December run has surging Buccaneers going for another NFC South title

Updated Dec. 26, 2023 7:37 p.m. ET

Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are building confidence by the victory.

“We don’t want to just be a Cinderella team,” linebacker Devin White said. “We want to be a team that can make some noise.”

The Bucs (8-7) have won four straight games, rebounding from a stretch in which they dropped six of seven, to work their way back into contention for what would be a franchise-record third consecutive NFC South title.

The division is one of the weakest in the NFL. Still, the way Tampa Bay has been playing in December, the Bucs could be a tough out in the playoffs.

Especially if they continue to get strong play from Baker Mayfield at quarterback.

“By any means necessary, we are trying to find a way to win,” Mayfield said, agreeing that the Bucs potentially could be an “extremely difficult” team to play if they continue trending the way they have in home victories over Tennessee and Jacksonville, as well as road wins at Atlanta and Green Bay.

Tampa Bay has averaged 31 points per game over the past three games, the defense is coming off one of its strongest performances of the season in last Sunday’s 30-12 rout of the Jaguars, and confidence is growing.

“We are getting hot at the right time, but we can’t take that for granted,” Mayfield said. “We’ve got to realize a (one-game-at-a-time) mentality has really been the turning point for us. The singular focus has been the edge and intensity that we’ve needed. So, we’ve got to continue to have that.”

Safety Antoine Winfield, Jr. agreed.

“It's all about clicking at the right time. I feel like those few weeks right there when we had some losses, you really find out a lot about the team,” Winfield said. “Right now, our goal is just to continue and get better every week.”

WHAT’S WORKING

The past two weeks Mayfield has played some of his best ball of the season, if not his career. In addition to guiding the Bucs to a 4-0 record in December, the No. 1 overall pick from the 2018 draft has thrown for 1,010 yards and 10 touchdowns vs. one interception during the four-game winning streak.

WHAT NEEDS HELP

Mayfield had a perfect passer rating during a 14-point win at Green Bay two weeks ago, however the 30-year-old quarterback noted after beating the Jaguars that Tampa Bay’s offense is making strides but still has not played anywhere near its potential.

“Offensively, we’d like to finish better,” Mayfield said. “We’d like to put (opponents) away a little bit more.”

STOCK UP

Rookie LB Yaya Diaby moved into the starting lineup in Week 12 and is making the most of the opportunity. The third-round draft pick out of Louisville leads the team with 6½ sacks. Against the Jaguars, he had 1½ sacks while also forcing a fumble he recovered to set up a second-half touchdown.

“He’s settling in. He’s feeling comfortable. … He’s adding to the tools he had in college, and he’s making it his own,” coach Todd Bowles said.

STOCK DOWN

The Bucs continue to rank in the lower third of the league in red zone efficiency, scoring touchdowns on just 48.89 percent of their possessions inside opponents’ 20-yard line. They were two for five against Jacksonville.

INJURIES

LB Shaquil Barrett (groin) and CB Carlton Davis (concussion) are likely to be listed on the injury report this week. Winfield, meanwhile, left Sunday’s game in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion. Bowles delivered good news afterward, though, saying Winfield, who had an interception and recovered a fumble against the Jaguars, was fine.

“He could have went back in,” Bowles said. “We just held him out because it was toward the end.”

KEY NUMBER

370. The Bucs held Jacksonville to 305 yards, including 37 rushing. Tampa Bay is 7-0 this season when limiting opponents to 370 or fewer yards.

NEXT STEPS

Host New Orleans (7-8) on Sunday before closing the regular season on the road at Carolina. The Bucs can clinch the NFC South title by beating the Saints or the Panthers.

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