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On Sunday afternoon, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the Las Vegas Raiders in a back-and-forth contest at home to pick up their third straight victory and move back into first place in the NFC South. That is in part thanks to a four-game losing streak from the Atlanta Falcons. While the Falcons were busy getting smacked by the Minnesota Vikings, the Buccaneers took care of business at home against Las Vegas, led by a strong performance from quarterback Baker Mayfield.
During the game, Mayfield completed 18 of his 29 pass attempts for 295 yards and three touchdowns against two interceptions. With his third touchdown pass of the game, Mayfield tied his career high of 28 such passes on the season, a benchmark he set last year in his first season with the Buccaneers and seems more than likely to surpass over the next few games (per Scott Smith on X).
Mayfield has been up and down at times so far this year but remains one of the better quarterbacks in the league overall, validating the large contract the team handed him this past offseason.
Will the Buccaneers win the NFC South?
A few weeks ago, the Buccaneers looked dead in the water in their quest to repeat as NFC South champions, dealing with significant injuries to many of their skill positional weapons and losing games while the Falcons were busy taking control of the division.
However, the Falcons are now in a freefall thanks to some significant regression from Kirk Cousins, and now that the Buccaneers' schedule has lightened up, they have taken advantage of the opportunity and moved back into first place.
Still, head coach Todd Bowles knows that there is nothing to celebrate just yet.
“Todd Bowles says he told the team after the win that BEING in first is one thing, STAYING in first is a whole other thing,” reported Smith.
Tampa Bay has made the playoffs in four consecutive seasons, having won the Super Bowl in 2020-21 with Tom Brady at the helm and having an impressive showing a season ago, making it to the divisional round and nearly knocking off the Detroit Lions on the road.
This year hasn't been as smooth of sailing for the team, as the Buccaneers have dealt with major injuries and inconsistent play, but if Tampa Bay has proven one thing over the years, it's that they should never be counted out.
Up next for the Buccaneers is a road game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
