With first place at stake in the NFC South, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are hoping some young players will step up quickly against the Atlanta Falcons.
The three-time defending division champions lost star receivers Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle) to injuries during their 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens last Monday night.
Baker Mayfield revived his career with a lot of support from the team’s top players. Now, as the NFL leader in touchdown passes, he will need to find a way to win without them.
This means relying on a refreshed running game to lighten the load on Mayfield and giving a mostly young and untested group of receivers a chance to prove themselves.
“It’s going to look different, but that’s OK. And you know what, it’ll be a little bit more creative, and we’ll have some fun with it,” Mayfield said.
“You never know what you can do until you find out what you don’t have. Coach (Bill) Parcells always said that,” Bucs coach Todd Bowles added. “Coaches have to do more, players have to do more, and you have to be more creative. We’re putting our heads down to work, and we’ll get it done.”
Running backs Rachaad White, Bucky Irving, and Sean Tucker are excited to contribute. The three have helped the Bucs average 168.4 rushing yards per game since Week 4.
Rookie Jalen McMillan, second-year player Trey Palmer, and former New York Giants receiver Sterling Shepard will have the chance to assist Mayfield in keeping the passing game effective.
Godwin, who is out for the season after dislocating his left ankle, leads the NFL in receptions (50) and is second in receiving yards (576).
Evans, who will be out for at least three games because of a hamstring injury, caught 11 of Mayfield’s league-leading 18 touchdown passes along with Godwin. Evans is tied for the lead in touchdown receptions with six, while Godwin is tied for third with five.
“They’re pros, just like everyone else in the National Football League, so they’re definitely going to have the next-man-up mentality,” said Falcons coach Raheem Morris.
“We’ve seen injuries in this league for such a long time, and you’ve seen guys go out there and step up and win football games,” Morris added. “I mean, I’ve been able to do it myself. We’ve been able to do it here in Atlanta.”
The Falcons (4-3) and Bucs (4-3) are meeting for the second time in less than a month. Atlanta won the first game at home 36-30 in overtime, with Kirk Cousins throwing for a career-high 509 yards and four touchdowns.
With his Falcons down 17-7 at halftime of last week’s 34-14 loss to Seattle, Morris said his players needed to wake up. He wants them to carry that message into Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay.
“I hope so. You know, that’s the things we want to talk about, right?” Morris said. “There’s not a loss in this game that I’ve ever had that hasn’t been a lesson. And I think we’ve all got to take that into consideration.
I think you go out those types of games and it’s a little bit flat from our standpoint, from everything you like. We’ve got to come out ready to go. You know, they were clearly the fresher team. They wanted it a little bit more than us, and they got the win.”
Morris mentioned that after Atlanta’s three straight wins over NFC South rivals, “a little bit of complacency can set in,” adding, “these guys are hungry” after the one-sided loss.
“It’s nice to reset and really go out there and play our game,” Morris said.
