Well, that was certainly fun. At least, for the most part. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers successfully defended their home turf in a rout of the Washington Commanders 37-20, led by Baker Mayfield's 289 yards and four touchdowns on 24/30 passing. Mike Evans led the team with two touchdowns while Chris Godwin was a third down machine, hauling in a team high eight receptions and team high 83 yards and a score of his own.
A tough start for the Bucs saw some mistakes - a drop by rookie Jalen McMillan on the opening drive and a key penalty by Trey Palmer on the second drive - force the Bucs to kick field goals instead of getting in the end zone. However, the Bucs were able to turn things on in the second quarter with the third drive that ended in Evans' touchdown.
It wasn't all good news, though. Throughout the game, the Bucs lost three different cornerbacks to injury. Zyon McCollum left with a concussion while Josh Hayes suffered an ankle injury before Bryce Hall was carted off the field while wearing an air cast. Hall also suffered an ankle injury that was described by the broadcast team as "so gruesome we won't show the replay." However, even short handed, the defense stepped up.
Jayden Daniels was able to run through the Bucs' defense rather effectively, but overall was shut down in the passing game. Daniels had two rushing touchdowns, but the second came with just over a minute left in the game with the outcome well decided. Daniels finished 17/24 for 184 yards to go along with his 88 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Outside of Daniels' production on the ground, the rest of the Commanders combined for 14 rushes for 50 yards.
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka had himself a game, finishing with 1.5 sacks and while the defense didn't get any takeaways, they overcame a litany of injuries to force a couple of three-and-outs as well as getting off the field on third downs and force field goal attempts - both of which were wide right by newly acquired kicker Cade York.
However, the story of the game was certainly the offense and what Liam Coen was able to do. Creative play calls, scheming his players open, and pure efficiency. The Bucs scored on seven of their eight possessions - not including their last one where they took a knee to end the game. The Bucs were 9-for-13 on third downs and had the ball for 33:41. The biggest thing that needs to be cleaned up are the penalties. The Bucs opened the second quarter with back-to-back false starts and had some bad holding penalties that stalled drives.
Rookie Jalen McMillan finished with one catch for 32 yards and a touchdown while Bucky Irving led the team with 62 rushing yards on 9 carries and added two receptions for 14 yards - solid debuts from both players.
Chris Godwin's third quarter touchdown was the 35th of his career, moving him to second in Buccaneers history on the all-time receiving touchdowns list.
Well, that was certainly fun. At least, for the most part. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers successfully defended their home turf in a rout of the Washington Commanders 37-20, led by Baker Mayfield's 289 yards and four touchdowns on 24/30 passing. Mike Evans led the team with two touchdowns while Chris Godwin was a third down machine, hauling in a team high eight receptions and team high 83 yards and a score of his own.
A tough start for the Bucs saw some mistakes - a drop by rookie Jalen McMillan on the opening drive and a key penalty by Trey Palmer on the second drive - force the Bucs to kick field goals instead of getting in the end zone. However, the Bucs were able to turn things on in the second quarter with the third drive that ended in Evans' touchdown.
It wasn't all good news, though. Throughout the game, the Bucs lost three different cornerbacks to injury. Zyon McCollum left with a concussion while Josh Hayes suffered an ankle injury before Bryce Hall was carted off the field while wearing an air cast. Hall also suffered an ankle injury that was described by the broadcast team as "so gruesome we won't show the replay." However, even short handed, the defense stepped up.
Jayden Daniels was able to run through the Bucs' defense rather effectively, but overall was shut down in the passing game. Daniels had two rushing touchdowns, but the second came with just over a minute left in the game with the outcome well decided. Daniels finished 17/24 for 184 yards to go along with his 88 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. Outside of Daniels' production on the ground, the rest of the Commanders combined for 14 rushes for 50 yards.
Joe Tryon-Shoyinka had himself a game, finishing with 1.5 sacks and while the defense didn't get any takeaways, they overcame a litany of injuries to force a couple of three-and-outs as well as getting off the field on third downs and force field goal attempts - both of which were wide right by newly acquired kicker Cade York.
However, the story of the game was certainly the offense and what Liam Coen was able to do. Creative play calls, scheming his players open, and pure efficiency. The Bucs scored on seven of their eight possessions - not including their last one where they took a knee to end the game. The Bucs were 9-for-13 on third downs and had the ball for 33:41. The biggest thing that needs to be cleaned up are the penalties. The Bucs opened the second quarter with back-to-back false starts and had some bad holding penalties that stalled drives.
Rookie Jalen McMillan finished with one catch for 32 yards and a touchdown while Bucky Irving led the team with 62 rushing yards on 9 carries and added two receptions for 14 yards - solid debuts from both players.
Chris Godwin's third quarter touchdown was the 35th of his career, moving him to second in Buccaneers history on the all-time receiving touchdowns list.
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