Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield came away from his Week 7 return believing Tampa Bay learned plenty about itself in the process. After Sunday’s win, Mayfield said the performance showed the kind of football the Buccaneers are capable of playing when everything is clicking.
“I think it’s a statement internally for us, not to anybody else, but for us,” Mayfield said, via NBC Sports. “This is what it’s supposed to look like. No, it’s not always going to look like that, it’s the NFL, but operation-wise and when it comes to complementary football, this is what the potential for this team can have so it’s a statement within ourselves.”
In Atlanta, Kendal Daniels turned a frightening week into a big-time response. After being stretchered off the field and taken to the hospital last week, the Falcons linebacker was back on the field this week and delivered an interception and a fumble recovery as Atlanta piled up four turnovers in a win that handed the 49ers their first loss.
“I’ve never not gotten up from an injury,” Daniels said, via AtlantaFalcons.com. “Being stretched off the field, I won’t let it happen again.
It was a bad feeling. I’m blessed to be able to play this week.”
Daniels also pointed to the help he got from linebacker Divine Deablo.
“He helped me out tremendously,” Daniels added on LB Divine Deablo. “Being able to have a vet like that on the back end being able to help me in communicating and make calls when I’m giving the whole defensive call, he can calm me down and just be like, ‘KD, let’s go.’”
In Carolina, head coach Dave Canales said he liked what he saw from the defense in Week 7, especially in how it carried out the plan against the run. He credited the call sheet and the effort in the trenches, while stressing that the unit still has to clean up its mistakes.
“I liked our calls. We had good run calls to take care of some of that run game, and it just really came down to execution,” Canales said, via Panthers Wire.
“It came down to guys fitting their gaps, setting their blocks, and then containing the running backs. They did a good job.
Again, I can’t take that away from them - being patient with their runs and trying to find voids. But it is stuff we have to look at.
It’s stuff that we have to attack, and something that we’ve made great strides in. But we can’t have setbacks like this.”
Canales also described the game’s turning point as an unusual stretch in every phase.
“I mean, it’s a shock. Literally I’ve never been a part of a half of football like that, and to experience it in all phases - a blocked kick, sack-fumble, interception, a dropped punt, and then the defensive side, really just not getting off the field in different ways,” Canales added.
“It just felt so crazy and so egregiously different than the ball that we’re used to playing. Again, I’m going to look at the things and see what was technical about it, what the execution was, and look at all those things.
But again, when something like that happens, it’s like ‘Okay,’ and then you settle in and play better football.”
In Other News...
Todd Bowles Sent Buccaneers A Message They Better Carry Forward
After a 43-13 win over the Panthers, Todd Bowles used the postgame moment to steer the Buccaneers right back toward the bigger picture. Tampa Bays coach made it clear the message after Week 7 was not about celebrating for long, but about carrying the same focus and edge into the work ahead, especially with the team still sitting at 2-5 and needing every game to matter from here on out.
The next test comes quickly with a divisional matchup against the Falcons on deck, and Bowles point was simple enough: one convincing victory does not change the urgency. For a Buccaneers team trying to stop its season from slipping further, the challenge now is taking the attitude from Sunday and making sure it shows up again immediately. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs Defense May Have Found A New Way To Pressure Teams
Todd Bowles and the Buccaneers made a noticeable shift in coverage against Carolina, leaning less on their usual Cover 3 looks and spending more time in Quarters. The change matched up with what Tampa Bay had on the field, and it showed up in the way the defense handled the Panthers, who had a much harder time finding space and rhythm. It was the kind of adjustment that can get lost in the box score, but it mattered in how the Bucs controlled the game.
The larger takeaway is that Tampa Bay may have found a coverage blend that better suits its personnel and still creates pressure without forcing it. The front still got after the quarterback, the secondary held up behind it, and the whole unit put together one of the NFLs strongest Cover 4 performances through Week 7. For a defense that has been searching for consistent answers, the fit could be especially important going forward. [Read more 🡒]
Bucs May Have Found The Identity Todd Bowles Has Been Chasing
After the Buccaneers rolled past Carolina, Todd Bowles had the kind of performance he has been asking for, one built on physicality, discipline and a ground game that let Tampa Bay dictate the tone. The win was a reminder that when the Bucs can stay committed to running the ball, the offense looks less like a weekly puzzle and more like a team with a clear identity.
Bucky Irving again sat at the center of it, continuing a season that has put him among the NFLs rushing leaders and put him on pace for a career-best year after last seasons injury setback. The depth behind him also mattered in a lopsided game like this, and the bigger question now is whether Tampa Bay can keep leaning into that style against stronger defenses, when the challenge is not just running well but doing it without losing the edge Bowles keeps demanding. [Read more 🡒]