TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) -- Coming off scoring their lowest points total of the season (6) against the Lions, several Bucs offensive players mentioned the biggest area for improvement is just execution – especially when things don't go as planned in the games.
"I think we have guys all across the board that can make the plays," said Bucs wide receiver Chris Godwin. "It just comes down to actually doing it. Some of it's timing, which is like we work on that at practice, and some of it is literally just figuring it out in the game because whatever you practice throughout the week, may not necessarily be the look that you actually get in-game. We have to be able to understand what we're going to be, understand the looks that we like as a unit, and just understand how to play improvisational football."
"It’s taking pride in your work, about executing and doing your job each play," said Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield. "Today, we had a good practice. There wasn’t any ‘rah-rah’ speech. The guys know what we need to get done. That’s why this is a veteran group. Everybody just understands what we need to do to get it fixed. Like I mentioned after the game, I’ll get my stuff fixed, and everybody else is doing the same thing, so I’m not worried about it.”
Heading into Week 7, the Bucs are 29th in the league in rush offense, averaging 78.8 yards per game. While getting the ground attack going is a priority, Mayfield also pointed out they just need to get into the endzone.
"I think to have a complementary offense, you've got to be able to run the ball too, but also in the redzone, we just need to score touchdowns instead of field goals," Mayfield said. "That's the biggest thing. I think when it comes down to us being able to put more points on the board, we haven't been as good as we need to be in the redzone. That's just plain and simple, and that's every aspect of our offense when we get down there. We've had some good games, but [we] need to have a game where we're 100% in the redzone with touchdowns."
A bright spot for this Bucs offense has been the performance of the O-line, which has allowed five quarterback sacks and 15 quarterback hits through five games, which are both the fewest in the NFL. Head coach Todd Bowles said Mayfield's mobility has something to do with that, and there's still room for improvement up front as well.
"We’ve been okay in the interior and when we haven’t, Baker has been nimble enough to move out of the way and get out of some sacks," Bowles said. "It’s good to have an elusive quarterback that way. As long as he’s not taking the hits, it’s a good thing. With the production like we had last week, it’s got to be better in the passing game.”