game, which sucked, and as noted, the Bucs lost as well. It doesn’t matter. It remains an unforgettable moment for the best offensive player in franchise history. For the record, it was a 25-yard catch that ended the first drive of the game with seven points. It didn’t look particularly remarkable on replay, because Evans had found a fairly open spot and Baker Mayfield had no trouble passing it to him near the goal line. But if you pay attention to the course, it was classic Evans. Although it was essentially a simple route, he knew how to widen it a bit towards the sideline and then work back towards the open space he had created. You don’t score 100 touchdowns without knowing how to do these little things.
