TAMPA, Fla. – The Bucs are peaking while the Jaguars are reeling. Behind Baker Mayfield’s two touchdowns and strong defensive performance, Tampa Bay beat Jacksonville 30-12 and sits atop the NFC South. Mayfield says the key during this four game win streak is not looking ahead..
“We’ve been taking the single game mindset, one game at a time,” Mayfield said. “That was a big one.”
Mayfield threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns while the defense picked off Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence two times and forced three turnovers. Bucs head coach Todd Bowles says it’s a total team effort and calls it good complimentary football right now with just a week-to-week mentality.
“We’re finding different ways to win,” Bowles said. “Finally, coming together as a group is great. But again, you’ve got to do it every week, and they understand that.”
Tampa Bay’s offense continues to improve and started fast. The Bucs offense scored on its first six possessions. Credit the offensive line for protecting Mayfield, who came out of this one without being sacked.
“Overall, complimentary football in the first half allowed us to jump out to a huge lead, ” Mayfield said. “I can’t say enough about the way the defense played and the way we played in the first half.
Bowles and Mayfield have been preaching to start fast and feel that was a big key to their 8th win of the season.
“We started fast,” Mayfield said. “Coach talked about that. That was the message.”
Even with a 30-0 lead, Bowles said he had no thoughts of resting his starters and letting some of the backups come in.
“No, we’ve got a lot of young guys who need a lot of experience,” Bowles said. “Last year we played Atlanta and we pulled the starters the last game and we lost our mojo going into the playoffs. /we’ve got things to work on and get better and we’re gonna play.”
Bucs host the New Orleans Saints Sunday at 1pm. Tampa Bay leads the NFC South by 1 game over the Atlanta Falcons and Saints with two games left in the regular season.
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