Tampa Bay Buccaneers' QB Baker Mayfield: "We Are Getting Hot at the Right Time”
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hitting their stride at the perfect time after reeling off their fourth consecutive victory on Christmas Eve over the in-state Jacksonville Jaguars 30-12 to get to over .500 on the season with an 8-7 record.
With the win over the Jaguars on Sunday, the Buccaneers will now have a chance to clinch the NFC South and secure a playoff spot with a win over NFC South rivals the New Orleans Saints.
One of the big reasons for Tampa Bay's recent success has been the improvement on the offensive side of the ball - particularly from the ground game and the consistent play from QB Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield's future with the Buccaneers came down to how he performed this season under a prove-it one-year contract and he has done plenty to warrant the Bucs bringing him back on a multi-year contract. On Sunday vs. the Jaguars, Mayfield once again proved his efficiency in the passing game, completing 74.3% of his passes for 283 yards and 2 touchdowns for a rating of 116.7 (just one week removed from his perfect passer rating in Green Bay).
Following the Buccaneers' victory, Mayfield wasn't shy about how difficult it will be for opposing teams with the way they are playing right now.
"Extremely difficult. Obviously, had a lot of guys come back tonight on defense and then just offensively, we are continuing to improve and so we are getting hot at the right time. But, we can't take that for granted. Got to keep work on that. We've got to realize the one-game-at-a-time mentality has really been the turning point for us. That singular focus has been the edge and intensity that we've needed. So, we've got to continue to have that."
The Bucs have indeed looked to have turned a corner after going through a middling stretch and is reminiscent of Brady's first season with the Bucs where they got off to a strong start before middling off mid-season and then ending the season with a strong push before going onto win the Super Bowl.
Can the Buccaneers, this time led by first-year QB Baker Mayfield, follow in the same footsteps?
With the way things are trending, anything is possible for the 2023-24 Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Stick with BucsGameday and the Locked On Bucs podcast for more coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers throughout the 2023 season.
