Big Blue View
Tampa’s record doesn’t reflect it, but the Bucs’ offense has been good this year
The New York Giants return home after an incredibly consequential loss in Munich, Germany, to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Both teams are coming off of a much-needed bye week, and hoping to stop their respective slides. The Giants are on a 5-game losing streak and carrying a dismal 2-8 record following their loss to the Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers, meanwhile, are on a 4-game losing streak and are 4-6 on the season.
The matchup between the Giants’ defense and the Buccaneers’ offense is a showdown of strength vs. strength. The Giants’ defense is flawed, but nobody can say that they haven’t outplayed the offense this year. Meanwhile, the Buccaneers have one of the top offenses in the NFL.
While the flip side of the coin — the matchup between the Giants’ offense and the Bucs’ defense — is a resistible force against a moveable object, this is the matchup around which the game could pivot.
This game will also see the return of Sterling Shepard and Ben Bredeson (as well as Thomas McGaughey) to the Meadowlands.
Can the Giants stop it from being a revenge game?
Note: With offensive EPA, positive is better. For defensive EPA, negative is better.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers weren’t expecting a long-term answer at the quarterback position when they signed Baker Mayfield to a paltry one-year, $4 million contract in 2023. Mayfield, the first overall pick of the 2018 draft, was widely viewed as a bust after a disappointing end to a rollercoaster career with the Cleveland Browns.
The Bucs weren’t in a position to find Mr. Right at the quarterback position in the draft — Tampa was drafting 19th overall in a top-heavy (at best) quarterback class. They were just looking for Mr. Right Now after the retirement of Tom Brady and Baker was simply meant to be a bridge who could get them to a better 2024 quarterback class.
Nobody really expected Baker to come in and play to the same level as Brady, but that’s exactly what he did. In doing so, Baker earned a 3-year, $100 million contract this year, and he’s been an excellent return on investment. This year, Baker has elevated his play well above that of 2022 vintage Tom Brady and is now playing like the the quarterback he was when the Browns made him the No. 1 overall pick.
The Buccaneers are 4-6 on the season, but their record has little to do with the play of Mayfield.
Mayfield is playing the best football of his career and appears to be a mature quarterback who’s in command of the field and the offense. In most circumstances he is playing with urgency without rushing, making solid decisions and navigating the defense well, and putting the ball where it needs to be.
Bakers’ crisp play and command of the offense allows the Buccaneers to get...
