(Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
This is the first “A” grade we’ve given to the offense all year, and I think it’s well deserved.
The Bucs put up 26 points on offense, and the last three of that came off a field goal that could have feasibly been a touchdown if the team wasn’t simply trying to burn some clock. Quarterback Baker Mayfield had his best game as a Buccaneer with three passing touchdowns and 246 yards in the air with a 78% completion percentage. On top of that, Bucs wideout Chris Godwin caught eight passes for 114 yards, and he was one of three Bucs wideouts with 40 or more yards receiving.
Even the run game post game stats will deceive, as Tampa Bay was largely trying to burn clock at the end of the game and thus brought the average down. It was a good day on the ground for the Bucs, and it allowed the rest of the offense and its unique playcalling to breathe. All in all, the offense fired on all cylinders, and it took care of most of its chances to put the game out of reach for New Orleans.
The “minus” here is partly because of a rough Baker Mayfield pick that wasn’t too bad due to a defensive turnover the next play and for the staggering amount of penalties committed on both sides of the ball. From intentional grounding to false starts and holding, the Bucs racked up penalties of every kind and that won’t be acceptable.
