TAMPA, Fla. — With first place in the NFC South standings on the line, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for some young players to grow up fast when the Atlanta Falcons visit Sunday.
During last Monday night’s 41-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the three-time reigning division champions lost star receivers Mike Evans (hamstring) and Chris Godwin (ankle) to injuries.
Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield, the No. 1 pick of the 2018 NFL draft who joined the Bucs ahead of the 2023 season, jump-started his stalled career with a lot of help from the team’s top playmakers. Now he will have to find a way to win without them.
“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.
It means counting on a rejuvenated running game to ease some of the burden on Mayfield and giving a mostly young, unproven group of receivers a chance to make names for themselves.